Case Study: Atento achieves global procurement standardization and significant productivity gains with SAP Ariba

SAP Ariba implementation ensures standardization and unification of the global procurement department of Atento

Atento is a leading global CRM/BPO provider operating 96 contact centers across 13 countries with about 150,000 employees. After creating a global procurement department in 2014, the company faced decentralized procurement processes and sought to standardize and centralize sourcing, contracting, supplier registration and assessment, and to speed contract formalization (including electronic signatures) to improve transparency, compliance, and efficiency.

Atento deployed SAP Ariba (Sourcing, Contracts, Supplier Management and Networking), rolling out sourcing in 2015 and contracts and supplier management by 2016, plus electronic signatures and fast supplier onboarding. The platform centralized approvals, registered 1,800 suppliers in four months, ran 100+ e‑auctions and 3,400 RFPs, and delivered clear gains — a 20% increase in SLA compliance, roughly 25% higher global productivity, an 80% rise in purchase orders per FTE in Brazil, faster contract turnaround, and material cost reductions (e.g., 17% savings in a Peru transport auction). Atento now manages procurement KPIs centrally and is planning ERP integration to further automate processes.

Atento

Leandro Toth

Procurement Operations Manager