
Frequently asked questions
Strategic Sourcing
We apply different sets of weighted criteria to select our suppliers. In addition to commercials and technical qualifications, we also rate Innovation, CSR, Risks amongst others.
Non SAP Ariba Process
Purchase Order & Delivery
We require that you confirm the Purchase Order conditions through the link received.
The payment terms quoted on the Purchase Order
Contact us using the web form.
Note: Email correspondence will only be possible once the webform is submitted.
Report it to ITCERT@solvay.com
Yes. When you are confirming /acknowledging the Purchase Order you are confirming all the Purchase Order conditions and items. When you are dispusting an item you are also accepting all other items.
Provide your best estimate. If at a later stage you need to submit an adjustment you need to submit a ticket using the webform, to re-open the particular purchase order item and provide the new date and/or quantity. All the other conditions and attachments are considered as accepted based on the previous confirmation
Invoice and Payment
Check our Track your invoices page
Requirement: Each invoice should refer to one single Purchase Order
Contact us using the web form.
Note: Email correspondence will only be possible once the webform is submitted.
SAP Ariba Process
General Information and Suppliers Enablement
SAP Ariba is an on-line platform that allows you to receive and acknowledge electronic Purchase Orders (PO), submit electronic invoices and track the status of those documents.
No, Ariba Network use is web-based, therefore all you require to access SAP Ariba platform is a browser and internet access.
The Ariba Network uses Secure Hypertex Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) for all communication between procurement applications, suppliers, and the Ariba Network. Additionally, accounts on the Ariba Network are password protected.
You will have real-time visibility of your documents, fewer errors when processing those documents, secure and guaranteed invoice delivery, faster invoices processing time and therefore quicker payment process.
No, no impact on the payment terms negotiated with Solvay.
No, the use of the platform is FREE of charge for Solvay suppliers.
Yes, the initiative is global but the deployment is per country. You can use separate accounts or one global account, it is your choice.
Solvay started the onboarding in 2019 and organizes the suppliers deployment per wave. Current and new suppliers will be contacted personally and receive an invitation letter.
We do our best to onboard all companies of your group. Currently, our geographical scope is limited to Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Spain, United States, Canada.
When you are invited by Solvay to join the Ariba Network to exchange purchase orders and invoices, you can choose from one of the following options:
Register as a new user and choose a new password creating a new Ariba Network account.
Login with your existing user and password connecting with Solvay via your already existing account.
Yes, it's possible. You have to set up an account for an administrator. The administrator will then be able to create up to 250 users and grant them specific authorization.
Check out our section about account management in Ariba Network in our page SAP ARIBA @Solvay - manage account
Contact your Solvay key commercial contact to discuss if this option is applicable for you.
For most suppliers, the first new purchase order sent through Ariba platform will initiate the process and contain a link with directions to create a new account or log in using an existing account to establish a trading relationship with Solvay on the Ariba Network.
The account administrator will need to follow the steps below.
- Log in to the administrator’s account
- Click on the button with your initials in the upper-righthand corner for the dropdown menu
- Select Settings, then choose Electronic Order Routing
- Change the e-mail address under New Orders
- Click Save
You can find your account's ANID number by clicking on the button with your initials in the upper-righthand corner.
Click the button with your initials in the upper-righthand corner and select Contact Administrator.
If you're leaving your company or moving to a new position, you need to transfer ownership of the SAP Ariba account by choosing a new administrator.
1. At the top of the home dashboard, choose Account Settings icon > Settings > Users
2. Click Manage Users tab and check the box for the user who will be the new administrator.
3. Click Make Administrator under Actions.
4. Ariba displays the Assign a Role page. Choose a new role for your account and click Assign.
5. Ariba displays a warning message that indicates the name of the new account administrator. Click OK to transfer the account administrator role.
Ariba logs you out of your account and sends an e-mail notification to the new account administrator, alerting them that they now have the administrator role.
To update the e-mail address, username, contact information, preferred language, timezone, or currency on your account:
1. Click Account Settings icon > My Account in the top right.
2. Edit any fields as needed.
3. Click Save.
If you update your e-mail address, be sure to click the link in the confirmation e-mail sent to the new e-mail address. Usernames are unique and cannot be used multiple times. They also need to be formatted like an e-mail, but do not need to be a valid address. For example, if your username of test@ariba.com was not accepted, try test1@ariba.com.
To view your trading relationships, follow these instructions:
1. Click Account Settings icon > Settings > Customer Relationships
2. View your Pending, Current, and Rejected relationships under each corresponding heading.
If you don't see Customer Relationships under Account Settings icon > Settings, it may be related to one of the following causes: 1) Your account is not yet linked to a customer; or 2) You are a sub user on your company's Ariba account. If this is the case, then the administrator will need to provide you Customer Administration and Customer Relationships permissions. This will give you the ability to view and manage customer relationships.
Purchase Order & Delivery
Once you have received your first PO via Ariba, you will receive all your future orders the same way.
To find instructions on how to submit an order confirmation please follow this link.
The Purchase Order has been updated. The supplier must confirm the change order and use that most recent version to submit any invoice(s).
Ariba has been set up with a Business rule that does not allow suppliers to confirm a quantity or a price in certain cases (ordered quantity/price). If this is the case , you get an error saying that the quantity/price exceeds the tolerance limit specified by Solvay. Please raise a webform instead.
Value PO / Blanket PO
- If PO is assigned with 'Print Price ON' then Max amount will be visible to the supplier but the supplier can post an Invoice up to max amount level in Ariba.
- If PO is assigned with 'Print Price OFF' then max amount will not be visible to the supplier (with Hide the price functionality) but the supplier can post an Invoice up to max amount level in Ariba.
Invoice & Payment
No, you should use the Ariba Network
When creating your invoice on Ariba you have to make sure that you set up the correct invoice date (if it is not the current date) in order to be paid on the desired due day.
If this was not the case, please contact us via this webform indicating the correct date of the invoice in question and attach the correct invoice to the form.
No it does not record in the supplier accounting system
If you wish to create the invoice with a different VAT Reg# you have to insert it manually during the invoice creation process.
Even if no tax is being charged, enter “0” in the Rate % field.
Solvay has enabled a transaction rule which requires Value-Added Tax (VAT) on all invoices. To resolve the error, you must add VAT to your invoice by following the steps below:
- On the Create Invoice page, select the check box to the left of the line item.
- At the bottom, click Line Item Actions > Tax.
- In the Tax section that appears, select VAT as the Category.
- Enter the VAT information.
If the invoice number has previously been used and rejected or credit submitted, a “1” or “A” must be entered after the invoice to create a new, unique number.
You can add shipping charges to your invoice in multiple ways. The following information describes the process and instructions for each method:
To add header-level shipping charges to an invoice:
Click Add to Header, and select Shipping Cost.
- Enter the appropriate shipping amount and date.
- Click Update to apply the shipping charge to the total invoice amount.
To add line-level shipping charges to an invoice:
- Click the radio button next to Line level shipping.
- Scroll to the line items section.
- Enter the shipping amount and date for each applicable line item.
- Click Update to apply the shipping charges to the total invoice amount.
The supplier’s registration number with the Companies and Commercial Registry and the city where the supplier is registered, for example, SIRET: 451 684 559 00011—Inscrite au Registre du Commerce de Versailles sous le numéro B 451 684 559. This field is used on invoices.
It is not an error but just a warning message to notify the supplier that Solvay doesn't accept Labor service lines. Please proceed with invoice creation, as Ariba will let you to finalize the invoice creation.
The bank details should be inserted in your Ariba profile. By doing this, you will not have to insert them manually every time you create an invoice, as Ariba will populate the field automatically.
They can be found under:
- Company Profile
- Business (2)
- Bank information
- Log into your Ariba account.
- Click on the button with your initials in the upper-righthand corner for the dropdown menu.
- Select Settings, then choose Electronic Invoice Routing.
- Check the notification box and enter the email address(es) separated by a comma.
The link What does this error message mean? provides a list of possible error messages produced by the Ariba Network for invoices and their resolutions. These messages are generated if invoice processing detects errors when suppliers submit invoices through any channel (online, cXML, EDI, or CSV).
Ye it does
-If PO is assigned with 'Print Price ON' then Max amount will be visible to supplier but supplier can post an Invoice upto max amount level in Ariba.
-If PO is assigned with 'Print Price OFF' then max amount will not be visible to supplier (with Hide the price functionality) but supplier can post an Invoice upto max amount level in Ariba.
The reason why the PDF is marked as ‘Copy of Invoice’ is because the cXML document is the official legal invoice.