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PunchOut catalogs give B2B buyers a streamlined way to browse, configure, and price products directly within their eProcurement system while shopping on a supplier’s up-to-date eCommerce site. When the cart is transferred back to the buyer’s system, PunchOut automatically translates and delivers the data needed to create a requisition and begin internal approvals.
However, PunchOut is only the first step in the purchasing workflow. After a requisition is approved, buyers must still manually submit a purchase order, track acknowledgements, and process and reconcile invoices. These tasks are often time-consuming and prone to error.
By extending B2B purchasing integration and automation beyond PunchOut catalogs to include POs and invoices, buyers and suppliers benefit from seamless automation throughout the entire order-to-cash process.
What is Purchase Order and Invoice Automation?
PO automation eliminates the need for paper-based or PDF purchase orders. Once an order is approved in a buyer’s eProcurement system, the PO is automatically generated and delivered to the supplier’s order management or eCommerce system. This ensures purchase orders arrive quickly, accurately, and in the correct format for fast processing.
Invoice automation streamlines the invoicing stage by delivering invoice data directly to the buyer’s eProcurement system. After an order ships, the invoice is pulled from the supplier’s system, validated, and formatted for reconciliation and payment, removing the need for manual data entry on either side.
TradeCentric’s purpose-built integration solutions enhance both processes by translating PO and invoice data into the formats required by any eCommerce, ERP, or order management system. This allows buyers and suppliers to exchange accurate, validated information automatically, accelerating order acceptance and enabling straight-through processing without manual intervention.
See how TradeCentric supports PunchOut, PO Automation, and Invoice Automation.
3 Reasons to Pair PunchOut with PO and Invoice Automation
Pairing PunchOut with PO and Invoice Automation extends the value of integration beyond the shopping experience. It connects every stage of the transaction, giving buyers and suppliers a streamlined, accurate, and scalable order-to-cash workflow.
1. Success Tracking
Suppliers need to know who orders are from, the frequency, and how orders are placed. Understanding growth areas and buyer behavior helps suppliers allocate resources more effectively and strengthen strategic accounts.
The TradeCentric Platform allows suppliers to track the origin of all orders, whether that’s a PunchOut session or a custom quote. This visibility provides a single source of truth for eCommerce and eProcurement activity, enabling more accurate forecasting and performance reporting.
2. Reduced Costs
McKinsey estimates it takes businesses an average of 15 minutes to manually process an order. Larger organizations might process dozens or hundreds of orders a week, which can quickly add up to expensive hours of work.
Instead of spending their time moving purchasing data from one system to another, employees can focus on activities that generate value for the business. Automating PO and invoice workflows reduces labor-intensive tasks, minimizes the need for exception handling, and lowers operational costs associated with manual order entry.
3. Accelerated Purchasing and Payment
To initiate a purchase, a buyer must create and submit a PO to their supplier. This process requires the buyer to export data from their purchasing solution and send order data into a format that is compatible with their supplier’s system. PO automation expedites this process so buyers can make purchases faster and get the items they need as soon as possible.
A typical supplier invoicing workflow involves generating paper, fax, email or PDF invoices and sending them to buyers. Alternatively, they may manually upload invoices to buyer systems, logging in to potentially hundreds of different portals. Invoice Automation eliminates these redundant and time-consuming tasks allowing teams to work faster and more efficiently to ensure on-time payment. Automating invoice delivery also reduces reconciliation issues and speeds up the payment cycle, improving cash-flow visibility for suppliers and buyers alike.
Ready to streamline the B2B purchasing process?
When to Pair PunchOut with PO and Invoice Automation
PunchOut streamlines the shopping and cart-transfer experience, but buyers and suppliers still rely on accurate purchase orders, acknowledgements, and invoices to move the transaction forward. Manual processes at these later stages slow down purchasing, introduce errors, and increase administrative work. Pairing PunchOut with PO and Invoice Automation creates a consistent, end-to-end workflow that accelerates ordering and payment.
Organizations should consider PO and Invoice Automation when:
- Order volume is high: Manual PO creation and invoice handling become time-consuming and prone to errors.
- Product or pricing updates occur frequently: Automation ensures POs and invoices reflect the most current data without requiring manual adjustments.
- Suppliers rely on different systems: Automated translation delivers POs and invoices in the correct format for any eCommerce, ERP, or order management system.
Faster order acceptance and payment are needed: Automation sends clean POs to suppliers instantly and delivers validated invoices to buyers for quicker reconciliation and payment.
Support B2B Commerce Integration with TradeCentric
By extending PunchOut with PO and Invoice Automation, buyers and suppliers gain a fully connected purchasing experience that reduces manual work and improves accuracy across every transaction. TradeCentric streamlines this entire process by translating and delivering data between any eCommerce system and any eProcurement platform, ensuring orders and invoices flow reliably from cart to payment. For organizations looking to scale digital purchasing, TradeCentric provides the foundation for a seamless, end-to-end connected commerce experience.
To learn how TradeCentric B2B connected commerce solutions can deliver value to your business, contact us.
Pairing PunchOut with PO and Invoice Automation FAQs
TradeCentric reduces manual work by translating approved orders into supplier-ready purchase orders. This removes duplicate data entry and ensures orders flow directly into the supplier’s system without manual review.
TradeCentric keeps order, PO, acknowledgement, and invoice data consistent across systems, making it easier for buyers and suppliers to align shipments with the original order and reduce discrepancies.
TradeCentric delivers validated invoice data directly into the buyer’s eProcurement system, eliminating manual uploads and reducing reconciliation errors. While TradeCentric does not process payments, accurate invoice delivery supports timely payment.
