I had a meeting with SAP Ariba Preferred Care representative. The website designed for suppliers looks promising at first, but it is clunky and something out of 2002, not 2020. A small ? button on the top right hides Q&A if you click on it. Like magic. And I don’t know how to get it back. It feels like minecraft but way less exciting.
I ask the Preferred Care Rep to please update the website because it is not user friendly.
Her answer: Log enhancement request. There is nothing I can do.
I see a function that looks useful. I click on it. It opens. It doesn’t work. I ask the lady again.
Her answer: I don’t know. You must be on the list to receive updates.
This is the company founded by Keith Krach in mid 1990s which revolutionized B2B commerce. I used Ariba in 2013 and was impressed with what I saw and experienced. Imagine my surprise 7 years later.
The company is based out of Silicon Valley and owned by SAP. Yet, the website looks like it was made by an amateur in 1999. UI and UX is not considered at all. This from the founder who defined category creation:
“Success is not timing, not a fluke, not good luck. It is simply recognizing the profound patterns, looking for the need, the paradigm shift, assembling the team, and giving them a clear mission.”
The founder moved on long time ago, and the product that once wowed the market is no longer.
One day, you may be the revolutionary or leader in your market, but once you stop improving and forget about your customers, you become a dinosaur and die out.