How to Build an ETL App for SAP Ariba Procurement Data in Python with CData Connect AI

The rich ecosystem of Python modules lets you get to work quickly and integrate your systems more effectively. With the CData Connect AI Python SDK and the petl framework, you can build SAP Ariba Procurement-connected applications and pipelines for extracting, transforming, and loading SAP Ariba Procurement data. This article shows how to connect to Connect AI and use petl to extract, transform, and load SAP Ariba Procurement data.

The Connect AI Python SDK (cdata-connect-ai) is a DB-API 2.0 (PEP 249) compliant client, so petl can read directly from the SDK connection with etl.fromdb. There is no driver to install per source: connect with a Personal Access Token and build your pipeline.

Connect to SAP Ariba Procurement in Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "SAP Ariba Procurement" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAP Ariba Procurement.

   In order to connect with SAP Ariba Procurement, set the following:

   • ANID: Your Ariba Network ID.
   • ANID: Specify which API you would like the provider to retrieve SAP Ariba data from. Select the Buyer or Supplier API based on your business role (possible values are PurchaseOrdersBuyerAPIV1 or PurchaseOrdersSupplierAPIV1).
   • Environment: Indicate whether you are connecting to a test or production environment (possible values are TEST or PRODUCTION).

   Authenticating with OAuth

   After setting connection properties, you need to configure OAuth connectivity to authenticate.

   • Set AuthScheme to OAuthClient.
   • Register an application with the service to obtain the APIKey, OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret.

     For more information on creating an OAuth application, refer to the Help documentation.

   Automatic OAuth

   After setting the following, you are ready to connect:

   APIKey: The Application key in your app settings. OAuthClientId: The OAuth Client Id in your app settings. OAuthClientSecret: The OAuth Secret in your app settings.

   When you connect, the provider automatically completes the OAuth process:

   1. The provider obtains an access token from SAP Ariba and uses it to request data.
   2. The provider refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.
   3. The OAuth values are saved in memory relative to the location specified in OAuthSettingsLocation.
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab and update the user-based permissions.

Generate a Personal Access Token (PAT)

The Python SDK authenticates to Connect AI with your account email and a Personal Access Token (PAT). It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each application to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the Settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The PAT is only visible at creation, so copy it and store it securely.

Install Required Modules

Install the SDK and the petl framework using the pip utility:

pip install cdata-connect-ai
pip install petl

Build an ETL App for SAP Ariba Procurement Data in Python

Once the required modules are installed, you are ready to build the ETL app. Code snippets follow, but the full source code is available at the end of the article.

First, import the modules and connect to Connect AI with your account email and PAT:

import petl as etl
import cdata_connect_ai

conn = cdata_connect_ai.connect(
    username="[email protected]",
    password="<your_pat>",
)

Create a SQL Statement to Query SAP Ariba Procurement

Use SQL to create a statement for querying SAP Ariba Procurement. In this article, we read data from the Orders entity. Identifiers are three-part: <Connection>.<Schema>.<Table>, where the connection name defaults to the source name (for example, SAPAribaProcurement1).

sql = (
    "SELECT DocumentNumber, Revision "
    "FROM [SAPAribaProcurement1].[SAPAribaProcurement].[Orders] "
    "WHERE OrderStatus = 'CHANGED'"
)

Extract, Transform, and Load the SAP Ariba Procurement Data

With a connection and query in hand, use petl to extract, transform, and load the SAP Ariba Procurement data. In this example, we extract SAP Ariba Procurement data, sort the data by the Revision column, and load the data into a CSV file.

table1 = etl.fromdb(conn, sql)

table2 = etl.sort(table1, 'Revision')

etl.tocsv(table2, 'orders_data.csv')

SAP Ariba Procurement is a read-only source in Connect AI, so this pipeline can extract and transform SAP Ariba Procurement data but not load rows back. Close the connection when the extract is complete:

conn.close()

With the CData Connect AI Python SDK, you can work with SAP Ariba Procurement data just like you would with any database, including direct access to data in ETL packages like petl.

More Information and Free Trial

Now you can pipe live SAP Ariba Procurement data through petl using the CData Connect AI Python SDK. For more information on connecting to SAP Ariba Procurement (and hundreds of other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start building data pipelines for live SAP Ariba Procurement data in Python.

Full Source Code

import petl as etl
import cdata_connect_ai

conn = cdata_connect_ai.connect(
    username="[email protected]",
    password="<your_pat>",
)

sql = (
    "SELECT DocumentNumber, Revision "
    "FROM [SAPAribaProcurement1].[SAPAribaProcurement].[Orders] "
    "WHERE OrderStatus = 'CHANGED'"
)

table1 = etl.fromdb(conn, sql)

table2 = etl.sort(table1, 'Revision')

etl.tocsv(table2, 'orders_data.csv')
conn.close()