The joint offering will provide automated electronic procurement and payment functionalities for Ariba's United Kingdom customers using the American Express Corporate Purchasing Solution. AP Plus has seen significant client success in the United States for the past several years. This launch begins the introduction of the solution to country markets outside of the United States. AP Plus enables customers to gain cost and time efficiencies on their Ariba Buyer purchases through enhanced data capture, accurate data reconciliation, and real-time online reporting.

"Our partnership with Ariba continuously provides innovative and beneficial solutions for our customers on a global scale," said John Bostock, head of Corporate Purchasing Solutions, EMEA, American Express. "The launch of AP Plus in the UK is a great step forward for suppliers and buyers because it saves customers time and money by providing a seamless, accurate and real-time purchasing and reconciliation solution. AP Plus further enhances our offering to our corporate customers and ensures that we continue as leaders."

AP Plus combines the functionality of Ariba Buyer and the Ariba Supplier Network with the financial controls and benefits of the American Express Corporate Purchasing Solution and its global Merchant Network to provide a closed loop, global, online procurement to payment solution. Enhanced purchase order line item details including Value Added Tax (VAT) data is captured allowing customers to easily manage their data reconciliation and tax reclaim. To offer the highest level of security, the Corporate Purchasing Solution account numbers are maintained by the buyer and are not shared with suppliers. For suppliers, AP Plus eliminates the need for separate point-of-sale systems that require manual entry and carry the risk of administration errors.

"Suppliers will also see significant improvements," said Paul Hampton, marketing director Northern Europe, Ariba. "AP Plus is the only purchasing card solution that eliminates the need for third party point-of-sale solutions. This streamlines supplier enablement and minimizes manual data entry errors, ultimately leading to faster payment for suppliers."

Dana Kirchman, VP of Global B2B Payments and Large Client Marketing at American Express, added, "AP Plus increases the power and performance of a client's Purchasing Card program and drives additional value from their Ariba implementation. We are pleased to extend this offering to our multinational clients doing business in the UK."

AP Plus provides customers with enhanced line item detail that reduces manual processing costs and improves visibility into transaction detail. This detail includes online status updates and history available for card authorization, settlement, and purchase order transactions. Additionally, a complimentary help desk and online portal are available to AP Plus suppliers.