Considerations for implementing the ITAM-SPO better together flow

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Considerations for implementing the ITAM-SPO better together flow

    This content outlines key considerations for ServiceNow customers implementing the IT Asset Management (ITAM) and Sourcing and Procurement Operations (SPO) better together integration flow, specifically for the Zurich release. It highlights important functional behaviors, restrictions, and integration impacts to ensure smooth operation and alignment with procurement and asset management processes.

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    Key Features

    • Purchase Order (PO) and Purchase Requisition (PR) Handling: In ITAM, the Cancel and Order options for POs are disabled to support seamless integration. Editing or returning PRs and POs within SPO is not supported, and the Confirm Revision option is disabled when PRs are pending review.
    • Acknowledging Asset Receipt: Asset receipt acknowledgment occurs via the PO in ITAM after delivery, creating assets visible under the ITAM PO’s Assets tab. SPO generates a read-only receipt only after the ITAM receipt slip is created. SPO POs do not create assets or receipts independently.
    • Procurement Catalog Usage: All IT asset, consumable, and enterprise purchases must be routed through the service catalog, while service purchases continue through the Shopping Hub. Controls prevent IT asset purchases directly via Shopping Hub to maintain integration integrity.
    • Supplier Product vs. Vendor Catalog Item Tables: Purchases initiated through the ITAM-SPO flow use the SPO Supplier Product (snshopsupplierproduct) table, not the Vendor Catalog Item (pcvendorcatitem) table, affecting purchase processing mechanisms.
    • Impact on SAM-Coupa Integration: The ITAM-SPO integration does not support existing Software Asset Management (SAM) and Coupa integrations. Customers using SAM-Coupa should avoid installing the Asset Management Integration for SPO plugin. If installing the better together app, specific steps must be followed to prevent conflicts, such as disabling certain business rules and scheduled jobs, deleting conflicting rules, and ensuring proper mapping of PRs, POs, and receipts in SPO to Coupa entities.
    • Asset Creation for Services: Inventory asset creation for services in the almasset table is disabled in the integration plugins, but previously created service inventory assets remain unaffected. ITAM continues creating fixed asset records for services, and inventory asset creation for goods remains unchanged.

    Key Outcomes

    • Customers can expect a streamlined purchase and asset acknowledgment process managed primarily through ITAM, with SPO serving a supporting role for purchase orders and receipts.
    • Procurement catalog management aligns with service catalog usage for IT assets, ensuring proper control and compliance.
    • Integration conflicts with existing SAM-Coupa setups are avoided by following prescribed configuration steps, enabling coexistence or migration strategies.
    • Service asset management behavior adapts to the integration by disabling inventory asset creation for services while maintaining fixed asset tracking.

    This section provides information on considerations for implementing the ITAM-SPO better together solution.

    Functional detail Description
    PO and PR transaction behavior

    To enable seamless integration:

    • The Cancel and Order options are disabled for POs in ITAM.
    • Edit and return flows for Purchase Requisitions (PR) and Purchase Orders (PO) in SPO are not supported in this integration. Therefore, the Confirm Revision option is disabled when the PR is in the Pending Review state.
    Acknowledging asset receipt in ITAM
    • After asset delivery, the purchaser acknowledges receipt via the PO in ITAM. Assets are then created and can be viewed under the Assets tab of the ITAM PO.
    • In this workflow, no assets or receipts are created from the SPO PO.
    • A read-only receipt is generated on the SPO POL only after the ITAM receipt slip is created.
    Shopping Hub and IT Asset Management

    As part of this flow, all IT asset, consumable, and enterprise purchases should go through the service catalog. Services purchases should continue to flow through Shopping Hub.

    Shopping Hub controls should prevent IT asset purchases directly from the Shopping Hub catalog.
    Supplier Product and Vendor Catalog Item table usage When a purchase is initiated using the ITAM-SPO flow, the system doesn't use the Vendor Catalog Item (pc_vendor_cat_item) table. Instead, it uses SPO's Supplier Product (sn_shop_supplier_product) table to process the purchase.
    How ITAM-SPO better together flow affects SAM-Coupa integration The ITAM-SPO integration flow does not support the Software Asset Management (SAM) and Coupa integration. If you are currently using the SAM-Coupa integration and wish to continue doing so, do not install the Asset Management Integration for Sourcing and Procurement Operations (sn_spend_asset) plugin.

    If you choose to install the better together application, complete the following steps to successfully implement the SPO-Coupa integration:

    • Stop the “Create a Requisition” business rule from triggering on the ITAM Purchase Order table (proc_po) when the status changes to Ordered.

    • Restrict the creation of new itam_procurement_integration_job scheduled jobs. Retire any existing daily jobs to avoid potential conflicts.

    • Delete all business rules associated with the app-itam-procurement-integration application to prevent integration conflicts.
    • Ensure that Purchase Requests (PRs), Purchase Orders (POs), and Receipts in SPO are properly mapped to corresponding entities in Coupa for seamless integration.
    Creation of assets for services

    The creation of inventory assets for services in the alm_asset table is disabled in the Sourcing and Purchasing Automation and Asset Management Integration for Sourcing and Procurement Operations plugins. The previously created inventory assets for services are not affected. For fixed assets, ITAM continues to create corresponding records in the alm_asset table for services. Inventory asset creation for goods continues to function as before.