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With PunchOut capabilities now reshaping how businesses interact and transact, understanding how PunchOut integration works can make all the difference.
As paper catalogs and even hosted catalogs increasingly become tactics of the past, integrating an eProcurement system with PunchOut has several key benefits for both buyers and suppliers.
What is PunchOut?
A buyer navigating to a supplier’s eCommerce website is fairly common in today’s purchasing process. However, the hassle of logging in, browsing through a catalog with irrelevant products that don’t reflect negotiated pricing, and ordering products or services that aren’t actually available can all be eliminated with PunchOut capabilities.
With PunchOut, buyers can directly access, or “punch out,” from their own eProcurement platforms into a PunchOut catalog using coded language, such as CXML, that allows the two systems to integrate and transfer data quickly and accurately.
The PunchOut Process
With a PunchOut catalog, users can then shop directly on the supplier’s website while maintaining control and visibility throughout the purchasing process. The integration is typically used in B2B environments, where companies have a strong desire to streamline their procurement operations.
- Initiation:
- Authentication and Redirection:
- The procurement system sends authentication and session details to the supplier’s PunchOut-enabled eCommerce site.
- The buyer is then redirected to the supplier’s website, where they are automatically logged in, bypassing the usual login requirements. This uses protocols like cXML (Commerce eXtensible Markup Language) or OCI (Open Catalog Interface).
- Shopping Experience:
- Once logged in, the buyer can browse products, view prices, check availability, and add items to their shopping cart directly on the supplier’s website.
- The experience is identical to a standard eCommerce site, but the system recognizes that the session is part of a PunchOut process and maintains the connection with the buyer’s procurement system.
- Transfer of Shopping Cart:
- After the user finalizes their selection, they “punch out” by submitting the shopping cart back to their procurement system.
- The selected items and any relevant details (like pricing, quantities, and part numbers) are transferred back to the procurement system in a structured format (again using cXML or OCI).
- Review and Approval:
- The procurement system receives the shopping cart as a purchase requisition.
- Depending on the company’s workflow and policies, the requisition may undergo various approval processes within the buyer’s organization.
- Purchase Order Creation:
- Once approved, the procurement system converts the requisition into a purchase order (PO). It sends it to the supplier electronically, usually via EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) or other agreed-upon formats.
- The supplier then processes the order, ships the goods, and issues an invoice.
- Invoice and Payment:
- The supplier sends the invoice back to the buyer’s system, which can be matched against the purchase order and receipt of goods for payment processing.
Using PunchOut: For Buyers
When it comes to your business or the company you work for, time is money. Partnering with a preferred supplier who has PunchOut helps you achieve:
Improved spend management
Decreased opportunities for rogue spending or ordering errors.
Simplified B2B transactions
For buyers, having to do business in an eProcurement system is hard enough without dealing with a lost purchase order, a time-consuming process, and software systems that are not adequately mapped together. PunchOut minimizes complication of eCommerce.
Require suppliers to do business better
Buyers who are purchasing services or products online need a solution that works. PunchOut software allows suppliers to make real-time updates to inventory and availability, making it easier and faster for a buyer to take care of business confidently.
Using Punchout: For Suppliers
Improve the buyer experience
The traditional experience of a buyer having to manually sign into an eCommerce website, browse through products, add items to a cart, and go through the proper approval process can be cumbersome. PunchOut makes the buyer experience faster and easier than ever before, which means more customer retention and a better reputation as a preferred vendor.
Optimize your eCommerce catalog and spend management
The supplier experience is also vastly improved with this type of integration. Tired of having to make tedious updates to your online product catalog or having uncertainty as to whether your catalog is the most current version? PunchOut makes it possible to keep your catalog current, leading to better spend management for both you and your customers.
Modernize your eprocurement system software compatibility
In today’s highly digital world, there’s a lot of pressure for an eCommerce website to be fully compatible with a buyer eProcurement system. Although many eProcurement system integrations are now available to suppliers, the complexity of integration can add delays and relationship damage if not mapped out and done correctly. PunchOut ensures that no matter what eCommerce software comes your way, you will be ready for seamless integration.
Navigating Spend Management Systems
Spend management systems are essential tools for businesses to control and optimize their spending processes. These systems provide a centralized platform for managing expenditures, enabling organizations to gain better visibility and control over their procurement activities. They streamline the purchasing process, enforce compliance with corporate policies, and help reduce rogue spending, thereby leading to significant cost savings.
PunchOut is a key feature in modern spend management systems. It allows users to access suppliers’ catalogs directly from the spend management platform, creating a seamless purchasing experience.
When users “punch out” to a supplier’s website, they can browse products, add items to their shopping cart, and then return to the spend management system with the selected items. This integration ensures that all purchases are captured within the spend management system, maintaining consistency and compliance.
PunchOut and TradeCentric
Whether you’re in the market for improved spend management, a better way to do eCommerce or a way to position your company for any leading eProcurement system, PunchOut can bring all that to the buyer and supplier transaction and more. A successful PunchOut integration can make the difference between an inaccurate purchase order and a happy customer, and TradeCentric is here to help you get started.
B2B Connected Commerce Solutions for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses
Automating tasks with TradeCentric will optimize your team’s efficiency and increase revenue. Our platform streamlines workflows reduces manual data entry and minimizes order processing and invoicing errors. Begin your B2B Connected Commerce journey by connecting with our extensive network of more than 75 eCommerce systems and 150 eProcurement solutions. Whether you’re transitioning from traditional methods or enhancing your existing system, our dedicated team ensures seamless integration and customized support for successful B2B commerce.
B2B Connected Commerce Solutions for Enterprise Suppliers
Enterprise-level organizations take advantage of B2B-connected commerce to meet the demands of today’s buyers. TradeCentric enables suppliers to integrate with their customers’ eProcurement systems. By offering B2B Connected Commerce capabilities, suppliers can attract new customers looking for integrated solutions, providing a competitive edge that can impact market share.
