Punchout Catalog Basics

This Punchout Catalog Basics will tell you what suppliers need to know about using punchout catalogs to do business with large organizations.

If you are a supplier doing business with large organizations, chances are your buyers have an e-procurement system in place to control their procurement processes.  To be able to sell to them, you must be able to connect to their system, most likely via a punchout.

At its most basic, a punchout is a connection between a supplier’s web-based product catalog and their buyer’s e-procurement system.  The punchout catalog then allows buyers to easily locate products and add them to their requisitions.

Below is an outline of how a punchout works with a buying organization’s e-procurement system:

Step 1: An authorized user in the buying organization’s e-procurement system logs in and accesses supplier’s catalog via punchout.

Step 2:  The buyer shops the supplier’s catalog, adding products to the cart until the buyer is ready to complete the purchase.

Step 3:  The cart details are returned to the buyer’s e-procurement system and added to a requisition.

Step 4:  The requisition is passed through the buyer’s e-procurement system approval process.  When it’s approved, a purchase order is created.

Step 5: The purchase order cXML or email (depending on the specific configuration) is passed through the punchout and becomes a completed order for the supplier for fulfillment.

It is important to understand that when it comes to punchout catalogs, there is no “one-size-fits-all.”  Each buying organization has its own requirements and workflows, specific to its e-procurement system and requirements.  For this reason, it is important to have a dedicated B2B e-procurement team (like PunchoutCX) with the ability to quickly and easily customize your punchouts to meet the requirements of your buyers.  This will lead to quicker integrations and make your buyers happier.

For a more detailed look at punchout catalogs, please download our whitepaper, So Your Customer Wants Punchbout. Now What?