ARIBA : FAQ & Supplier creation

Why do we have to participate?

With the renewal of its standards and processes, Infrabel strives for a continuous improvement of the cooperation with its suppliers. SAP Ariba will be used as a tool for this.

The benefits of this include eliminating manual work, and allowing Infrabel to have up-to-date and accurate data from its suppliers.

What happens if a supplier does not follow the new registration procedure?

Application of the registration procedure is mandatory to become or remain an Infrabel supplier.

Your organization will be invited to register on the Ariba platform, and will be automatically reminded to register during 60 days after the initial invitation.

Do we have to register even if you already work with Infrabel as supplier?

All the suppliers involved in the future sourcing process must register to the Ariba Network.

What is the impact for the ongoing assignment?

Your registration has no influence on the current tenders.

How can I best manage my Ariba account?

In order to facilitate the management of Ariba account, the Use of a functional mailbox is strongly recommended. Otherwise, Ariba account management should be done from the personal email of the main Infrabel contact person in your organization.

As invitations are strictly linked to the email address that receives the invitation, the transmission may lead to problems during registration, and therefore the possibility to submit quotations.

If more than one person needs access to the Ariba account, they can be added as a contact person, whether the account is associated with a functional mail box or a personal email.

Can the invitation to register be forwarded to someone else within my organization?

Invitations are strictly personal, so do not forward this email.

Please contact your contact person within the Infrabel organization to have the e-mail with the link resent to the correct e-mail address.

What happens if we have not received the registration link or if it needs to be sent to us again?

The problem may find its cause in your mailbox settings. Please perform the following checks first:

• Make sure that ariba.com is considered a trusted sender.
• Look in your email inbox for a message with the subject line "Sign up to become an Infrabel provider".
• Look in all your folders - inbox, junk mail or spam. - Finally, make sure that a colleague has not received the invitation in your place. If the invitation is not found, you can request a new registration link. Please consult the section "Support" for all options.

We have received several invitations. Are they duplicates?

Key is that registration is required for each legal entity.

If your company consists in several organizations or legal entities dealing with Infrabel, our system generates one invitation per legal entity. You need to register each entity separately.

IMPORTANT ! If you proceed with several registrations, please proceed one per one and don’t open the registration link simultaneously in your browser. Otherwise, the data from one questionnaire could accidentally be registered or linked to another one.

Our company is a subsidiary of a foreign company that has an Ariba account. Do we have to register as a Belgian subsidiary?

Key is that registration is required for each entity with a VAT number. There are 2 exceptions: temporary associations and companies outside Europe.

If your company consists in several organizations or legal entities dealing with Infrabel, the system generates one invitation per organization or legal entity. You need to register each entity separately.

IMPORTANT ! If you proceed with several registrations, please proceed one per one and don’t open the registration link simultaneously in your browser. Otherwise, the data from one questionnaire could accidentally be registered or linked to another one.

What to do if we have created multiple accounts?

Theoretically, your organization can keep multiple accounts, which can lead to messages from different customers on different accounts. This is probably not the best approach. It is therefore recommended to deactivate superfluous accounts.

If you have any further questions in this regard, please contact the Ariba Help Center.

Do we need to pay for an Ariba network account?

In this phase of the Infrabel Ariba program, it is sufficient for all suppliers to create a free standard account. This is sufficient to participate to buying process.

How do I know what type of account we have?

To check this, log on to your company's account. You can find this information in the top bar of the start screen.

How do I know if an account already exists for my company?

At Infrabel, we have no insight into which companies already have an account on the Ariba Network. If in doubt, please contact the Ariba Help Center. 

If we already have an account on the Ariba Network, why do we need to create a new one?

You do not need to create a new account in order to complete the questionnaire.

It is possible to complete the questionnaire from your existing account in order to complete your registration with Infrabel. Your existing account is then linked to Infrabel's profile on the Ariba Network. You do this via the registration invite you have received via email and then choose 'sign up' instead of 'register'. Watch this video for detailes instruction.

You can then use your existing account to:

• react to the registration questionnaire of Infrabel (and other customers).
• react to future sourcing events.
• manage possible contracts.
• etc.

How do I change my company's data on the Ariba platform?

With an existing Ariba account, you , as a company, can autonomously manage your contact details.  For detailed instuctions, please first consult the video material :

• How to create a rol ?
• How to create a contact ?

Why do I have to enter my details twice?

Upon initial registration, there are 2 questionnaires that you need to complete:

1. register on the Ariba Network
2. filling in the Infrabel specific questionnaire

Watch this video for the detailed instruction.

Is my current information already migrated to the registration questionnaire?

If you are already an Infrabel supplier, some of your information may have been migrated to the registration questionnaire, so that you only need to check its accuracy.

However, some information may have to be re-entered or additional data may have to be provided. This will ensure that Infrabel has the most up-to-date and accurate information in future exchanges with your organization.

What happens once the questionnaire has been completed?

• Once the questionnaire has been filled in and confirmed, you will receive a confirmation email.
• Once your registration is approved by Infrabel, you will receive a (new) approval confirmation.
• You can adapt the information mentioned in the questionnaire once Infrabel has approved it. This will require a new approval from Infrabel.

How do I know whether my registration has been validated by Infrabel?

You will receive an automatic email as soon as you are registered.

What shall I do if the questionnaire is not visible?

• When you connect to your Ariba account, please navigate to the module "Proposals and questionnaires" at the top left corner of the screen in order to view the questionnaire and data.
• If the questionnaire is not visible, it means that it has not be shared with your account. In this case, please contact your buyer at Infrabel in order to get the link shared again with you, for you to connect with your connexion credentials.

Please note: you need to connect to your account via the link that is mentioned in the e-mail in order to access the questionnaire.

How do I find my article categories? Where are the UNSPSC codes visible? What should I do if I can't find them?

Not all UNSPSC codes apply to Infrabel and are therefore not all visible during your registration on the Ariba network. If your specific code is not available, please choose one or more codes that best reflect your services/goods.

How do I submit my quote?

There are 2 procedures for submitting tenders:

• Via the new Ariba process, your organization will be invited, via email, to submit a quote.
• The (existing) E-tendering process remains unchanged

Watch this video for the detailed explanation.

My company has been invited to a contest, but I don't see it in my Ariba account

The RFP can only be viewed by the person who has been invited. If you are not sure who from your company has been invited, check with the Infrabel buyer who exactly has been invited. If it is not to the right person, the buyer can send it to the right one

Can I submit an offer without having completed the questionnaire?

All suppliers involved in future purchasing processes through the Ariba Network must complete registration.

Can I first see the content of an RFP before indicating whether we intend to participate?

Before you indicate that you want to participate an RFP, you can download the content. You can then indicate whether you will participate.

Can I still change my offer once it has already been submitted?

As long as the term of the RFP has not yet expired, you can make adjustments to your offre and submit it again. Once the term has expired, you can no longer make adjustments

How can I upload multiple documents/attachments?

You can use a .zip file

Does the Ariba registration impact the invoicing?

The invoicing process remains unchanged.

What if I have forgotten / don't know the username of my own company's Ariba account?

Infrabel does not have access to the login details of your organization on the Ariba Network. Please navigate to 'supplier.ariba.com' and use the option 'Forgot Username' there.

The existing account is linked to an email address (of your own organization) with which the initial account registration was done. This allows the data to be sent to the same email address.

If this is also not known within your organization, please contact Ariba support at support.ariba.com.

What if I have forgotten / don't know the password of my own company's Ariba account?

Infrabel does not have access to the login details of your organization on the Ariba Network. Please navigate to 'supplier.ariba.com' and use the option 'Forgot Password' there.

The existing account is linked to an email address (of your own organization) with which the initial account registration was done. This allows the data to be sent to the same email address.

If this is also not known within your organization, please contact Ariba support at support.ariba.com.

We are having trouble connecting using our existing Ariba Network account data. What can we do?

This problem can have several causes:

• You are already logged into your existing account and clicked on the link in the email.
  IMPORTANT: the system considers this as a second login attempt. You must either click on the link and log in from there or log in to your account and then navigate to the Ariba Network dashboard.
• You already have an SAP Ariba site open in another window or tab. Close that other session and try logging in again.
• You received a certificate error in your browser during a previous attempt to connect to the Ariba Network. Clear your browser's cookie history. Close your browser and try logging in again.

The Ariba page does not load completely after logging in

Make sure ad blockers such as AdBlock Plus or uBlock are paused/disabled. This may prevent content from loading. In Google Chrome, ad blockers are usually found in the Extensions section

Error message: Sorry...A system error has occurred

You are getting this message because SAP Ariba has performed an update in the system. You should just try again and this problem should not occur again. If this problem persists, please contact the Ariba Help Center.

Password reset error message via email: No account registered on Ariba commerce cloud

The reason for this error message is that you want to log in with a User ID that is not linked to the AN number (Ariba network) linked to Infrabel. Contact the administrator of the Ariba Network account within your company to have you added as a new contact person to submit quotes to Infrabel. If you do not know who the Administrator is within your company, please contact the Ariba Help Center or your contact person within the Infrabel organisation.

Error message: The requested profile information has been submitted to Infrabel and is awaiting approval

Infrabel still needs to do an internal approval.

You will receive an automatic email as soon as you are registered.

Error: You have not the correct permission to view the event 1 contactperson

There is a problem with your Ariba Network profile. Contact the Ariba Help Center to get this corrected.

To better understand the approach, we would like to arrange a meeting. Is this possible?

Please first consult the video material and FAQ available on the Infrabel website. These have been developed based on the experiences of prior registrations onto the Infrabel supplier network, and provide answers to the most common questions.

If you have any questions regarding your Ariba account, please refer to the Ariba platform  itself.

If you have a specific problem that is not clarified in these resources, please contact your usual contact person within the Infrabel organization