By Rajiv Nema, Sr. Director, Partner Programs, SAP
If you’ve ever wondered what’s behind the scenes when you make an online purchase – and I know I have – let me introduce you to TradeCentric for SAP Commerce Cloud, one of the hottest offerings on SAP Store. In short, TradeCentric connects digital trading partners, enabling buyers to access their connected suppliers’ eCommerce storefronts directly from their eProcurement system. Picture a medical supplies manufacturer who sells a variety of products to hospitals and other medical facilities. On both ends of the purchasing process, hundreds of complex systems manage all the back-end logistics. The TradeCentric platform integrates with all these systems, mapping and translating the data and document transfer, and essentially enabling a seamless digital shopping experience for the end user. Astonishing!
A Startup with a Scalable Platform
I spoke with TradeCentric CEO Troy Lynch, who has been with the company for about four years, to learn more. TradeCentric, which was founded by Brady Behrman and Shawn McKnight in 2012, Began with a focus primarily on PunchOut. Recognizing that B2B buyers desire the same seamless purchasing experience as consumers, they built a platform that provided the means for buyers to browse suppliers’ catalogs and then purchase goods or services within their e-procurement systems. Their timing was right, as e-commerce was about to explode. The small company attracted new customers at a steady rate and grew to include a core team of employees.
When Troy arrived on the scene, the timing was also right. Leadership identified a gap in the market for a holistic “B2B connected commerce” experience – one that would enable automation across the entire B2B purchasing process. Not only would this eliminate manual processes and drastically reduce errors, but it would also provide companies a competitive edge to win new business as well as grow revenue from existing customers.
Expanded Offerings and Rebranding
Under Troy’s leadership, the company expanded its offerings beyond PunchOut to include other complementary solutions that automate a broader scope of transactions, including purchase orders, invoices, shipping notices, and quotes. In 2022, the company rebranded to TradeCentric, a name that more accurately reflects the full scope of these offerings. Having landed an investor, TradeCentric had the financial support to build its staff, doubling its size within three years. Including the team in Charlottesville, many who were there from the beginning, TradeCentric now employs talent in 25 states and 3 countries using a virtual model, “a talented, committed team of B2B experts,” as Troy describes them.
Troy attributes the company’s success to a problem-solving approach and delivering beyond expectations. “We’ve always had a hard time saying ‘no,’” he remarked. A major challenge has always been the need to be system-agnostic. “The buyer can’t dictate to the supplier what system to use; we have to take care of whatever our customer is running.” For example, about 30% of their customers run customized e-procurement systems, complicating integrations considerably. Some are still on legacy ERP systems using older electronic data interchange (EDI) technology. The TradeCentric team always seems to figure out a way, encompassing essential functionality such as automatic authentication and compliance with each customer’s policies.
SAP Commerce Cloud as the Hub
The TradeCentric platform extends the SAP Commerce Cloud solution to integrate customer storefronts via all supported procurement protocols, with SAP Commerce Cloud as the order hub. System and data protection is of course paramount; TradeCentric technology is ISO certified and offers near-zero outages, Troy noted. Not surprisingly, the company boasts a 95% customer retention rate. TradeCentric now does business in more than 40 countries, with $100 billion in transactions, more than 4,000 trading partners, and some 15,000 trading connections to date.
Partnership with SAP has long been a cornerstone, beginning when SAP customers came looking for integrations with the PunchOut2Go platform. The ad hoc referral network was formalized once TradeCentric landed on SAP Store. “Now, instead of an email or a phone call, leads are sent through the portal,” Troy said. “And going through the process with the required integrations and certifications helped us evolve.”
Want to know more about what’s behind the scenes in e-commerce? Check out TradeCentric on SAP Store.
