Making Global Shopping Feel Local in Sourcing and Procurement Operations

[Ravikumar Iyer]

If you’ve ever shopped across regions—or bought something on behalf of someone in another country—you know how confusing prices can get. A number on the screen doesn’t always tell the full story when it’s shown in a currency you don’t use every day. Until recently, that exact challenge existed in our shopping experience.

Today, we’re excited to talk about how ServiceNow Sourcing and Procurement Operations’ Multi‑Currency capability solves this problem and makes shopping clearer, more contextual, and far less manual for global users.

The Problem We Set Out to Solve

Before multi‑currency support, shoppers saw prices exactly as they existed on the supplier product record—no localization, no translation. For someone shopping in a single region, this meant manually converting prices just to understand what something really cost.

For shoppers operating across multiple regions, the challenge was even bigger. There was no way to:

• Localize pricing to a familiar currency
• Toggle between currencies
• Easily compare prices across regions without external tools

The same issue showed up for preparers and delegates as well. When buying on behalf of someone else, there was no way to view prices in the end user’s local currency versus the preparer’s own currency. In short, key personas simply couldn’t shop with confidence.

Enter Multi‑Currency: Designed Around the Shopper

The multi‑currency experience is built to meet users where they are—literally.

Let’s look at a real example from the walkthrough. When shopping on behalf of a user located in Japan, prices are now displayed primarily in Japanese Yen, with U.S. Dollars shown as a secondary reference when that’s the currency stored on the supplier product.

This dual display gives shoppers immediate context:

• The localized currency helps them understand cost at a glance
• The original supplier currency remains visible for transparency

To avoid confusion, the UI clearly indicates that localized prices are estimates, not changes to the supplier record. This clarity is reinforced through tooltips across the experience.

A Consistent Experience from Browse to Purchase

One of the strongest aspects of this feature is consistency. Once a shopper sees prices in their local currency, that context follows them throughout the journey:

• Browsing items
• Adding products to the cart
• Submitting a request
• Completing checkout
• Reviewing purchases later

Even in the My Purchases view, users see localized currency amounts alongside the original supplier currency, making it easier to understand totals without mental math.

Shopping on Behalf of Others? It Just Works

Multi‑currency also shines in delegate scenarios.

If a shopper switches context to buy on behalf of another user, the UI updates automatically. For example:

• When viewing a user based in the U.S., prices appear in U.S. Dollars
• If the delegated user were based in a different region, the dual‑currency display would appear again

The experience adapts without requiring extra steps, ensuring that prices always align with the selected shopper’s location.

How Currency Is Determined (And What It Doesn’t Change)

The localized currency is determined by the user’s legal entity, specifically the local currency defined in the financial details of that entity. This is why users in different regions automatically see different primary currencies.

It’s important to note what this feature does not do:

• It does not change the currency on purchase requisitions
• It does not alter supplier records
• It does not impact downstream purchasing or supplier communication

This is a UI‑level enhancement designed purely to support shoppers and improve clarity.

Controlled, Configurable, and Optional

Multi‑currency is managed through a system property: essence_spend_uiv.local_currency.enable.menu_option

When this property is set to true, the feature is enabled. Administrators can also choose to tailor availability—for example, by role—or turn it off entirely by setting the value to false.

Why This Matters

At its core, the multi‑currency feature removes friction. It replaces manual conversions, external tools, and guesswork with clear, contextual pricing that follows users wherever they shop—and whoever they shop for.

For global organizations, that’s not just a usability win. It’s a step toward a more inclusive, intuitive shopping experience that respects how people work across borders every day.

If you’re interested in learning more about this exciting capability, you can read all about it here: Multi-currency support in Shopping Hub.