Ariba Catalog Management PDF

Ariba Supplier Network™
Catalog Management
Guide
Release: 44
April 2007
Document Version: A
Copyright © 1996–2007 Ariba, Inc. All rights reserved.
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44a.0051.en
Table of Contents
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Intended Audience and Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
About this Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Ariba SN Documentation Roadmap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
About Ariba Supplier Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Chapter 1 About Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Overview of Catalog Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Benefits of Storing Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
About CIF Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
About cXML Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Resources for Catalog Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs . . . . . . . 19

Making Catalogs Available to Your Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
About Catalog Validation and Qualification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Uploading, Validating, and Qualifying Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Uploading Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Fixing Catalog Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Publishing Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Displaying and Editing Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Updating Catalogs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Deleting Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Downloading Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Chapter 3 Linking to PunchOut Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . 43

About PunchOut Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Linking to PunchOut Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide iii

Table of Contents
Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

About Test Accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
About Testing Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
About Basic and Advanced Catalog Test Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Switching to a Test Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Running a Basic Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Running an Advanced Test on a PunchOut Website. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Chapter 5 Editing Catalogs with Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Downloading the CIF Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Editing the CIF Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Uploading and Downloading Excel Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Downloading CIF Files in Excel Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Manually Converting Excel Files to CIF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Opening CIF Files in Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
iv Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

Preface
This preface introduces the Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide. You will find
information on the intended audience and any required prerequisites, a breakdown of
the guide’s contents, and information on learning and getting help with the product.
Intended Audience and Prerequisites

This document is intended for the individuals at supplier organizations who upload,
publish, and test product and service catalogs on Ariba Supplier NetworkTM(Ariba
SN). These individuals might or might not also be responsible for creating the
catalogs.
About this Guide

The Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide provides information for suppliers about
how to upload catalogs to Ariba SN and make them available to customers. It does not
include information on creating catalogs, but points you to all of the catalog creation
resources that are available to you on Ariba SN. This manual includes these chapters:
• Chapter 1, “About Catalogs” provides an overview of all of the ways Ariba SN
enables you to distribute product and service information to your customers, the
supported catalog formats, and lists the places you can go to find information on
catalog creation.
• Chapter 2, “Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs” presents more detailed
information about these catalog formats and instructions for uploading, validating,
and publishing catalogs on Ariba SN. You will also find procedures for managing
catalogs—displaying, updating, deleting, and download.
• Chapter 3, “Linking to PunchOut Catalogs” describes PunchOut catalogs and
websites and discusses the benefits and trade-offs of using them. It contains a
procedure for adding a link to a PunchOut website on Ariba SN.
Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide v

Ariba SN Documentation Roadmap Preface
• Chapter 4, “Using Test Accounts” describes how to use a test account to perform
basic and advanced testing of catalogs, PunchOut sites, and order routing.
• Chapter 5, “Editing Catalogs with Excel” explains how to create Excel catalogs
and upload them to Ariba SN.
Ariba SN Documentation Roadmap

Ariba SN provides a comprehensive set of manuals to address the needs of different
types of users in a supplier organization. You can access these manuals by clicking
Help at the top right of any page.
If you want to… See…

Register on Ariba SN Getting Started with Ariba SN White Paper
Get up and running with Ariba SN. If you want to receive

orders from customers by fax or email, this is the only
manual you need to get started.
Publish catalogs for Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide
customer use
Learn how to upload catalogs to Ariba SN, validate them,
and publish them for customer use. This manual also
covers basic and advanced testing for catalogs, order
routing, and PunchOut websites.
Manage your Ariba SN Account Management Guide
organization’s Ariba SN
account Read how to set advanced configuration options, create
users and roles, and set up customer relationships and
contacts. This manual also provides instructions for
subscribing to and managing services and searching for
business opportunities on Ariba SN.
Manage orders and Ariba SN Transactions Guide
invoices
Learn how to create order confirmations, ship notices, and
invoices. Read about electronic payment options and
procedures, and learn how to check document status and
troubleshoot order routing.
vi Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

Preface Ariba SN Documentation Roadmap

Connect to suppliers so Ariba SN Buyer’s Guide
you can buy from them
(For buying organizations only) Learn how to configure
your Ariba SN account and manage users, suppliers, and
catalogs. It also shows you how to view purchase orders
and invoices online.
Create CIF or cXML Ariba Catalog Format Reference
catalogs
Learn how to create catalogs using the Catalog
Interchange Format (CIF) and commerce eXtensible
Markup Language (cXML) catalog formats. This manual
also describes how to use catalog features to reflect your
business model and differentiate your product and service
content.
Integrate your application Ariba cXML Solutions Guide
with Ariba SN
Learn how to use cXML to connect procurement
applications, Ariba SN, and cXML-enabled PunchOut
sites and order-fulfillment systems. This manual describes
the cXML processing behavior of Ariba applications and
provides recommendations and examples for generating
and interpreting cXML documents.
Implement a PunchOut cXML User’s Guide
site, and send and receive
cXML documents Learn how to send and receive cXML documents, such as
purchase orders, PunchOut documents, and invoices using
this definitive source on the cXML language. Available at
www.cxml.org.
Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide vii

About Ariba Supplier Services Preface

Transact with customers Ariba SN Getting Started with EDI
using EDI documents
Learn how to configure your Ariba SN account and your
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) application to route
ANSI X12 and EDIFACT business documents, such as
purchase orders and invoices.
Add support for specific EDI implementation guides
EDI documents
Read about the mapping Ariba SN uses to translate data
between cXML and EDI documents. These manuals, and
Ariba SN Getting Started with EDI, are required reading
for implementers using EDI document routing.
About Ariba Supplier Services

Ariba works with suppliers to assist them in achieving optimum success in online
e-commerce. Ariba Supplier Services provide the following services to help suppliers
develop, create, and build content and integration for Ariba SN:
• Ariba Ready. Ariba Ready is a marketing and validation program that
differentiates suppliers and promotes them to buying organizations through Ariba
SN. Ariba Ready represents a special Ariba designation between trading partners
that awards targeted marketing opportunities to suppliers that have demonstrated
the ability to effectively transact with and provide content to buying organizations
through Ariba SN. Ariba Ready promotes transaction, Ariba PunchOut, and static
catalog capabilities. For more information, go to:
http://www.ariba.com/suppliers/supplier_validation.cfm
• Ariba Supplier Advantage. Through the Ariba Supplier Advantage (ASA)

Program, Ariba establishes a strategic relationship with suppliers to advance the
spend management initiatives of our mutual customers. Ariba consultants work
closely with each supplier’s business, technology, and delivery staff to develop and
promote Ariba SN solutions and to increase the trading partner advantage. For
more information, go to:
http://www.ariba.com/suppliers/supplier_advantage.cfm
viii Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

Preface About Ariba Supplier Services
• Ariba Supplier Consulting. Ariba supplier consultants supplement suppliers’

technical and business teams by delivering in-depth knowledge of Ariba Spend
Management solutions, Ariba buying organizations, Ariba SN, and best-in-class
network integration strategies. Ariba Supplier Consulting delivers project-based
technical and business consulting services to accelerate a supplier’s response to
Ariba customers through best practices. For more information, go to:
http://www.ariba.com/suppliers/supplier_consulting.cfm
Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide ix

About Ariba Supplier Services Preface
x Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

Chapter 1 About Catalogs
Catalogs are text files stored on Ariba Supplier Network (Ariba SN) or on your own
company’s website that describe the products and services your organization offers
and the prices you charge. You can create catalogs for any product or service,
regardless of how it is measured, priced, or delivered. Your customers access your
catalogs through their procurement applications to see product and service offerings
and buy from you. Catalogs are the main communication channel between you and
your customers.
The following topics introduce the catalog types that Ariba SN supports, explain how
customers access and approve your catalogs, and point you to resources you can use
for creating catalogs:
• “Overview of Catalog Types” on page 12
• “Benefits of Storing Catalogs” on page 13
• “About CIF Catalogs” on page 14
• “About cXML Catalogs” on page 15
• “Resources for Catalog Creation” on page 17
For instructions on how to create catalogs. See the Ariba Catalog Format Reference.
Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide 11

Overview of Catalog Types Chapter 1 About Catalogs
Overview of Catalog Types

Ariba SN supports the following catalog types:
• Catalog Interchange Format (CIF). You can create CIF catalogs with any word
processor, text editor, or spreadsheet application.
• Commerce eXtensible Markup Language (cXML) format. You can create
cXML catalogs using any XML or text editor.
• PunchOut catalogs. PunchOut catalogs are interactive catalogs that use cXML to
support two-way communication of electronic commerce details. A PunchOut
catalog resides on your website—you provide buying organizations with a URL
with which to access it.
Note: Ariba SN does not yet support CIF or cXML contract files, which are catalog
files that contain pricing information only. Ariba SN currently supports index files,
which contain both product and pricing information.
Ariba SN supports any catalog in CIF or cXML format. A CIF catalog can be either a
text file saved with a .cif extension or an Excel file saved with a .xls extension. You
can upload a catalog using either the wizard or the cXML CatalogUpload transaction.
If you use the wizard, the catalog file cannot exceed 95 MB or 400,000 lines. If you
use the cXML CatalogUpload transaction, it cannot exceed 3.8 MB.
Before uploading an Excel file as your catalog, be sure the file does not exceed 1 MB.
Compress any Excel file that exceeds that limit before trying to upload it.
See “Resources for Catalog Creation” on page 17 to find out how to get information
on creating each catalog type.
When deciding which catalog format to use, consider the source of your product and
service content:
If you... Consider this distribution method...

Manually create catalogs from a Create a CIF catalog. CIF is the most
hardcopy catalog or human-readable format.
word-processor files
Use spreadsheets or simple text Create a CIF catalog. Most applications make it
files to store and maintain product easy to export content in comma-separated
and service content value (CSV) format.
12 Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

Chapter 1 About Catalogs Benefits of Storing Catalogs
If you... Consider this distribution method...

Use a Product Information Create a cXML catalog. cXML is the most
Management (PIM) system flexible format, and it is the easiest to
automatically generate and parse.
Plan to implement PunchOut Create a cXML catalog in the interim. Learning
catalogs in the future cXML early will make the transition to
PunchOut catalogs easier.
Want to provide customers with Implement a PunchOut website and catalogs.
flexible, real-time catalog content
Ariba SN supports custom catalogs—customer-specific catalogs that contain

prearranged prices. You can create custom catalogs for customers with which you
have agreements for prices or specific products. When you publish these catalogs, you
tell Ariba SN which customers can see them. For information, see “Making Catalogs
Available to Your Customers” on page 19.
Benefits of Storing Catalogs

Your catalogs contain confidential information about products, specifications, and
pricing. They constitute critical business information that you want to keep safe from
competitors and unauthorized buying organizations. Storing your catalogs on Ariba
SN provides the following benefits:
• Security. Ariba SN offers robust catalog security. After you upload catalogs, you
publish them to individual customers or groups of customers. No other customers
or suppliers can see them.
For additional security, Ariba SN uses Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTPS) so catalogs are encrypted as they traverse the Internet. Ariba SN also uses
HTTPS when customers download catalogs.
• Versioning. Ariba SN stores all versions of your catalogs, so you do not have to
maintain local copies on your computer. Catalog versions are maintained on a “last
in/first out” basis. When you upload a new catalog version, Ariba SN maintains it
as the current version. When you delete a version, Ariba SN removes the most
recently uploaded catalog.

About CIF Catalogs Chapter 1 About Catalogs
About Catalog Expiration and Deletion

Catalogs that have never been published and contain more than one version expire
180 days after they were last viewed by the supplier. If a catalog has been published
or contains only one version, it never expires.
When Ariba SN deletes catalogs, it deletes them permanently. There is no way to

retrieve deleted catalogs, either through the Ariba SN user interface or by contacting
Ariba.
About CIF Catalogs

CIF (Catalog Interchange Format) is a comma-separated list of catalog items and their
attributes. There are two versions of CIF available:
• CIF 2.1 is a simpler format suitable for basic product and service catalogs.
• CIF 3.0 supports more complex features such as parametric search data, which
allows users to use item attributes to find specific items. It also supports expiration
dates and internationalization.
For more information about the CIF format, see the Ariba Catalog Format Reference
(click Help at the top right of any screen to go to Help@Ariba to see this and other
Ariba SN documentation.).
Note: For backward compatibility, procurement applications and Ariba SN support

both the earlier CIF format (CIF 2.1) and the newer CIF 3.0, which has all the features
being introduced in cXML.
Catalogs must be in one of the following supported file formats (templates and
samples for these formats are available on the Help@Ariba website):
Format Extension For more information, see...

CIF 2.1 .cif Ariba Catalog Format Reference
CIF 3.0 .cif Ariba Catalog Format Reference
Excel .xls “Editing Catalogs with Excel” on page 63
Ariba SN converts Excel catalog template files to CIF 3.0 format during upload.
Excel files must be smaller than 1 MB (uncompressed).

Chapter 1 About Catalogs About cXML Catalogs
The following listing shows a simple CIF file:
CIF_I_V2.1
LOADMODE: F
CODEFORMAT: SPSC
CURRENCY: USD
DATA
942888711,34A11,C11,"Eames Chair, Black
Leather",11116767,400.00,EA,2,AMFG,,,450.00
942888711,56A12,C12,"Eames Ottoman, Blk
Leather",11116767,100.00,EA,2,AMFG,,,150.00
942888711,78A13,C13,"Folding Chair, Grey
Stackable",11116767,25.95,EA,2,AMFG,,,35.95
ENDOFDATA
11/20/99 14.24.21
ITEMCOUNT: 3
Converting Excel Files to CIF Catalogs

Ariba SN can automatically convert Microsoft Excel catalog template files to CIF
format during catalog upload. In addition, it can convert CIF files back to Excel
format during download. Ariba SN provides an Excel template that helps you create
CIF catalogs. For more information, see “Editing Catalogs with Excel” on page 63.
About cXML Catalogs

cXML (commerce eXtensible Markup Language) format is an XML-based language
designed specifically for communication of e-commerce details. In cXML, catalog
data is specified with tags and attributes, using a syntax similar to that of HTML.
The following example catalog contains one item (with parametric search data). It
also specifies a UNSPSC version for Ariba Buyer 8.0 or later.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE Index SYSTEM "http://xml.cxml.org/schemas/cXML/1.2.013/cXML.dtd">
<Index>
<SupplierID domain="DUNS">942888711</SupplierID>
<SupplierID domain="psoft">xYZ124</SupplierID>
<Comments xml:lang="en-US">
Sample catalog to show how easy it is to use cXML
</Comments>
<IndexItem>
<IndexItemAdd>
<ItemID>

About cXML Catalogs Chapter 1 About Catalogs
<SupplierPartID>pn12345</SupplierPartID>
</ItemID>
<ItemDetail>
<UnitPrice>
<Money currency="USD">60</Money>
</UnitPrice>
<Description xml:lang="en">
<ShortName>Men's Shoes</ShortName>
Black squeaky spectator shoes, with a big heal
</Description>
<UnitOfMeasure>EA</UnitOfMeasure>
<Classification domain="UNSPSC_V7.1">5136000</Classification>
<ManufacturerPartID>MBS3.12</ManufacturerPartID>
<ManufacturerName>Florsheim</ManufacturerName>
<URL>http://www.florsheim.com</URL>
<Extrinsic name="ManufacturerURL">http://www.shoo.com
</Extrinsic>
<Extrinsic name="Tier">Silver</Extrinsic>
</ItemDetail>
<IndexItemDetail>
<LeadTime>10</LeadTime>
<ExpirationDate>2004-06-01</ExpirationDate>
<EffectiveDate>2000-01-25</EffectiveDate>
<SearchGroupData>
<Name xml:lang="en">"DRESSSHOE"</Name>
<SearchDataElement name="SIZE" value="12"/>
<SearchDataElement name="COLOR" value="BLACK"/>
<SearchDataElement name="GENDER" value="MEN'S"/>
</SearchGroupData>
<TerritoryAvailable>US</TerritoryAvailable>
<TerritoryAvailable>GB</TerritoryAvailable>
</IndexItemDetail>
</IndexItemAdd>
</IndexItem>
</Index>
For complete instructions on how to create cXML catalogs, see the Ariba Catalog
Format Reference.
cXML also supports the communication of purchase orders and PunchOut catalogs.

Chapter 1 About Catalogs Resources for Catalog Creation
Resources for Catalog Creation

The Ariba SN online manuals and help do not provide information on creating
catalogs. The table below lists the resources available for catalog creation.
If you want to... See this manual...

Create CIF or cXML Ariba Catalog Format Reference
catalogs
Learn how to create catalogs using the CIF (Catalog
Interchange Format) 3.0 and cXML (commerce
eXtensible Markup Language) catalog formats. Also
describes how to use catalog features to reflect your
business model and to differentiate your product and
service content.
Implement a PunchOut Ariba cXML Solutions Guide
website
Describes how to implement a PunchOut-enabled website,
receive cXML purchase orders, and send cXML invoices.
Learn about the cXML cXML User’s Guide
language
The definitive source for information on the cXML
language. Describes how to send and receive cXML
documents.
To access these guides, log in to Ariba SN and click Help on the top right of any
screen to go to Help@Ariba.

Resources for Catalog Creation Chapter 1 About Catalogs

Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs
The following topics introduce the catalog publishing process:

• “Making Catalogs Available to Your Customers” on page 19
• “About Catalog Validation and Qualification” on page 21
• “Uploading, Validating, and Qualifying Catalogs” on page 24
• “Publishing Catalogs” on page 31
• “Displaying and Editing Catalogs” on page 36
• “Updating Catalogs” on page 38
• “Deleting Catalogs” on page 40
• “Downloading Catalogs” on page 41
Note: If your account is suspended, you cannot publish cXML and CIF catalogs to
specific customers. For more information on suspended accounts, see the Ariba SN
Account Management Guide.
After you have published your catalog, you can perform maintenance tasks, such as
updating it with a new version, editing, deleting, and downloading.
Making Catalogs Available to Your Customers

After you create your CIF or cXML catalog, you store it on Ariba SN and publish it to
your customers. Your catalogs do not automatically appear in your customers’ Ariba
Buyer systems immediately after you publish them. Your customer’s Ariba Buyer
administrator must first validate and approve catalogs before users can view them.
Overview of the Catalog Publishing Process

To make catalogs available to your customers, you publish them using a wizard that
steps you through the process. Publishing a catalog involves these steps:

Making Catalogs Available to Your Customers Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs
• Uploading transfers the catalog file from your local drive to Ariba SN. During the
upload process, you enter the catalog name and classify it so that buying
organizations that are looking for products and services of a specific type can find
your catalog.
• Validating checks the catalog for syntactic and semantic errors.
• Qualifying checks the catalog for compatibility with the catalog rules set by
specific customers.
• Publishing freezes the current catalog version and notifies your customer of its
availability.
• Setting Visibility allows you to specify whether that version is public or private,
which determines which buying organizations can access it.
For more information, see “About Catalog Validation and Qualification” on page 21,
“Uploading, Validating, and Qualifying Catalogs” on page 24, and “Publishing
Catalogs” on page 31.
About Public and Private Catalogs

During the publishing process, you designate a catalog as either private or public:
• Private. Ariba SN makes your catalog visible only to buying organizations that
you specify. Select this option for catalogs that contain contract prices. This option
automatically creates a subscription to the catalog for all customers you select.
• Public. Ariba SN makes your catalog visible to all buying organizations. To
receive a catalog, a buying organization must establish a relationship with you.
About Catalog Subscriptions

A catalog subscription creates a link between your customer and your catalog so that
you can send updated versions directly to your customer’s Ariba Buyer system. The
following high-level steps occur when you push a catalog to a customer:
1 Once you have an approved supplier relationship, you qualify the catalog for that
customer and publish the catalog to them.
2 Ariba Buyer imports the catalog. This occurs when the Ariba Buyer administrator
manually imports it or when Ariba Buyer is configured to automatically import
catalogs when you publish new versions to the customer.
3 Ariba Buyer automatically validates the catalog.

Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs About Catalog Validation and Qualification
4 Ariba Buyer analyzes catalog data, comparing it with any previous version and
listing the differences.
5 Ariba Buyer forwards the catalog and the list of differences for approval. Most
buying organizations assign the task of catalog approval to purchasing agents.
6 After purchasing agents approve the catalog, the Ariba Buyer administrator
promotes it, making it available to users.
Ariba Buyer does not delete superseded catalogs from its database; it simply
deactivates them and retains them so that buying organizations can include them in
reports.
About Catalog Validation and Qualification

After you complete a catalog, you upload it to Ariba SN. During the upload process,
Ariba SN validates the catalog and, optionally, qualifies it for customers you select.
• Syntactic validation ensures that a catalog’s content is correctly formed. For
example, every catalog entry must have the correct number of fields and the
content of each field must match the field’s data type. Every catalog file must be
syntactically correct before you can publish it.
• Semantic validation ensures that a catalog’s content is compatible with specified
catalog standards, such as UNSPSC commodity codes or standard UOM codes. If
you choose to qualify your catalog for a specific customer, Ariba SN validates it
against that customer’s catalog rules. For example, if the customer’s Ariba Buyer
system uses a custom commodity code set and the catalog uses a standard
commodity code set, Ariba SN cannot validate the catalog for that customer. Your
customers can choose to relax validation rules for UNSPSC, UOM, or Zero Price
Values.
For instructions on uploading, validating, and qualifying catalogs, see “Uploading,

Validating, and Qualifying Catalogs” on page 24.
About Syntactic Validation

During syntactic validation, Ariba SN checks that:
• All required fields are present.
• No field exceeds its maximum field length.

About Catalog Validation and Qualification Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs
• All integers and decimals are formatted correctly.

• Price formats are correct and a currency specified.
• No two items have the same combination of Supplier ID, Supplier Part ID, and
Supplier Part Auxiliary ID.
• The character set specified in the file is valid.

• CIF file headers begin with a CIF version number and end with a DATA token. The
DATA and ENDOFDATA tokens must exist and be in the correct locations. The lines
between must be of the form key:value. Additionally, Ariba SN displays an error if
the itemcount field does not match the number of items in the file.
• No invalid characters are present in any fields.
• Descriptions are present. Ariba SN issues a warning if it encounters invalid
characters in the Description field.
About Semantic Validation

During semantic validation, Ariba SN checks the units and codes listed below for
each catalog item to ensure they are compatible with specified catalog standards.
• Currency—An item’s currency must be valid. Ariba SN maps currencies to
translate the incoming currency names into Ariba Buyer’s standard currency
terminology. A currency is not valid unless it meets the following criteria:
• The value to which the code is mapped in the simple map has a corresponding
Currency object.
• There are no empty values. Ariba SN generates an alert for items with zero or no
cost.
• Unit of measure (UOM)—An item’s unit of measure must be valid based on the
UOM code specified in the catalog header. If a catalog does not use the customer’s
canonical units of measure, the customer must define a mapping file to be sure that
the incoming terminology is interpreted correctly.
• Commodity code—An item must have at least one domain-specific commodity
code that maps to a supported commodity code specified in the catalog header. You
can override the commodity code at the line-item level. Ariba SN supports
UNSPSC, eCl@ss, NAICS, and ISICS commodity codes, but only validates
UNSPSC commodity codes. By default, Ariba SN uses UNSPSC version 12.2.
• Supplier ID—An item’s Supplier ID must match the ANID or D-U-N-S number
of your supplier organization as specified in the catalog header file.

Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs About Catalog Validation and Qualification
• URL formats—The Supplier URL and Manufacturer URL must have http:// along
with the URL string.
• Start/Expiration Dates—The item’s Start Date must be before the Expiration
Date.
• Territory and Language—The Territory and Language codes must validate

against the ISO 3166-1 and 3166-2 codes and Java locale codes.
About Qualifying Catalogs for Customers

You can choose to qualify your catalog for a customer or group of customers during
the catalog upload process. If you choose to qualify a catalog during upload, Ariba
SN validates it against your customer’s specific catalog validation rules as well as
against general semantic standards.
Depending on your customer’s preferences, Ariba SN attempts to convert UNSPSC

codes to the customer-defined UNSPSC version, test whether the codes are valid for
that version, and verify that they are at least the minimum length specified in the
Ariba Buyer configuration. If you do not specify the UNSPSC version in your
catalog, Ariba SN validates against its internal version, which is currently 12.2.
Your customers can redefine catalog currency, units of measure, or other parameters
in their Ariba Buyer systems. If a customer redefines these parameters, your catalog
must meet these standards, or they must relax their catalog validation rules (see the
following section) to ensure that your catalog passes semantic validation.
You can qualify a catalog for one customer or for multiple customers; however,
qualifying for multiple customers means that the catalog must pass the superset of the
customers’ catalog rules. If a catalog does not pass the superset, you can:
• Repair the catalog error generically so that it passes the rules for all customers
• Upload separate catalogs, each repaired differently to pass a specific customer’s
rules
If you modify and reload an existing catalog that Ariba SN validated in the past, it
might no longer pass validation because of one or both of the following:
• Ariba SN’s semantic qualification checking was less sophisticated
• Your customer’s catalog validation rules changed since you last validated the
catalog

Uploading, Validating, and Qualifying Catalogs Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs
About Customer Validation Rule Relaxation

The individual at a buying organization who administers Ariba Buyer can relax
certain catalog rules for each supplier on buyer.ariba.com. Customers might relax
rules because they have customized their commodity code or unit of measure maps
and do not want to check those field values. The buying organization can:
• Disable UNSPSC commodity code checking
• Disable unit of measure code checking
• Allow items with a price of $0
Customers can change or customize commodity codes. However, syntactic validation

in Ariba SN only supports UNSPSC commodity codes.
Uploading, Validating, and Qualifying Catalogs

Ariba SN provides an easy-to-use wizard that steps you through the process of
naming, classifying, and transferring your catalog from your local drive. During the
upload process, Ariba SN performs syntactic and semantic validation and, optionally,
qualification for a customer or group of customers you select.
After Ariba SN uploads the catalog, you can do the following:

• Review and fix CIF catalog errors (for cXML catalogs, you must edit the catalog
file and repeat the upload process)
• Qualify the catalog for additional customers
• Publish the catalog
• Perform catalog management tasks, such as displaying, editing, downloading, and
deleting catalogs
Note: Large catalog files can take a long time to upload, depending on the speed of
your network connection. When uploading very large catalogs, you might encounter
time-out errors. To avoid these problems, you can zip your catalog files to compress
them, which substantially decreases upload time. Consider zipping catalogs that are
larger than 10 MB to avoid a time-out error. Ariba SN automatically unzips catalogs
after upload. You can use any zip utility, such as WinZip. Each zip file can contain
only one catalog, and the file name extension must be .zip. The filename should
contain only standard ASCII characters.

Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs Uploading, Validating, and Qualifying Catalogs
Uploading Catalogs
W To upload a catalog:
1 Click Catalogs on the left navigation bar. Ariba SN displays a list of any existing
uploaded catalogs. You can click a catalog to view more information about it.
2 Click Upload and validate a new catalog. Ariba SN displays the first page of the
upload wizard.
3 Enter an intuitive catalog name.
4 Enter brief description of your catalog. Buying organizations can search on this
information.
5 (Optional) Select a customer for which you want to qualify the catalog. If you do
not select a customer, Ariba SN validates the catalog using syntactic validation and
semantic validation rules based on regular catalog standards.
Note: After Ariba SN uploads the catalog, you can qualify it for additional
customers.

6 Click Next. Ariba SN displays the Catalog Commodities page, which lists all
UNSPSC (Universal Standard Products and Services Classification Code) names
and their two-digit codes. Buying organizations can search on this information.
7 To classify the commodities in your catalog, do the following:
a Click Add in the Description area. Ariba SN displays the Commodity Selection
page. If you have previously selected commodities, they will appear in the
Description area.
Note: If you are a supplier of all the items in a given commodity level, select the
name of the higher-level commodity category instead of adding all of the
lower-level commodities. For example, a furniture supplier should select the
category “Furniture, Furnishings,” not the hundreds of individual items it sells.
b Select a commodity segment by clicking the appropriate check box.
c To classify your products more granularly than by segment, click the arrowhead
icon next to the commodity segment description. You can use these arrowhead
icons to drill down through commodity families, classes, and finally individual
commodities.
d Repeat steps a-c to add other commodity classifications.
e Click OK to save your changes.
f To remove a commodity description from your catalog, select the checkbox next
to the commodity to remove and click Delete.

8 Click Next. Ariba SN displays the Catalog Upload page.
9 Click Browse to navigate to and select a catalog file.
10 Click Upload. Your Web browser uploads the file to Ariba SN.
Do not navigate in the browser window until the next page displays. Interrupting
your Web browser aborts the upload process.
After the entire catalog has been uploaded, Ariba SN unzips it if necessary and begins
catalog validation. It can take several minutes to validate large catalogs. It stores new
catalogs in a queue and validates them one by one. You can upload other catalogs
while Ariba SN is validating. To see the current status, update the page by clicking
your browser's Refresh button.
After Ariba SN completes validation, it changes the catalog status from “Validating”
to one of the following statuses:
• Validated means that your catalog is error-free. You can then publish it or qualify
it for additional customers.

• HasErrors means that Ariba SN detected catalog content that violates syntactic
validation rules, standards-based semantic validation rules, or a customer’s catalog
rules. For information on fixing errors, see “Fixing Catalog Errors” on page 28.
11 After you receive a “Validated” status, publish the catalogs to enable customers
access them. To publish catalogs, see “Publishing Catalogs” on page 31.
You can upload catalogs programmatically by using the cXML CatalogUploadRequest

transaction. This transaction supports CIF, cXML, and Excel catalogs. It also supports
both new catalogs and updates to existing catalogs. For more information, see the
Ariba cXML Solutions Guide on the Help@Ariba website.
File names must contain only the following ASCII characters:
A–Z
a–z
0–9
period (.)
dash (-)
underscore (_)
Fixing Catalog Errors

To fix errors, do one of the following:
• For CIF catalogs, you can fix catalog problems online on Ariba SN by following
the procedure below.
• For cXML catalogs, you cannot fix problems online. Instead, fix the file locally on
your computer and click Update content to upload it to Ariba SN. For more
information, see “Updating Catalogs” on page 38.

W To fix errors in CIF catalogs:

1 For long catalogs, click the name of the catalog on the Catalogs page and then click
the Errors tab.
If you have just finished the catalog upload process for a short catalog, Ariba SN
automatically displays the Errors tab.
2 To customize your view of the error list, click the icon at the top right of the Catalog
Validation Errors table. Ariba SN displays a menu. Do one or all of the following:
• To add or remove columns from view, select or deselect them in the Show/Hide
Columns section of the table menu.
• To group errors by a specific column, select the column name in the Group by
Column section of the menu.
• To expand or collapse the groupings, click an option in the Grouping Expansion

section of the menu.
3 When you are ready to view an error, click a line number or an error description.

If the catalog contains numerous errors, it is easier fix the original file and upload it
again. If the error is in the catalog body, Ariba SN displays a page for editing the
line item.
If the error is in the catalog header, Ariba SN displays a text box for editing just the
header.
4 For each error, enter a new value to replace the old value.
For information about CIF syntax and format, see the Ariba Catalog Format
Reference on the Help@Ariba website.

Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs Publishing Catalogs
5 Click Update to submit your changes. Ariba SN validates your changes and, if you
selected a customer during upload, qualifies the catalog for that customer. It also
re-validates the catalog against all qualified customers to ensure that you have
introduced no new errors.
To resolve a catalog error, you can either upload a modified version of the catalog that
meets their requirements or contact your customer to ask them to disable a
requirement.
After correcting catalog errors on Ariba SN, make the same changes to the catalog
file on your computer so the errors do not reappear.
Publishing Catalogs
After uploading a catalog and fixing any errors, publish it to make it available to
customers. When you publish a catalog, you specify which buying organizations can
access it.

Publishing Catalogs Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs
W To publish catalogs:
1 Click Catalogs on the left navigation bar to display your catalogs.
2 Click the name of an unpublished catalog.

You can publish only catalogs whose status is Validated. Ariba SN displays
information about the catalog.

Publishing Catalogs Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs
3 Click the Publish tab. Ariba SN displays the Catalog Publish page.
4 Select catalog visibility:

• Private. Ariba SN makes your catalog visible only to buying organizations that
you specify. Select this option for catalogs that contain contract prices. This
option automatically creates a subscription to the catalog for all customers you
select.
• Public. Ariba SN makes your catalog visible to all buying organizations. To
receive a catalog, a buying organization must establish a relationship with you.
For instructions, see “Publishing Catalogs” on page 31.
5 Select customers to subscribe and notify. This step creates the catalog subscriptions
and automatically notifies the selected customers by email. In addition, Ariba SN
also sends email notification if you update the catalog in the future.
You can select customers and customer groups. For information about customer
groups, see the Ariba SN Account Management Guide.

This page lists only customers for whom the catalog is qualified. If you know
customers are registered on Ariba SN, but you cannot see them, contact them
directly and ask them to grant you permission to see them.
Note: If your account is suspended, you cannot publish catalogs to specific

customers, so Ariba SN does not display your customers at the bottom of this page.
6 Click the Publish button at the bottom of the page. The catalog is now “frozen,” and
can no longer be edited.
About Catalog Notifications

Catalog notification is persistent. That is, if customers request notification of catalog
changes, any future modification of that catalog automatically triggers another
notification.
For private catalogs, buying organizations receive notification only if you select them
and they request notification. Buying organizations that you do not select do not
receive notification, even if they request it.
Publishing a catalog sends an automatic notification to the selected buying

organizations. They receive an email message similar to the following.
From: Work Chairs, Inc.

To: [email protected]
Subject: Work Chairs, Inc. catalog notification from Ariba SN
Work Chairs, Inc. has updated a catalog on Ariba SN.
Catalog Name: Fall Prices

Description: This catalog lists our premier-level prices for popular office
furniture.
Please log in to your Ariba SN account to view or download the catalog file.
If you have any questions regarding this catalog, please contact Work Chairs,
Inc. directly.
Customers can download catalogs manually from Ariba SN, or you can set up
subscriptions so that Ariba SN automatically updates your customer’s existing
catalogs when new versions are available. For information on setting up catalog
subscriptions, see “About Catalog Subscriptions” on page 20.

Displaying and Editing Catalogs Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs
Displaying and Editing Catalogs

You can view and edit the contents and the headers of CIF catalogs online. You cannot
view or edit cXML catalogs online.
Note: You cannot edit catalogs over 4 MB in size online. Edit large catalogs locally
(on your computer) and then use the Update feature to upload them to Ariba SN.
W To display and edit CIF catalog contents:

1 Click Catalogs on the left navigation bar.
2 Click the name of one of your catalogs.
3 If you previously published this catalog, click Edit. This operation duplicates the
catalog on Ariba SN to create a new, unpublished version.
4 Click the Contents tab. Ariba SN displays a list of the line items in the catalog.
5 Do one of the following:

• To edit an item, click the line number.
• To delete an item, click Delete.
• To add an item, click Add New Item.

Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs Displaying and Editing Catalogs
After you click a line number, Ariba SN displays a page for editing that line.
6 Enter new values to overwrite existing ones. You can change any field.
For information about CIF syntax and format, see the Ariba Catalog Format
Reference on the Help@Ariba website.
To make more than a few minor changes, it is easier to make them locally (on your
computer) and upload the entire catalog. For more information, see “Updating
7 Click Update when done.
After you edit a catalog, Ariba SN validates it. When validation is complete, you can
publish it.
W To display and edit CIF catalog headers:

3 If you previously published this catalog, click Edit. This operation duplicates the
catalog on Ariba SN to create a new, unpublished version.

Updating Catalogs Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs
4 Click the Header tab. Ariba SN displays the catalog header in an editable text box.
5 Make any necessary edits and click Save and Validate.
After editing catalogs on Ariba SN, make the same changes to the catalog files on
your computer so the old values do not reappear.
Updating Catalogs
After uploading catalogs, you can change them by replacing them. Updating uploads
a new catalog file, validates it, and stores it on Ariba SN. If you published the catalog,
Ariba SN sends automatic notification to all customers that subscribed to it.
Upload the entire updated catalog, not just the changes; Ariba SN does not merge
partial catalogs. Do not change catalog formats (CIF or cXML). You must use the
same format for all versions of a catalog. Note that Ariba SN will not prevent you
from changing catalog formats during an update.
Ariba SN continues to store the previous versions of your catalog, but only the latest
version is visible. You can access previous versions by deleting the current version.
Note: If you update an existing catalog that Ariba SN validated in the past, it might no
longer pass validation when you upload it because of one or both of the following:
• Ariba SN’s semantic validation checking was less sophisticated

• Your customer’s catalog validation rules changed after you last validated the
catalog
For more information, see “About Catalog Validation and Qualification” on page 21.

Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs Updating Catalogs
W To update catalogs:
1 Click Catalogs on the left navigation bar. Ariba SN displays all your uploaded
catalogs.
2 Click a catalog in the list. Ariba SN displays background information about the
catalog.
3 Click Update content. Ariba SN displays the Update New Catalog Content page.
4 Enter the file name of the new catalog on your hard disk, or click Browse to
navigate to it.
Use the same file name for all versions of a given catalog. Using the same name
makes catalog management easier for buying organizations.
5 Click Submit.
Your Web browser reads the file and transmits it to Ariba SN. Ariba SN then
automatically begins catalog verification.
Publishing your updated catalog sends automatic notification to any buying

organizations that subscribed to it. They receive an email similar to the following:
From: Work Chairs, Inc.

To: [email protected]
Subject: Work Chairs, Inc. catalog notification from Ariba SN
Work Chairs, Inc. has updated a catalog on Ariba SN.
Catalog Name: Fall Prices

Description: This catalog lists our premier-level prices for popular office
furniture.

Deleting Catalogs Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs
Please log in to your Ariba SN account to view or download the catalog file.
If you have any questions regarding this catalog, please contact Work Chairs,
Inc. directly.
For private catalogs, customers receive notification only if you select them and they
request notification. Customers that you do not select do not receive notification, even
if they request notification.
Deleting Catalogs
Deleting catalogs removes them from Ariba SN. Customers can no longer view them
online or download them. Customers that subscribed to the catalog receive automatic
notification that it has been deleted.
W To delete catalogs:
3 Click one of the Delete links:

• Delete Latest Version—Ariba SN reverts to the previous version of the catalog, if
one exists. Use this feature if the latest version you uploaded has problems and
you want to go back to the previous version or upload a new version.
• Delete All Versions—Ariba SN deletes all versions of the catalog and removes the
catalog name.
Note: Deleting a catalog from Ariba SN does not delete the catalog from your
customer’s Ariba Buyer system. Customers that previously downloaded these
catalogs and imported them into Ariba Buyer can still use them. To ensure that buying
organizations do not continue to use old catalogs, add an expiration date to your
catalogs (available in CIF 3.0 and cXML catalog formats).

Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs Downloading Catalogs
Downloading Catalogs
You can download your catalogs from your Ariba SN account. You might want to
download them if you have lost your local catalogs or to verify the contents of
uploaded catalogs.
W To download catalogs:
3 Click the Download tab. Ariba SN displays the available download formats:
4 Click the Download button for the format you want:

• Download as cXML—Available for cXML catalogs.
• Download as CIF—Available for CIF 2.1 and CIF 3.0 catalogs
• Download as Excel—Available for CIF 3.0 catalogs smaller than 400k bytes
5 To download in Excel format:
a Click Convert to Excel. This step starts the conversion process, which can take
several minutes, depending on catalog size.
b Wait for the conversion to complete. Click Refresh Status to see the current
conversion status; when complete, the Download as Excel button becomes active.

Downloading Catalogs Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs
c Click Download as Excel.
6 Your browser prompts you for a location to store the downloaded file.
7 If your Web browser opens and displays the template, use the File > Save command.
You can download catalogs as Excel files if they are in CIF 3.0 format and they are
smaller than 400k bytes.

Chapter 3 Linking to PunchOut Catalogs
PunchOut catalogs are interactive catalogs stored on your website that use cXML to
enable two-way communication of electronic commerce details. For PunchOut
catalogs, procurement applications display a hyperlink instead of product or pricing
details. When users click this hyperlink, their Web browser displays a page from your
local website.
The following topics introduce PunchOut catalogs and websites, discuss the benefits
and tradeoffs of using them, and provides a procedure for adding a link to a PunchOut
website on Ariba SN.
• “About PunchOut Catalogs” on page 43
• “Linking to PunchOut Catalogs” on page 45
For information on how to implement a PunchOut website, see the cXML User’s
Guide and the cXML Solutions Guide on the Help@Ariba website, which you can
access by clicking Help at the top right of any screen.
About PunchOut Catalogs

Depending on how you implement this page, users can browse product options,
specify configurations, and select delivery methods. Procurement applications pass
organization IDs to your website, and you can use them to look up previously
agreed-upon prices (contract prices). When users finish with this page, they click a
button that returns the order information to Ariba Buyer. The fully configured
products and their prices appear within the procurement application on users’
purchase orders.
PunchOut catalogs allow you to leverage existing resources from simple online
catalogs to advanced e-commerce sites. PunchOut catalogs can also use search
engines to find items on your website.
Use PunchOut catalogs for:

• Products with a large number of configurations and options; for example, many
colors or sizes, or many delivery methods (overnight, two-day, or five-day).

About PunchOut Catalogs Chapter 3 Linking to PunchOut Catalogs
• Inventories containing more than a few thousand items.

• Products whose prices are based on prearranged contracts (custom pricing).
• Products that must be customized for each customer, such as nameplates or
business cards. (Alternatively, your customers can implement custom Business
Forms in the procurement application, which allow users to attach personalized
data to a purchase order).
• Products whose specifications or prices change often.
When deciding whether to use PunchOut catalogs, consider the following tradeoffs:
• They require all users to have full Internet access, which some companies do not
allow.
• They require you to implement and maintain an interactive website, accessible 24
hours a day, seven days a week.
• The Internet can be slow, depending on connection type and Internet load.
Note: If your account is suspended, your customers can access your PunchOut
catalogs, shop for products and services, and create a purchase order; however, Ariba
SN does not send you the purchase order. For more information on suspended
accounts, see the Ariba SN Account Management Guide.
PunchOut catalog users do not need to enter a user password for your site. They can
be pre-authenticated by Ariba SN.

Chapter 3 Linking to PunchOut Catalogs Linking to PunchOut Catalogs
Linking to PunchOut Catalogs

W To link to a PunchOut catalog:
2 Click Create PunchOut Catalog.
3 Enter information about your PunchOut catalog as you would for a regular catalog.
Buying organizations can search each of these fields. Special notes:
• You must enter an “https://” prefix for the PunchOut URL value. This URL is no
longer used, but procurement applications require a value for this field.
• The UN/SPSC code field adds a UNSPSC code to the PunchOut index catalog.
• The Commodities field allows you to classify the types of products or services
you offer, which helps buying organizations searching for specific products or
services find your catalog. Click Add, and Ariba SN displays the Commodities
Chooser. For more information on classifying commodities, see “Uploading
Note: Ariba SN uses UNSPSC version 12.2 codes; however, it can translate any
UNSPSC version to 12.2 and translate version 12.2 to any UNSPSC version.

Linking to PunchOut Catalogs Chapter 3 Linking to PunchOut Catalogs
4 Click OK.
5 Publish the catalog as you would any other catalog. See “Publishing Catalogs” on
page 31.
Ariba SN now forwards all PunchOut requests to the URL specified in your cXML
profile. To specify the PunchOut URL, that is actually used, click Configuration >
Electronic Order Routing > Configure cXML setup.

Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts
A test account allows you and your customers to test catalogs, purchase order
generation, routing, and receiving. Test accounts are optional. The following topics
introduce testing:
• “About Test Accounts” on page 47
• “About Testing Methods” on page 48
• “About Basic and Advanced Catalog Test Modes” on page 49
• “Switching to a Test Account” on page 50
• “Running a Basic Test” on page 51
• “Running an Advanced Test on a PunchOut Website” on page 55
• “Troubleshooting” on page 59
Test accounts enable you and your customers to receive test purchase orders without
the risk of actually shipping products or disrupting production transactions.
About Test Accounts

Test accounts provide a safe way for new and existing suppliers and their customers to
use Ariba SN. New suppliers typically spend several days testing their order receiving
systems and Ariba SN configurations. Suppliers can also use test accounts when
starting relationships with new customers.
To perform testing, suppliers must coordinate with their customers. Both

organizations must use test accounts, not production accounts, for testing—a test
account cannot communicate with a production account and vice versa. For
instructions on switching to a test account, see “Switching to a Test Account” on
page 50.
Note: If your Ariba SN account is suspended, you can send documents to and receive
documents from customers through your test account, but not through your
production account. For more information on suspended accounts, see the Ariba SN
Account Management Guide.

About Testing Methods Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts
For information about account modes, see the Ariba SN Account Management Guide.
About Testing Methods

Ariba SN provides two test methods:
• Testing without a customer enables you to learn the CIF or cXML catalog
formats, debug PunchOut websites, and demonstrate catalogs or PunchOut. Your
test account has a built-in catalog tester for sending simple purchase orders to
yourself. It acts as a simple procurement application, allowing you to search and
browse catalog contents, create simple requisitions, and send purchases through
Ariba SN.
The catalog tester also allows you to debug your interactive PunchOut website and
demonstrate it to prospective customers. The catalog tester sends out cXML 1.1
messages, and can receive both cXML 1.0 and 1.1 messages. It allows you to view
and edit these cXML messages.
• Testing with a customer lets you simulate the buying experience using the
customer’s procurement system. Perform this type of testing after debugging your
catalogs.
The testing method you use depends on the type of testing you perform. You must
weigh the advantages and limitations of both types of testing. You can perform both
types of testing, one after the other.
Test Method Benefits

Without customer • This testing method does not depend on customers, so you can
perform testing iterations more rapidly.
• To use the catalog tester, you do not need to modify your
catalogs—simply upload them to your Test account.
• The catalog tester tests only catalogs that are smaller than four
MB and displays only the first 300 catalog items. The catalog
tester ignores partial catalog items—those that do not have
values for all required fields.

Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts About Basic and Advanced Catalog Test Modes
Test Method Benefits

With customer • Testing through a customer’s procurement application provides
the most realistic and thorough testing, but requires the
customer to coordinate with you.
• To test through a customer, you must manually modify your
catalogs by appending “-T” to the Supplier ID for all catalog
items before uploading and publishing them to your Ariba SN
Test account. This modification ensures that the Supplier ID in
your catalogs matches the Supplier ID used by Ariba SN and
procurement applications.
Most suppliers first test on their own to check basic functionality, then they ask their
customers to send orders and test catalogs and PunchOut.
About Basic and Advanced Catalog Test Modes

The Ariba SN catalog tester provides two modes:
• Basic test mode simulates a user buying experience so that you can quickly test or
demonstrate your catalogs or PunchOut site. You cannot view the underlying
cXML code in basic test mode.
• Advanced test mode enables you to perform detailed debugging of your PunchOut
website. You can examine and edit cXML messages passed to and from your
PunchOut website.
In advanced test mode, you can even modify the cXML as you step through all the
phases of cXML PunchOut and OrderRequest transactions.

Switching to a Test Account Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts
Switching to a Test Account

Organizations have only one test account and only the administrator can create it.
Ariba SN creates your organization’s test account the first time you switch to it.
Before you can create your test account, your production account must be fully
enabled by a buying organization.
You can switch to your test account from your home page at any time. Alternatively,
you can log directly into your test account by using your test account username and
password.
W To switch to your test account:

1 Log in to your regular (production) account on Ariba SN.
2 Click Home to go to your home page.
3 Click Switch to Test Account.
4 Click OK in the confirmation page.
5 If you have not used your test account before, Ariba SN prompts you for a new
username and password. Click OK. Ariba SN logs you into your test account.
6 Click Configuration to check your test account setup.
When you set up your test account, Ariba SN copies company profile information
from your production account. The rest of your test account settings are set to their
default state. You can change these settings at any time, and they do not affect your
production account.
The following table lists the default notation used for test account username, company
name, and organization ID (you can change any of these values, except organization
ID):
Property Notation Example

Username prepended with “test-” [email protected]
Company Name appended with “- TEST” Work Chairs, Inc. - TEST
Organization ID appended with “-T” D-U-N-S: 94-288-8710-T
NetworkId: AN01000123-T

Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts Running a Basic Test
You can switch back to your production account by going to your Home page and
clicking Switch to Production. However, you cannot switch to your production account
if you logged directly into your test account.
Production orders can be sent only to a supplier’s production account, not to their test
account.
Upload your catalogs to your test account, unless test customers already have them.
Catalogs in your test account are visible only to customers’ test accounts, not to their
production accounts. Switching between testing and production requires action only
on the customer's side—they only need to modify Ariba Buyer settings.
For information about account modes, see the Getting Started with Ariba SN white
paper.
To prevent test orders from being interpreted as real ones, you might want to
configure your test account to use a different order routing method than your
production account. For example, if you use fax order routing for production, you
might want to use email order routing or online Inbox to test basic purchase order
functionality. However, for the most realistic testing, use the same order routing
method as you use for production, including an order receiving system if you have
one. Warn order processing personnel not to fill orders sent from the test customer.
Running a Basic Test

This section describes how to use the catalog tester to test catalogs, PunchOut
catalogs, and order routing. After specifying an order routing method and uploading a
catalog to your test account, perform the following procedure.
Note: Ariba SN simulates Ariba Buyer 7.0 in basic test mode.
W To perform basic testing:

1 Log in to your test account. The catalog tester exists only in test accounts, not in
production accounts.

Running a Basic Test Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts
2 Click Catalogs on the left navigation bar to display a list of all your catalogs. Only
the catalogs in your test account are visible.
You can test catalogs before or after publishing them, but they must first pass
validation. If the Test link is not clickable, the catalog failed validation or you are
not logged in to a test account.
Note: The catalog tester cannot test catalogs larger than four MB.
3 Click Test next to a catalog. Ariba SN displays the contents of the catalog. It
displays only the first 300 items. Partial items (items that do not have values for all
required fields) do not appear.
You can display additional items by clicking the column heading to sort the
catalog.
4 Click Basic Test to enter basic testing mode.

Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts Running a Basic Test
5 Click Show Details to see complete catalog information for all items. Click Hide
Details to return to the regular view.
6 Do one or both of the following:

• To test a non-PunchOut item, click Add in its Actions column. Ariba SN displays
the item you selected under Order Contents.
• To test a PunchOut item, click Shop. A new browser window opens and displays
the web page for that item. Navigate your website, select items, and check out.
Ariba SN returns to the catalog tester and displays the items you selected under
Order Contents.
7 Do one or both of the following to test the order contents:

• For non-PunchOut items, you can change item quantities or delete items. Click
Update Quantity to update the Total Price.

Running a Basic Test Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts
• For PunchOut items, you can click Edit or Inspect to punch out again.
8 Click Submit to generates a cXML purchase order. You can view the cXML
contents and the cXML response from Ariba SN.
9 To generate additional purchase orders, click Continue Testing Catalog.
10 Click Inbox to view the orders online. Test transactions list “Catalog Tester” as the
customer.

Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts Running an Advanced Test on a PunchOut Website
11 If you configured your account to send cXML orders, examine the orders in your
order receiving system. Purchase orders route to you through your preferred order
routing method within a few minutes.
12 Delete the purchase orders from your order receiving system. Do not allow your
system to execute test orders.
You cannot delete test orders from Ariba SN. However, you can set their status to
“Shipped” so you can ignore them.
For more information about the online Inbox, see the Ariba SN Transactions Guide.
Viewing cXML contents can be extremely useful when developing and debugging
PunchOut websites.
Running an Advanced Test on a PunchOut Website

Advanced testing enables you to debug a PunchOut website on a more granular level
than basic testing, allowing you to edit the contents of outgoing cXML documents
and view the contents of incoming cXML documents. It can simulate the PunchOut
behavior of Ariba Buyer 7.0, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2.x or Ariba Procure-to-Pay.
Ariba Buyer 7.0, 8.0, 8.1 and 8.2.x generate slightly different PunchOutOrderMessage
and OrderRequest documents:
• Ariba Buyer 7.0:
The DOCTYPE element refers to
“http://xml.cXML.org/schemas/cXML/1.1.010/cXML.dtd.”
The included Extrinsics are “UserEmail,” “UniqueName,” and “CostCenter.”
There is a Contact element.
There are Shipping and Tax elements in the OrderRequest

There is a quoteStatus attribute added to the PunchOutOrderMessageHeader in the
PunchOutOrderMesssage. This attribute specifies if the order is “pending” or
“final”. If quoteStatus is “final”, the transaction is complete.

Running an Advanced Test on a PunchOut Website Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts

There is an orderVersion attribute added to the OrderRequestHeader in the
OrderRequest. This attribute specifies the order version number of change orders,
starting with “1” for the original order.
• Ariba Buyer 8.2.x:
There is a PaymentTerm element added to the OrderRequestHeader element in the
OrderRequest. This element defines either the net term (without discount) or the
discount term (with discount).
• Ariba Buyer Procure-to-Pay:
The DOCTYPE element refers to the latest version of cXML available on
www.cXML.org.”
In advanced testing, you perform the same tasks as in basic testing, but you have more
visibility and control of the underlying cXML documents.
W To perform advanced testing:

1 Click Catalogs on the left navigation bar to display a list of all your catalogs.
2 Click Test next to a PunchOut catalog. By default, the catalog tester is in Advanced
Test mode.
Note: If the Test link is not clickable, the catalog failed validation or you are not
logged in to your test account.
3 Click Shop next to a catalog item.

Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts Running an Advanced Test on a PunchOut Website
4 Select an Ariba Buyer version to simulate.
5 Click Continue.
6 Proceed through each step in the process to review and, if desired, edit each cXML
document. You can edit both outgoing and incoming documents by:
• Selecting additional credentials for the From element. cXML documents
sometimes contain multiple credentials, so you might want to exercise your
PunchOut site’s credential-domain recognition. Your PunchOut site must
recognize the NetworkID of the catalog tester: AN01000002779-T.

Running an Advanced Test on a PunchOut Website Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts
• Changing the parts of cXML documents that appear in text-edit boxes. For
example, in PunchOutSetupRequest documents, you could edit or add Extrinsic
elements to simulate additional data passed by procurement applications.
Another example that you might try is to enter different values in the
SelectedItem element.
7 Click the appropriate button at the bottom of the page to continue to the next step
until you return to the catalog tester. After a successful PunchOut session, the items
you select appear in your shopping cart at the top of the page.
8 If necessary, initiate edit or inspect sessions to punch out again.
9 Click Submit to generate a cXML OrderRequest document.

Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts Troubleshooting
For a description of the PunchOut steps, see the cXML User's Guide. For additional
PunchOut information, see the cXML Solutions Guide. Both documents are available
on the Help@Ariba website.
The destination of PunchOutSetupRequest documents is determined by your cXML

profile or your account’s PunchOutSetupRequest URL field, not by the URL within
those documents.
Troubleshooting
Use this procedure to identify the source of any problems that occurred while testing
order routing.
W To troubleshoot order routing problems:

1 Click Inbox on the left navigation bar. Ariba SN displays your account’s
transactions.
2 Find the test transaction in the list to ensure that it was logged. Test transactions
always list “Catalog Tester” as the customer.

Troubleshooting Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts
3 Click the test transaction’s order number. Ariba SN displays the content of the
purchase order.
4 Click Order History. Ariba SN displays processing information for the purchase
order.
5 Click Status History to see additional processing information.
6 Click Configuration to examine your order routing configuration. Ensure that your
email address or website URL is correct.

Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts Troubleshooting
7 After correcting the problem, click Resend on the Order Detail page to resend the
order and then check that there are no remaining problems.
8 Delete the purchase order from your order receiving and management system so
that your system does not execute the test order.
You cannot delete test orders from Ariba SN.

Troubleshooting Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts

Chapter 5 Editing Catalogs with Excel
Some suppliers prefer to manage catalog content with spreadsheets. Ariba SN

accommodates these suppliers by accepting catalogs in Microsoft Excel format. Your
Ariba SN account provides an Excel template containing the required information and
an Excel-to-CIF converter.
These topics explain how to create Excel catalogs and upload them to Ariba SN:
• “Downloading the CIF Template” on page 63
• “Editing the CIF Template” on page 64
• “Uploading and Downloading Excel Files” on page 67
• “Downloading CIF Files in Excel Format” on page 68
• “Manually Converting Excel Files to CIF” on page 69
• “Opening CIF Files in Excel” on page 70
If you upload catalogs on a regular basis, consider creating an automated

catalog-upload system. You can use the cXML catalog upload transaction to upload
CIF, cXML, or Excel catalogs. For more information, see the cXML Solutions Guide.
Downloading the CIF Template

The Excel format CIF template helps you fill in the various fields for items in your
catalogs.
W To download the CIF template:

1 Click Help on the top right of any screen to go to Help@Ariba.
2 Scroll down to Catalog Documentation.
3 Click CIF 3.0 Excel Template.

• If your browser prompts you to specify a location for storing the downloaded
file, select a folder on a local drive.

Editing the CIF Template Chapter 5 Editing Catalogs with Excel
• If your web browser opens and displays the template, choose File > Save As and
save the template to a local drive.
5 Log out of Ariba SN.
The Excel template is available to all Ariba SN suppliers.
Editing the CIF Template

The CIF template is a regular Excel spreadsheet with several lines of example catalog
data. To use the template, you replace the example line items with your own line
items.

Chapter 5 Editing Catalogs with Excel Editing the CIF Template
For each catalog item, you will enter these values:
Field Description
Supplier ID Your ANID (Ariba Network ID) or D-U-N-S number:
• To view your ANID, log in to your Ariba SN account and click
Home at the top right of the screen.
• To look up your organization’s D-U-N-S number, go to
www.dnb.com.
Item Description A description of the catalog item. Do not use abbreviations.

SPSC Code Enter the catalog item’s UNSPSC (United Nations Standard
Products and Services Code). To find the appropriate code, go to
www.unspsc.org or the Catalog Documentation area of Help@Ariba.
Note: Ariba SN uses UNSPSC version 12.2 codes; however, it can

translate any UNSPSC version to 12.2 and translate version 12.2 to
any UNSPSC version.
Unit Price Enter the price per unit for the catalog item. Specify numbers as
you want them to appear to users. For example, for $19.50, enter
“19.50” (include the trailing zero). Do not include the currency
symbol ($).
Unit of Measure Enter the unit of measure for the catalog item using the UNUOM
(United Nations Units of Measure). For information on this
standard, go to www.unece.org/cefact/codesfortrade/rec20.xml or
the Catalog Documentation area of Help@Ariba.

Editing the CIF Template Chapter 5 Editing Catalogs with Excel
W To use the CIF template:

1 Double-click the .xls file you downloaded. Excel starts and loads the CIF
template.
The template contains useful descriptions of each field. To read them, put your
pointer on the red comment markers.
2 Review the catalog header to make sure the fields are correct. For example:
CODEFORMAT: UNSPSC
CURRENCY: USD
SUPPLIERID_DOMAIN: NETWORK_ID
Specify currency names with ISO 4217 three-letter (CodeA) currency codes.
3 Enter your catalog data into the body fields. For each line item, you must enter
values for the first seven fields (see the table above). Ensure that your entries do not
exceed the field sizes (field size is indicated in the comments).
4 To calculate the number of catalog items for the ITEMCOUNT field, subtract the
number of the last line of data from the number of the first line of data, and then
add one.
5 Save the file as an Excel (.xls) file.
For comprehensive information about CIF, see the Ariba Catalog Format Reference.
To access this guide, log in to Ariba SN and click Help at the top right of any screen to
go to the Help@Ariba website.
Use Excel 95 or later to edit the template.
For a list of codes, go to www.unetrades.net. Click Repositories and Codes > Country &
Currency Codes > Country & Currency > Currency per country.

Chapter 5 Editing Catalogs with Excel Uploading and Downloading Excel Files
Uploading and Downloading Excel Files

Ariba SN provides an Excel-to-CIF converter that automatically detects Excel files
and converts them to CIF format. It can also convert CIF files back to Excel format for
downloading.
Ariba Buyer does not recognize Excel catalogs. Instead, it use CIF files. To convert
Excel catalogs to CIF, you can either use the Ariba SN Excel-to-CIF converter, or you
can convert them yourself.
You can compress Excel files using a zip utility. Zipped files must have a .zip
extension. The maximum size of Excel files that can be uploaded is one MB
(uncompressed).
W To upload Excel files:

1 Log in to your Ariba SN account.
3 Click Upload and validate a new catalog.
4 Specify standard catalog information, such as name, description, and commodities.
5 In the catalog file field, select the .xls or .zip file.
6 Click Upload.
Ariba SN uploads the file, unzips it if necessary, converts it to CIF format, and starts
validation. Conversion from Excel to CIF can take several minutes depending on the
catalog size. As Excel files convert, their status is “Validating.”
Ariba SN does not retain the original Excel files you upload. After it converts them to
CIF, it deletes them.

Downloading CIF Files in Excel Format Chapter 5 Editing Catalogs with Excel
Downloading CIF Files in Excel Format

W To download Excel files:
2 Click the name of a catalog.
3 Click the Download tab. If the Download page does not display the Excel Download
section, the catalog does not meet the requirements for Excel conversion.
4 Click Convert to Excel. Ariba SN begins the conversion process, which can take
several minutes depending on catalog size. You can click Refresh Status to view the
current conversion status. When Ariba SN completes the download, it enables the
Download as Excel button.
5 Click Download as Excel.

• If your browser prompts you to specify a location for storing the downloaded
file, select a folder on a local drive.
• If your web browser opens and displays the template, use File > Save As to save
the template to a local drive.
To download catalogs, they must be in CIF 3.0 format and smaller than 600K bytes.

Chapter 5 Editing Catalogs with Excel Manually Converting Excel Files to CIF
Manually Converting Excel Files to CIF

The Excel-to-CIF converted on Ariba SN has a one MB per-file limit. If your Excel
files exceed these size, you can convert them to CIF manually and upload the CIF
files to your Ariba SN account.
To convert to CIF manually, you save the Excel files to CSV format and delete extra
commas with a text editor.
W To save CIF files from Excel:

1 In Excel, choose File > Save As.
2 Select “CSV (MS-DOS)” as the file type. CSV stands for “comma-separated
variable.” Excel inserts a comma between each field.
3 Enter an intuitive name for the file. The recommended format is
<catalog_description>_<customer_name>—for example, workchairs_acme.
4 Click Save.
W To remove extra commas:

1 Open the file in Notepad, Wordpad, or other text editor.
2 Delete extra commas from the header and trailer.
3 Ensure that the leading or trailing zeroes were not deleted.
4 Save the file.
5 Change the file extension from .csv to .cif.
If you use Windows Notepad to edit catalogs, do not click the “Save as Unicode”
check box. For the same reason, if you use Microsoft Word, do not select “Unicode
Text” as the file type. Raw Unicode (also known as UCS-2) is not file-safe because its
byte order varies depending on the operating system.

Opening CIF Files in Excel Chapter 5 Editing Catalogs with Excel
Opening CIF Files in Excel

Open CIF files in Excel as comma-delimited text files.
W To open CIF files in Excel:

1 In Excel, choose File > Open.
2 Select the CIF file. Excel displays the Text Import Wizard.
3 Select “Delimited” and then click Next.
4 Select “Comma” as the delimiter and quote (“) as the text qualifier. Deselect “Tab.”
5 Click Next.
6 Use Shift-click to select all columns, select “Text” as the column data format, and
then click Finish.
Treat all columns as text so that Excel retains any leading or trailing zeroes.
7 To make the resulting spreadsheet more readable, select all cells and select
Format > Column > AutoFit Selection.
The Excel template available on Ariba SN is a regular Excel file, so you can simply
double-click it to open it. There is no need to perform the steps below for the Excel
template.

Index
A catalogs 11, 36
advanced test mode 49 adding items online 36
running 55 benefits of storing on Ariba SN 13
ANID (Ariba Network ID) 65 checking against customer rules 21
Ariba Buyer checking syntax of 21
OrderRequest documents generated 55 classifying by UNSPSC codes 26
PunchOutSetupRequest documents custom 13
generated 55 deleting 40
versions simulated in advanced test mode deleting items online 36
55 displaying 36
Ariba Network ID (ANID) 65 downloading 41
Ariba Ready program viii editing 36
Ariba SN documentation, accessing 17 encryption of 13
Ariba Supplier Advantage (ASA) program expiration and deletion policy 14
viii how suspended accounts affect 19, 44
Ariba Supplier Consulting program ix in test accounts 51
Ariba Supplier Services viii legal file name characters 28
maximum size of 12
notifying customers of availability 34
B publishing 31
PunchOut 12, 43
basic test mode 49
resources for creating 17
running 51
reviewing and fixing errors 28
security 13
C selecting a format 12
setting visibility 34
catalog headers, CIF, displaying and editing subscriptions 20
37 supported formats 14
catalog headers, errors in 30 supported types 12
Catalog Interchange Format, see CIF testing 51
catalog notifications 35 updating 38
catalog testing uploading 21
coordinating with customers 47 uploading large files 24
with or without customers 48 using Excel to edit 63
catalog versions 38 validating 21
versioning 13

character set validation 22 cXML catalogs
CIF (Catalog Interchange Format) 12 downloading 41
backward compatibility 14 fixing errors in 28
displaying and editing catalog headers 37 how suspended accounts 19
editing catalogs online 36 maximum size of 12
supported versions 14
version 2.1 14
version 3.0 14 D
CIF catalogs 14 DATA and ENDOFDATA token validation 22
converted from Excel files 14 decimal validation 22
converting to Excel 67 deleting catalogs 40
displaying and editing catalog headers 37 deletion policy for catalogs 14
downloading 41 description field validation 22
downloading Excel template 63 displaying catalogs 36
downloading in Excel format 68 documentation roadmap vi–viii
fixing errors in 28 documentation, for catalog creation 17
how suspended accounts affect 19 downloading catalogs 41
maximum size of 12
opening in Excel 70
CIF Excel template E
downloading 63 editing catalogs 36
editing 64 editing items online 36
using 66 email
CIF file header validation 22 notification for catalog updates 39
commas, removing extraneous during CIF notification for published catalog 35
conversion 69 encryption, catalog 13
commodities, classifying in catalogs 26 errors, fixing in catalogs 28
commodity code validation 22 Excel
company names, default notation for test downloading CIF catalogs as 41
accounts 50 editing catalogs with 63
contract files, catalog 12 using to edit catalogs 14
contract pricing 13 Excel files
convert to Excel 41 converting to CIF 67
currency validation 22 converting to CIF catalogs 14
custom catalogs 13 converting to CIF manually 69
customer catalog qualification 23 downloading 68
rule relaxation 24 uploading and downloading 12, 67
customers Excel-to-CIF converter 67
qualifying catalogs for 22 expiration date validation 23
cXML (Commerce eXtensible Markup expiration policy for catalogs 14
Language)
for catalog format 15–16
CatalogUploadRequest transaction 28
cXML User’s Guide 17
viewing code in basic test mode 49

F preface v
field validation 21 price format validation 22
file names, catalog, legal characters 28 private catalogs
Find 59 designating 34
From Credentials, viewing 57 email notifications for catalog updates 40
notifications for 35
production account, switching to from test
H account 51
public catalogs, designating 34
HTTPS protocol, for catalog encryption 13
publishing catalogs 31
overview 19
I PunchOut catalogs 12, 43
how suspended 44
index files, catalog 12 introduction to 43
integer validation 22 linking to 45
Internet catalogs, see PunchOut catalogs testing 51
ISO code versions, used to validate territory PunchOut websites
and language 23 testing 48, 49, 55
PunchOutSetupRequest documents
generated by Ariba Buyer 55
L
purchase order, test 60
language validation 23
linking to PunchOut catalogs 45
logging in to test accounts 50 Q
qualifying catalogs for customers 22
N
notifications 35 S
for catalog availability 34 security 13
for catalog updates 39 semantic qualification 21
semantic validation 22
start date validation 23
O
subscriptions, catalog 20
online manuals, accessing 17 Supplier ID 65
order routing testing 48, 51 supplier ID validation 22
partial catalog items ignored 48 Supplier ID, modifying for testing with
troubleshooting 59 customers 49
OrderRequest documents supplier services ??–ix
generated by Ariba Buyer 55 suspended accounts
organization IDs, default notation for test restrictions on PunchOut catalogs 44
accounts 50 restrictions on test accounts 47
syntactic validation 21
P
partial catalog items 48

T Z
-T suffix for Supplier ID 49 zipping catalogs 24
territory validation 23 zipping Excel files 67
test accounts 47
catalogs in 51
example test purchase order 60
how account suspension affects 47
Inbox 59
notation used in 50
switching to 50
test modes, advanced 49
test modes, basic 49
To Credentials, viewing 57
troubleshooting order routing testing 59
U
unit of measure validation 22
UNSPSC codes 65
specifying for catalogs 26
updating catalogs 38
uploading catalogs 21
large catalog files 24
using the CatalogUploadRequest
transaction 28
URL validation 23
usernames, default notation for test accounts
50
V
validating catalogs 21
against a customer’s requirements 21
character set validation 22
CIF file header validation 22
decimal format validation 22
field validation 21
integer format validation 22
price format validation 22
syntactic validation 21
validation
errors 28
versions of catalogs 38
deleting 40
versions, of catalogs 13

ARIBA, INC.
807 11th Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089 USA
Telephone: 650.390.1000
Fax: 650.390.1100
www.ariba.com

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Ariba Supplier Network™

Chapter 1 About Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chapter 2 Publishing CIF and cXML Catalogs . . . . . . . 19

Chapter 3 Linking to PunchOut Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . 43

Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide iii

Chapter 4 Using Test Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Chapter 5 Editing Catalogs with Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

iv Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

Intended Audience and Prerequisites

About this Guide

Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide v

Ariba SN Documentation Roadmap

If you want to… See…

Get up and running with Ariba SN. If you want to receive

vi Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

If you want to… See…

Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide vii

If you want to… See…

About Ariba Supplier Services

• Ariba Supplier Advantage. Through the Ariba Supplier Advantage (ASA)

viii Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

• Ariba Supplier Consulting. Ariba supplier consultants supplement suppliers’

Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide ix

x Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide 11

Overview of Catalog Types

If you... Consider this distribution method...

12 Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

If you... Consider this distribution method...

Ariba SN supports custom catalogs—customer-specific catalogs that contain

Benefits of Storing Catalogs

Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide 13

About Catalog Expiration and Deletion

When Ariba SN deletes catalogs, it deletes them permanently. There is no way to

About CIF Catalogs

Note: For backward compatibility, procurement applications and Ariba SN support

Format Extension For more information, see...

14 Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

The following listing shows a simple CIF file:

Converting Excel Files to CIF Catalogs

About cXML Catalogs

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide 15

16 Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

Resources for Catalog Creation

If you want to... See this manual...

Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide 17

18 Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

The following topics introduce the catalog publishing process:

Making Catalogs Available to Your Customers

Overview of the Catalog Publishing Process

Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide 19

About Public and Private Catalogs

About Catalog Subscriptions

20 Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide

About Catalog Validation and Qualification

For instructions on uploading, validating, and qualifying catalogs, see “Uploading,

About Syntactic Validation

Ariba SN Catalog Management Guide 21