Case Study: Global Water Treatment and Process Improvement Company achieves real-time order visibility and reduced DSO with SAP Ariba (Ariba Network)

Providing Real-time Order Status to Lower Costs Improve Business Commerce Collaboration

A global water treatment and process improvement company struggled with poor visibility into third‑party shipments and document flows: about 5% of purchase orders were lost, multiple ASN formats caused billing delays, invoices were frequently blocked, and seven customer‑service staff spent significant time chasing confirmations and shipments—leading to delayed invoicing and vendor credit holds.

The company extended its SAP system with Ariba Network to process POs, order confirmations, PO change orders, ASNs and invoices. That provided real‑time visibility into orders and shipments, enabled invoicing at time of shipment, reduced DSO by roughly five days, virtually eliminated blocked invoices and vendor credit holds, improved PO/invoice/contract matching, and allowed six employees to be redeployed.