SAP Business ByDesign Procurement
SAP Business ByDesign confirms 14 of the 27 procurement capabilities we track, with a further 6 partially covered. Its deepest coverage is in Purchasing; it is thinnest on Receiving.
SAP Business ByDesign provides solid procurement functionality covering most mid-market requirements. It is not a core differentiator, but it handles standard workflows effectively.
- 14of 27
- Capabilities confirmed
- 219
- Documented features
- Purchasing
- Strongest area
- Receiving
- Thinnest area
How SAP Business ByDesign scores against the 27 procurement capabilities we track across every ERP in our catalogue.
- Purchasing6 of 7
- Supplier Management3 of 7
- Contracts & Compliance3 of 7
- Receiving2 of 6
“Not documented” means our research has not confirmed the capability either way — it is not a finding that SAP Business ByDesign lacks it. Coverage is scored against one shared capability list, so it is comparable between products.
The procurement scope SAP Business ByDesign ships, grouped as the product itself organises it.
Cash Flow Management4
Covers the full cash cycle — payables, receivables, payment processing, liquidity, tax, and travel expenses — with automation and analytics to keep working capital under control.
Will SAP Business ByDesign meet your cash flow management needs? Build your requirements and perform a full analysis.
Build my requirements →Sourcing66
Plans and executes long-term purchasing strategy through requests for quotation and contract management, aimed at cost savings and better supplier service levels. Automates sourcing activities and lets buyers track supplier performance against agreed commitments.
- Supplier Relationship ManagementCentralizes supplier records, sourcing activity, and purchasing collaboration in one work area.
- Automation of Supplier Relationship ManagementAutomates routine sourcing tasks such as contract creation and source-of-supply assignment.
- Pricing in Supplier Relationship ManagementCalculates purchase prices using supplier price lists, contracts, and discount conditions.
- Strategic PurchasingAnalyzes company spend and supplier performance to plan long-term purchasing strategy and cost savings.
- Product PortfolioOrganizes the catalogs, price lists, materials, and services a company sources from its suppliers.
Capabilities 1–50
- Supplier Relationship ManagementCentralizes supplier records, sourcing activity, and purchasing collaboration in one work area.
- Automation of Supplier Relationship ManagementAutomates routine sourcing tasks such as contract creation and source-of-supply assignment.
- Pricing in Supplier Relationship ManagementCalculates purchase prices using supplier price lists, contracts, and discount conditions.
- Strategic PurchasingAnalyzes company spend and supplier performance to plan long-term purchasing strategy and cost savings.
- Product PortfolioOrganizes the catalogs, price lists, materials, and services a company sources from its suppliers.
- CatalogsImports and publishes supplier product catalogs so employees can order directly from them.
- Custom CatalogsBuilds an internally curated catalog assembled from items across multiple supplier catalogs.
- Internal Catalog ProcessingProcesses and maintains catalog content uploaded for internal use within the system.
- Integrating External Catalogs from SAP PartnersConnects externally hosted catalogs from SAP partners so buyers can shop them directly.
- Technical Information for Catalog ProviderDocuments the technical requirements a catalog provider must meet to integrate with the system.
- ProductsCovers the setup of materials and services used in purchasing, including status assignment, stock type, pricing, and tax details needed before they can be sourced or bought.
- Assigning Statuses to a MaterialSets purchasing, sales, and valuation statuses that determine whether a material is ready for use.
- Changing Identified Stock TypesChanges how a batch or serialized stock item is tracked and identified in inventory.
- Pricing in Supplier Relationship ManagementDetermines purchase prices from supplier contracts, price lists, and negotiated discounts.
- Tax DeterminationCalculates the applicable tax on a purchased material or service based on jurisdiction rules.
- Tasks for ServicesGroups the setup tasks needed to make a service ready for purchasing, sales, and valuation.
- Assign Purchasing Details to a ServiceAdds purchasing-specific details, such as supplier and unit of measure, to a service.
- Assign Sales Details to a ServiceAdds sales-specific details needed to sell a service to customers.
- Assign Valuation Details to a ServiceSets the valuation details used to cost and account for a service.
- Add Quantity Conversions to a ServiceDefines conversion rules between different units of measure for a service.
- Export Business Data Using Microsoft Excel®Exports service master data to Microsoft Excel® for offline review or bulk editing.
- Tasks for MaterialsGroups the setup tasks needed to make a material ready for purchasing, logistics, planning, and sales.
- Assign Purchasing Details to a MaterialAdds purchasing-specific details, such as supplier and lead time, to a material.
- Assign Logistics Details to a MaterialSets logistics attributes such as weight, dimensions, and packaging for a material.
- Assign Supply Planning Details to a MaterialDefines the supply planning parameters used to forecast and replenish a material.
- Assign Availability Confirmation Details to a MaterialConfigures how stock availability is confirmed for a material during order entry.
- Assign Sales Details to a MaterialAdds sales-specific details needed to sell a material to customers.
- Assign Valuation Details to a MaterialSets the valuation details used to cost and account for a material.
- Add Quantity Conversions to a MaterialDefines conversion rules between different units of measure for a material.
- Mass Change of MaterialsUpdates a batch of material records at once instead of editing them individually.
- Export Business Data Using Microsoft Excel®Exports material master data to Microsoft Excel® for offline review or bulk editing.
- CatalogsImports supplier catalogs in BMEcat or CSV format and publishes them so employees can buy directly without routing through purchasing. Buyers can also pull catalog items straight into purchase orders, RFQs, and goods receipts.
- CatalogsImports and manages a supplier's product catalog for use across purchasing documents.
- Custom CatalogsAssembles a custom catalog from selected items across multiple supplier sources.
- Internal Catalog ProcessingProcesses uploaded catalog files for internal publication to employees.
- Configuration: External CatalogsConfigures the connection settings for an externally hosted supplier catalog.
- Configuration: Default Values for Supplier CatalogsSets default field values applied automatically when importing a supplier catalog.
- List PricesRecords supplier pricing information used when no catalog or contract exists, such as prices gathered at a trade fair or published online. Buyers can maintain list prices one at a time — with price scales — or update several at once.
- List Prices in Supplier Relationship ManagementRecords and updates supplier list prices used as a fallback source of supply.
- Overlapping Validity Periods in List Prices in Supplier Relationship ManagementHandles cases where two list prices for the same item have overlapping validity dates.
- Sourcing and ContractingCovers requesting quotes, evaluating supplier bids, negotiating contracts, and choosing a source of supply.
- Request for Quotation ProcessingCreates and sends requests for quotation to prospective suppliers for pricing and terms.
- Supplier Quote ProcessingReviews and compares quotes submitted by suppliers in response to a request for quotation.
- SourcingFinds and evaluates suppliers to fulfill purchase requests and requirements.
- Sourcing Rank in Assign Source of SupplyRanks eligible suppliers by preference when assigning a source of supply to a purchase.
- Purchasing Contract ProcessingCreates, negotiates, and manages purchasing contracts with suppliers over their life cycle.
- Sourcing RequestsTracks requests to identify a supplier for products or services not yet sourced.
- RFQs and QuotesManages requests for quotation and the supplier quotes received in response.
- ContractsLets buyers draft, duplicate, negotiate, and release purchasing contracts, with visibility into a contract's full life cycle from draft to expiry. Ensures purchases are made at prices already agreed with a supplier.
- Approval Rules for PurchasingDefines the approval rules that a purchasing contract must pass before it takes effect.
Capabilities 51–65
- Follow-up Document SettingsConfigures which follow-up documents, such as purchase orders, a contract can generate.
- Source DeterminationLets buyers set a fixed preferred supplier for a product or split purchase quantities across multiple contracts using quota arrangements. Helps ensure products are consistently sourced from the supplier that best meets requirements.
- Source DeterminationAssigns a fixed source of supply or quota arrangement for a specific product.
- Supplier BaseHolds the master data for a company's suppliers, service agents, and their organizational hierarchies.
- Address ManagementStores and updates postal and communication addresses for suppliers and service agents.
- Business Partner Duplicate CheckFlags potential duplicate supplier records when creating or updating a business partner.
- SuppliersGives a complete overview of a company's suppliers and bidders, including purchasing data, banking and tax details, and related service agents. Also shows where each product category stands in its life cycle to support sourcing strategy.
- Maintenance of Suppliers and Service AgentsCreates and updates supplier and service agent records, including contact and relationship data.
- Address ManagementStores and updates postal and communication addresses for suppliers.
- Business Partner Duplicate CheckFlags potential duplicate records when creating or updating a supplier.
- Managing the Product Category Life CycleTracks where each product category stands in its life cycle to guide sourcing decisions.
- Service AgentsMaintains records for the individual service agents who deliver work on behalf of a supplier, including contact details, the supplier they work for, and their role. Agents can be given system access for tasks like recording their own time.
- Maintenance of Suppliers and Service AgentsCreates and updates service agent records, including their affiliated supplier and job details.
- Suppliers HierarchiesModels the group structure of a supplier that operates through multiple related companies, so buyers can see how sites and subsidiaries relate to each other. Hierarchies can be created, displayed, and edited as supplier relationships evolve.
- Supplier HierarchiesDisplays and edits the hierarchy of group companies that make up a supplier's organization.
Will SAP Business ByDesign meet your sourcing needs? Build your requirements and perform a full analysis.
Build my requirements →Financial and Management Accounting10
Ties purchasing, manufacturing, and sales activity into one general ledger and its subledgers, giving finance teams a consistent set of data to report on and make decisions from.
Will SAP Business ByDesign meet your financial and management accounting needs? Build your requirements and perform a full analysis.
Build my requirements →Purchasing88
Manages the day-to-day purchasing cycle, including purchase requests, purchase orders, order acknowledgments, and goods and services receipts. Self-service procurement lets employees raise and track their own shopping carts while buyers focus on higher-value sourcing work.
- Supplier Relationship ManagementCoordinates purchasing activity and supplier collaboration within the purchasing work center.
- Operational PurchasingManages the day-to-day cycle of purchase requests, orders, and receipts for stock and services.
- Asset Procurement in PurchasingHandles the purchase of fixed assets through the standard procurement process.
- Automation of Supplier Relationship ManagementAutomates routine purchasing tasks such as order creation and supplier communication.
- Value-Added Tax Refunds to Domestic Entrepreneurs AbroadProcesses value-added tax refund claims for domestic businesses that incur VAT abroad.
Capabilities 1–50
- Supplier Relationship ManagementCoordinates purchasing activity and supplier collaboration within the purchasing work center.
- Operational PurchasingManages the day-to-day cycle of purchase requests, orders, and receipts for stock and services.
- Asset Procurement in PurchasingHandles the purchase of fixed assets through the standard procurement process.
- Automation of Supplier Relationship ManagementAutomates routine purchasing tasks such as order creation and supplier communication.
- Value-Added Tax Refunds to Domestic Entrepreneurs AbroadProcesses value-added tax refund claims for domestic businesses that incur VAT abroad.
- Pricing in Supplier Relationship ManagementCalculates purchase prices using supplier price lists, contracts, and discount terms.
- Account Assignment in PurchasingAssigns the cost center, project, or account that a purchase should be posted against.
- Intercompany Project Time and ExpensesCharges project time and expenses recorded by one company entity to another within the same group.
- Intercompany Stock TransferMoves stock between company entities within the same group and records the related transactions.
- Third-Party Order ProcessingRoutes a sales order directly to a supplier who ships to the customer on the company's behalf.
- Active Budget Control in Supplier Relationship ManagementChecks purchasing documents against available budget before allowing them to be posted.
- Landed CostsCovers the freight, duty, and handling charges added to the cost of purchased goods.
- Landed Costs in DetailCaptures freight, customs duty, handling, insurance, and other charges incurred to bring purchased goods into inventory, allocating them across the affected items. Helps compare planned versus actual landed cost and supports more accurate inventory valuation and supplier decisions.
- PrerequisitesLists the system settings that must be in place before landed costs can be planned and posted.
- Plan Landed Costs in Purchase OrdersEstimates freight, duty, and handling charges on a purchase order before goods arrive.
- Post Goods Receipt and Inventory ValuationPosts a goods receipt and updates inventory value to include planned landed costs.
- Supplier Invoice for Landed CostsRecords a supplier invoice covering freight, duty, or other landed cost charges.
- Landed Costs Invoice Allocation to Goods ReceiptsAllocates an invoiced landed cost amount across the goods receipts it relates to.
- Financial Clearing and Inventory UpdateReconciles planned versus invoiced landed costs and updates inventory valuation accordingly.
- Self-Services - ShoppingLets employees browse catalogs and raise their own purchase requests without going through a buyer.
- Shopping Cart ProcessingLets employees build and submit a shopping cart that becomes a purchase request.
- Purchase Requests and OrdersCovers the full purchase-to-receipt cycle, from raising a purchase request through creating, approving, and acknowledging purchase orders to processing returns to suppliers. Mass data runs can complete delivery and invoicing status across many open orders at once.
- Purchase RequestsProcesses and monitors purchase requests generated from projects, materials requirements planning, or employee shopping carts, as well as requests created directly. Buyers assign a source of supply where one hasn't already been set, and the system can automatically generate the follow-on purchase order.
- Purchase Request ProcessingReviews, edits, and releases purchase requests raised from projects, planning, or self-service shopping.
- Sourcing Rank in Assign Source of SupplyRanks eligible suppliers by preference when assigning a source of supply to a purchase request.
- Purchase OrdersCreates purchase orders manually or automatically from awarded supplier quotes and purchase requests, with a quick-create option for faster entry. Only key checks run at order time, keeping order creation fast while final validation happens before the order is sent.
- Configuration: Automatic Accept Deviation on Purchase Order AcknowledgementConfigures the tolerance within which a supplier's order acknowledgment deviation is auto-accepted.
- Purchase Order ProcessingCreates, edits, and sends purchase orders to suppliers for products or services.
- Third-Party Order ProcessingRoutes a sales order directly to a supplier who ships to the customer on the company's behalf.
- Process Types of Purchase Order ItemsDefines the processing type, such as stock or service, applied to each purchase order line item.
- Purchase Order ApprovalsRoutes a purchase order through defined approval steps before it can be sent to a supplier.
- Automatically Created Purchase OrdersGenerates purchase orders automatically from approved purchase requests or awarded supplier quotes.
- Purchase Order AcknowledgmentsRecords a supplier's confirmation of the quantities, prices, and dates on a purchase order.
- Sourcing Rank in Assign Source of SupplyRanks eligible suppliers by preference when assigning a source of supply to a purchase order.
- Receiving and Processing PO AcknowledgmentsReceives and processes supplier acknowledgments confirming or deviating from purchase order terms.
- Limit ItemsSets a spending limit for a purchase order line item instead of a fixed quantity and price.
- Returns to SuppliersProcesses the return of previously received goods back to a supplier.
- Purchase Order ApprovalsRequires purchase orders above defined thresholds to pass through an approval workflow first.
- Common TasksGroups shared configuration tasks for purchase requests and orders, such as defining default delivery-date rules by company, supplier, and purchasing unit. Rules are evaluated in sequence, so more specific settings should be defined before general fallback ones.
- Configuration: Automatic Creation of Purchase OrdersConfigures the conditions under which a purchase order is created automatically without manual input.
- Configuration: Tax Classification for Free-Text ItemsSets the default tax classification applied to free-text items on a purchasing document.
- Define Landed Cost ComponentsDefines the cost components, such as freight or duty, used to calculate landed costs.
- Goods and Services ReceiptsRecords the receipt of goods and services against a purchase order and processes any related returns.
- Goods and Services Receipt and Goods Return ProcessingRecords receipt of ordered goods or services and processes returns back to the supplier.
- Quantities in Goods and Services Receipts and Goods ReturnsTracks received, returned, and outstanding quantities against a purchase order.
- Tracking of Customs Document – MexicoTracks customs documentation for imported goods received in Mexico.
- Purchase Orders to Be DeliveredLists open purchase orders still awaiting delivery from a supplier.
- Receipts and ReturnsGives an overview of recorded goods receipts and returns against purchase orders.
- Supplier InvoicingCovers entering, verifying, and posting supplier invoices and credit memos, including tax handling and recurring or automated billing.
- Approval Rules in Supplier InvoicingDefines the approval rules a supplier invoice must pass before it can be posted.
Capabilities 51–87
- Supplier Invoice TypesDistinguishes between the different types of supplier invoicing documents the system supports.
- Supplier Invoice VerificationChecks a supplier invoice against the related purchase order and goods receipt before posting.
- Supplier Invoice Processing With ReferenceCreates a supplier invoice by referencing an existing purchase order or goods receipt.
- Tax DeterminationAutomatically calculates the applicable tax on purchasing documents such as orders, invoices, and credit memos based on country-specific rules. The resulting tax figures feed into tax reports, though these do not replace a company's own tax review.
- Tax Determination DetailsCovers the master data and rules the system uses to determine tax on a transaction.
- Master Data for Tax DeterminationMaintains the master data, such as tax codes and jurisdictions, used to determine tax.
- Elements of Tax DeterminationExplains the elements, such as ship-from and ship-to location, that determine which tax applies.
- Tax Exemption Certificate ProcessingRecords and applies a customer or supplier's tax exemption certificate to relevant transactions.
- Tax Determination with Reverse Charge MechanismApplies the reverse charge mechanism, shifting tax liability to the buyer, where required.
- Third-Party Order Processing TaxationDetermines the tax treatment applicable to third-party order transactions.
- Tax on Goods and Services - Configuration GuideConfigures how tax on goods and services is calculated and posted in the system.
- Tax Determination — USApplies US-specific sales and use tax rules to purchasing and invoicing transactions.
- Withholding Tax DeterminationCalculates and withholds tax on supplier payments where withholding tax rules apply.
- Tax Deferral Process for Supplier InvoicingDefers tax recognition on a supplier invoice until a later reporting period where required by law.
- Automatic Account DeterminationDetermines the general ledger accounts a supplier invoice posts to automatically.
- Document Flow into AccountingShows how a supplier invoicing document flows through to postings in Financials.
- Journal EntriesGenerates the journal entries created when a supplier invoicing document posts.
- WorkGives supplier invoicing staff a current worklist of open tasks and unposted invoicing documents, removing completed items automatically. An enhanced view adds filtering, advanced search, and quick access to related actions.
- Exception HandlingFlags and resolves exceptions that block a supplier invoicing document from posting.
- Invoice EntryEnters supplier invoices, credit memos, customs invoices, and down-payment requests manually, by scanning, or through automatic upload. Documents can be saved as a draft or released for payment by posting to Financials.
- Distributing Costs and Quantities Among Invoice and Credit Memo ItemsSplits costs and quantities across multiple line items on an invoice or credit memo.
- Limit ItemsRecords a supplier invoice against a purchase order limit item rather than a fixed quantity.
- Upload Supplier Invoices in XML Format – MexicoUploads supplier invoices in XML format to meet electronic invoicing requirements in Mexico.
- Down Payments Made in FinancialsRecords down payments made to a supplier and clears them against the final invoice in Financials.
- Invoices and Credit MemosGives an overview of every posted supplier invoice, credit memo, customs invoice, and down-payment request in posted, paid, or canceled status. Existing documents can be copied as templates or used to create follow-up credits, debits, or cancellations.
- Configuration: Supplier Invoice Scanning Keyword SettingsConfigures the keywords the system searches for when scanning supplier invoices.
- Invoice ScanningScans a paper or PDF supplier invoice and extracts its data for entry.
- Evaluated Receipt SettlementsSchedules evaluated receipt settlement runs that automatically create supplier invoices and credit memos based on goods receipts, so suppliers no longer need to send their own invoices. Gives an overview of completed runs, their status, and an application log for each.
- Supplier Invoice Processing Using Evaluated Receipt SettlementsAuto-generates a supplier invoice from a goods receipt using evaluated receipt settlement.
- Mass Data Runs (MDR)Schedules a background job to process a large batch of business documents at once.
- Automation of Supplier Relationship ManagementAutomates routine supplier invoicing and settlement tasks.
- Recurring InvoicesAutomatically creates invoices for recurring charges — rent, leasing, insurance and the like —, that have no purchase order or goods receipt behind them. Recurrence can be set weekly, monthly, or on another schedule, and existing recurring invoices can be edited, blocked, or deleted.
- Recurring Invoices for Supplier InvoicesSets up an invoice that generates automatically on a recurring schedule for a fixed supplier charge.
- Landed Cost Invoice ItemsRecords the invoice line items that represent freight, duty, or other landed cost charges.
- Common TasksGroups shared configuration tasks used across supplier invoicing.
- Configuration: Tax Classification for Free-Text ItemsSets the default tax classification applied to free-text items on a supplier invoice.
- Invoice File UploadUploads a supplier invoice file directly into the system for processing.
Will SAP Business ByDesign meet your purchasing needs? Build your requirements and perform a full analysis.
Build my requirements →Manufacturing, Warehousing, and Logistics24
Configures and executes day-to-day warehouse and manufacturing operations, including physical inventory, stock transfers, supplier deliveries, customer and supplier returns, and quality checks embedded in production. Aimed at companies running manufacturing or warehousing operations that need inbound, outbound, and internal logistics automated end to end.
- Inbound LogisticsManages every type of goods receipt into the warehouse — supplier deliveries, customer returns, spare parts returns, and intracompany transfers — and gives warehouse teams the tools to schedule, execute, and monitor receiving.
- Inbound Delivery ProcessingProcesses goods received into the warehouse from a supplier delivery.
- Supplier Delivery ProcessingManages the receipt of a supplier delivery through to putaway.
- Customer Return Processing (in Inbound Logistics)Processes goods returned by a customer back into warehouse stock.
- Third-Party Order Processing — Customer ReturnHandles a customer return for an order that a third-party supplier originally fulfilled.
- Inbound LogisticsManages every type of goods receipt into the warehouse — supplier deliveries, customer returns, spare parts returns, and intracompany transfers — and gives warehouse teams the tools to schedule, execute, and monitor receiving.
- Inbound Delivery ProcessingProcesses goods received into the warehouse from a supplier delivery.
- Supplier Delivery ProcessingManages the receipt of a supplier delivery through to putaway.
- Customer Return Processing (in Inbound Logistics)Processes goods returned by a customer back into warehouse stock.
- Third-Party Order Processing — Customer ReturnHandles a customer return for an order that a third-party supplier originally fulfilled.
- Spare Parts Return ProcessingProcesses the return of spare parts back into inventory.
- Intracompany Stock Transfer ProcessingReceives stock transferred in from another site within the same company.
- Delivery Schedules with Multiple Schedule Lines (in Inbound Logistics)Splits an inbound delivery across multiple scheduled receipt dates and quantities.
- Logistics Task ManagementManages the inbound warehouse tasks generated for goods receipt.
- Logistics Source and Destination ListLists the source and destination locations used for inbound warehouse movements.
- Working with Warehouse TasksGuides a worker through executing an inbound warehouse task.
- Kits Process FlowManages the receipt and handling of sales kit components as a single unit.
- Stock OverviewShows current stock levels across inbound receiving locations.
- Serial Inventory OverviewDisplays serial-numbered inventory received into the warehouse.
- Projected Material FlowProjects expected inbound material movements based on open deliveries and orders.
- Working with Serial NumbersAssigns and tracks serial numbers for products received into inventory.
- Consignment Stock OverviewShows consignment stock received from a supplier and held at the company's site.
- Consignment Serial Stock OverviewDisplays serial-numbered consignment stock received from a supplier.
- Purchase OrdersDisplays open purchase orders relevant to inbound goods receipt.
- Inbound Delivery NotificationsReceives advance notice of an inbound delivery before it physically arrives.
- Warehouse RequestsLists the warehouse requests driving inbound receiving activity.
- MonitoringTracks the status and progress of inbound logistics activity in real time.
- Inbound DeliveriesLists all inbound deliveries currently in process at the warehouse.
- Automated ActionsSchedules background jobs that automate recurring inbound logistics tasks.
Will SAP Business ByDesign meet your manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics needs? Build your requirements and perform a full analysis.
Build my requirements →Business Partner Data14
Covers the master data for accounts, contacts, suppliers, service agents, and employees a company deals with.
- Address ManagementStores and updates postal and communication addresses for business partners.
- Business Partner Duplicate CheckFlags potential duplicate records when creating or updating a business partner.
- Business PartnersCreates and maintains records for the companies and people a business has dealings with, including status, address, and main contact details. A single business partner can hold multiple roles at once, such as being both a customer and a competitor, so shared information only needs to be entered once.
- Business PartnersCreates and maintains core records for the companies and people a business deals with.
- Additional Identifiers for Business PartnersRecords additional external identifiers, such as registration or tax numbers, for a business partner.
- Address ManagementStores and updates postal and communication addresses for business partners.
- Business Partner Duplicate CheckFlags potential duplicate records when creating or updating a business partner.
- Business PartnersCreates and maintains records for the companies and people a business has dealings with, including status, address, and main contact details. A single business partner can hold multiple roles at once, such as being both a customer and a competitor, so shared information only needs to be entered once.
- Business PartnersCreates and maintains core records for the companies and people a business deals with.
- Additional Identifiers for Business PartnersRecords additional external identifiers, such as registration or tax numbers, for a business partner.
- SuppliersGives a complete overview of a company's suppliers and bidders, including purchasing data, banking and tax details, and related service agents. Also shows where each product category stands in its life cycle to support sourcing strategy.
- Maintenance of Suppliers and Service AgentsCreates and updates supplier and service agent records, including contact and relationship data.
- Managing the Product Category Life CycleTracks where each product category stands in its life cycle to guide sourcing decisions.
- Service AgentsMaintains records for the individual service agents who deliver work on behalf of a supplier, including contact details, the supplier they work for, and their role. Agents can be given system access for tasks like recording their own time.
- Maintenance of Suppliers and Service AgentsCreates and updates service agent records, including their affiliated supplier and job details.
- EmployeesMaintains employee master data used across HR, projects, and other business processes.
- Intelligent EnterpriseCovers intelligent automation features, such as business card scanning, that speed up business partner data entry.
- Intelligent Business Contact Creation via Business Card ScanCreates a new business contact automatically by scanning a business card.
Will SAP Business ByDesign meet your business partner data needs? Build your requirements and perform a full analysis.
Build my requirements →Other capabilities13
- Blocking Usage for Business Partners in Supply Chain ManagementPrevents a blocked business partner from being selected in new supply chain documents.
- Active Budget Control Adoption in Supplier Relationship Management for the Public Sector EditionApplies active budget control to purchasing documents in the public sector edition of the system.
Will SAP Business ByDesign meet your other capabilities needs? Build your requirements and perform a full analysis.
Build my requirements →The SAP Business ByDesign Evaluation Kit
An independent assessment of SAP Business ByDesign — strengths, gaps and real pricing — plus a requirements template you can score its procurement against alongside every other system on your shortlist.
SAP Business ByDesign Evaluation Kit
2026 Edition · PDF guide + XLSX template
ERP Research
- Buyer's guide (PDF): SAP Business ByDesign independently assessed — where it is strong, where it is not, and what it actually costs
- Requirements template (XLSX): weight your requirements and score vendors side by side
- Built to work with the 27 procurement capabilities scored on this page
- The questions to put to the vendor and to implementation partners
SAP Business ByDesign Evaluation Kit
SAP Business ByDesign add-ons & integrations
Extend SAP Business ByDesign with best-of-breed software that integrates with it:
Procurement coverage across the systems most often shortlisted alongside it, scored against the same capability list.
| Area |  |  | |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchasing | 6+1/7 | 3+1/7 | 7/7 | 2/7 |
| Supplier Management | 3+2/7 | 1+2/7 | 4+2/7 | 0+3/7 |
| Contracts & Compliance | 3+1/7 | — | 3+2/7 | — |
| Receiving | 2+2/6 | 2/6 | 2+1/6 | — |
Each cell reads confirmed+partial/scored. Grey reflects capabilities our research has not confirmed either way — it is not a finding that a product lacks them.
Procurement — strength by vendor
| Vendor | Strength | Best for | Starting price | Implementation | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★ strong | Mid-market and standardised enterprises wanting fast time-to-value | $180/user/mo | 3–6 months | |
| ★★★ strong | Large, complex enterprises needing deep customisation and controlled upgrades | Custom | 6–18 months | |
 | ★★★ strong | Large enterprises moving from on-premise Oracle to cloud | Custom | 9–18 months | |
 | ★★★ strong | Mid-to-large companies in the Microsoft ecosystem | $50/user/mo | 6–14 months | |
 | ★★★ strong | Discrete and mixed-mode manufacturers | $100/user/mo | 5–10 months | |
 | ★★★ strong | Midsize process manufacturers and distributors | $100/user/mo | 4–9 months | |
 | ★★★ strong | Large enterprises wanting industry-specific cloud ERP | Custom | 9–18 months | |
| ★★★ strong | Process manufacturers (food, chemicals, pharma) needing batch/formula control | Custom | 8–15 months |
Evaluating procurement on SAP Business ByDesign
What to put in front of the vendor before you commit.
- 1Approval workflow flexibility
- 2Three-way matching automation
- 3Supplier portal and collaboration
- 4Contract compliance monitoring
- 5Spend analytics and categorisation
SAP Business ByDesign starts at $120/user/mo with a typical total cost of $100K–$400K and a 4–8 months implementation.
Full SAP Business ByDesign pricing breakdown →SAP Business ByDesign implementation partners
Firms with proven SAP Business ByDesign delivery experience — start here rather than an open RFP.
delaware
PlatinumLondon, United Kingdom
SAP Platinum Partner and Platinum Reseller. 2024 SAP Pinnacle Award winner for SAP BTP customer value. SAP's leading Digital Supply Chain partner in EMEA. Present in 19 countries.
Products: SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud, SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud, SAP S/4HANA On-Premise
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Birchman
PlatinumBracknell, United Kingdom
Birchman is a UK founded business transformation and IT consultancy specialising in SAP and ERP solutions. We're a Global SAP Platinum Partner and the primary UK member of United VARs, the world's largest alliance of SAP solution providers, giving us access to local expertise and delivery capability in 80+ countries. We help organisations plan, migrate to and thrive on SAP Cloud ERP (S/4HANA), whether that's moving off legacy ECC6, running a phased cloud migration or optimising an existing SAP landscape. Our services cover the full transformation lifecycle: strategy and target operating model design, ERP implementation, data analytics, cloud infrastructure, application development, and IT governance. We back this with industry specific accelerator packages for Mining, CPG, and Professional Services, drawing on 20+ years of sector experience. Over that time, we've built a reputation not just for delivering transformation projects but for steadying them. Brought in when a project needs a safe pair of hands to see it through to a successful outcome. It's why so many customers trust us with their most critical digital transformation and SAP work. We measure our success by our customers', helping them get the most out of their SAP investment, not just at go-live but for years afterwards. Our Application Management Services and ongoing consultancy keep that relationship going, with continuous improvement built in as standard. We're big enough to lead complex, global transformation projects and boutique enough to still care about every client we work with.
Products: SAP Cloud ERP (S/4HANA) Public & Private, Business Technology Platform, Implementation
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TEKROI PRIVATE LIMITED
PlatinumHyderabad, India
TEKROI Private Limited is a Hyderabad-based SAP Business One partner operating under SAP PartnerEdge (Sell & Service). Founded in 2020 by Venkata Siva Reddy Polu and Anitha Vennapusa, the firm rests on a founding team whose first SAP Business One go-lives date back to 2005 — more than 20 years of practice and over 350 implementations delivered across roughly 30 countries, spanning India, Nepal, East and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the UK and Europe, and the Americas. A team of 60+ consultants, developers and support engineers works from the company's Innovation Hub in Bowenpally, Hyderabad, with a second office in Kathmandu, Nepal. Services cover new SAP Business One implementations on both SQL Server and HANA, SQL-to-HANA migration, cloud subscriptions, post go-live support and AMC, analytics, and IoT integration. Delivery is organised into 32 industry-specific solutions — 25 of them manufacturing verticals — including pharmaceutical API and formulation, chemicals and blending, food and confectionery, cement, steel and natural stone, cables and LED, automotive and two-wheeler CKD assembly, aerospace and defence components, medical devices, pre-engineered buildings, construction and EPC projects, trading and distribution, retail, healthcare services, agri warehousing and logistics, and technology services. TEKROI also develops TEKAI, an AI layer that connects assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity to live SAP Business One data. SAP featured TEKAI in its global AI Partner Innovations playbook as one of only four Generative AI solutions for SAP Business One worldwide, and the only one from an Asia-based partner. The company name captures its approach: TEK for technology, ROI for return on investment.
Products: SAP Business One, SAP Business One AI MCP Connector, SAP Business One on HANA
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LeverX
PlatinumMiami, United States
LeverX is an SAP Gold Partner with SAP as its core area of expertise. Since 2003, we have grown alongside SAP through every major technology shift, from ERP modernization and in-memory computing to Cloud ERP, data-driven architectures, and enterprise AI. Today, our team of 2,200+ professionals has delivered more than 1,500 SAP projects worldwide. We support the full SAP lifecycle, from advisory and implementation to product engineering, managed services, and continuous innovation, across SAP Cloud ERP, SAP Business AI Platform, and other SAP solutions. We contribute to the SAP ecosystem through proprietary accelerators, including SAP IPS, SAP IPD Formulation, BMAX, and LeverX Data Management Platform. AI is embedded throughout our delivery, combining SAP Business AI, Joule, and leading enterprise AI platforms under a governed framework.
Products: SAP Cloud ERP, SAP Cloud ERP Private, SAP Business AI Platform
View profile →SAP Business ByDesign Procurement FAQ
Does ByDesign support employee self-service purchasing?
Yes — a self-service shopping capability lets employees raise purchase requests against catalogs without going through a buyer, which then route into standard purchase order approval. It's aimed at low-value, high-volume requests rather than strategic sourcing.
Can ByDesign handle three-way matching before paying a supplier?
Yes. Goods and services receipts match against the purchase order, and evaluated receipt settlement can auto-generate the payable from the receipt without waiting on a supplier invoice, reducing manual invoice entry for high-volume vendors.
Is formal supplier sourcing and contracting supported, or just purchase orders?
Both — sourcing and contracting covers strategic sourcing and formal supplier agreements, layered on top of day-to-day purchase order processing. Procurement is rated moderate overall, so the depth here is solid for a midsize buyer but lighter than a dedicated sourcing platform.
How are landed costs on international purchases handled?
Landed costs (freight, duty, and other charges) are tracked at the item level and clear into inventory valuation, so imported goods carry their full cost rather than just the invoice price. This detail matters for wholesale and distribution buyers sourcing internationally.
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