Punchout Catalogs

PunchOut Catalogs – Explained So, what exactly are a punchout catalogs?   Punch out catalogs (more commonly spelled as punchout catalogs) are a powerful ecommerce technology.

cXML (sometimes referred to as commerce XML or c xml) is an open-source XML-based standard developed by Ariba and other eProcurement companies in the late 1990s. cXML allows organizations to send and receive transactions between a buyer’s eProcurement system and a seller’s online store. Many cXML standards include electronic purchase orders, invoices, and advanced shipping notifications. Punchout catalogs use cXML as the communication standard, and cXML is currently the most widely adopted B2B e-commerce protocol.

For many small to medium-sized sellers, a punchout catalog is their entry into the world of B2B e-commerce. A punchout catalog is an eCommerce catalog integrated directly to a buying organization’s eProcurement system, and at its most basic level, it allows the buyer to shop and easily locate products and add them to their requisitions.

Selecting a punchout software provider is a critical decision with long-term consequences for your relationships with your buyers. Each buying organization has multiple unique needs and specifications, and you need the flexibility to adapt to your client’s exact requirements. As a supplier, you know that while your clients may have many characteristics in common, their individual needs vary. Punchout is no different. When selecting a punchout software vendor, it’s important to do your homework. Here’s what to look for:

Chances are very high that you’ve landed on this blog post because a customer has requested (or even mandated) that you connect to their eprocurement system via a punchout catalog. As a savvy business person, you’re conducting the cost vs. benefit analysis to see if punchout catalogs make sense. Isn’t complex ecommerce for big companies? Is it worth it for your small business?

Some real talk here. The answer is absolutely yes AND it depends. Let’s unpack that a bit.

You’ve just learned from your customer that you have a choice between a hosted or punchout catalog. A hosted versus punchout catalog: how do you know what will be best for your business?

From the supplier’s perspective, there are very few scenarios where a hosted catalog is the better option.
Hosted Catalogs are:

Plain: There is no possible way to highlight your products or your brand with a hosted catalog. It might as well be a catalog in the corner.
Cumbersome to maintain: Updating products and pricing requires not only your effort but in some cases your clients’ time and effort too
One of many: When you provide a hosted catalog your products become part of a larger index of products. When a user searches, they are searching all the hosted catalogs–not just your catalog.
Punchout is by far the better option.

The supplier’s journey to getting a punchout catalog often it comes as a “good news/bad news” call from a customer or potential customer.

Customer: “Yeah, hey, we’d love to do business with you, but our vendors are required to set up a punchout catalog to connect to our ePro system.”

Seller: “OK, but what’s a punchout?”

Customer: “I’m not really up to speed on all the technical details, I just know it connects you to our system so we can buy from you there. Google it, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Let me know when you’ve got it sorted out so we can place Enormous Order #1 with your company. Talk soon! Bye!”

To understand Level 2 Punchout catalog (sometimes called a Level II punchout catalog), it may be helpful to take a step back and review the different types of punchouts. For a general overview on punchouts, see our recent post on The Basics: Punchout 101.

Level 1 punchout is “direct-to-catalog.” Customers buying from Level 1 punchouts must enter each supplier’s punchout site to search for items within that individual product catalog. Buyers cannot search for products from the eProcurement system.

What is Level 2 Punchout?
Level 2 punchout is “direct-to-product.” It enables buyers to conduct product searches directly from the eProcurement system, pulling search term results from all vendors’ Level 2 punchout catalogs.

Explore the fundamentals of Punchout Catalogs, empowering suppliers for seamless collaboration 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 best sell to them, you must be able to connect to their system, most likely via a punchout.

In 20+ years of experience, the most important thing we have found to help provide resources and answer questions is to have a conversation, given the potentially complex scenario you might be faced with.

The UNSPSC code is the – “wait there’s one more thing” of the eProcurement world. But what is UNSPSC code?

The United Nations Standard Products and Services Code-or UNSPSC for short-is a coding system used to describe products and services in a common way rather than using a vendor’s internal catalog or description.

Oh, and it’s required for all punchout products.

In eProcurement it’s typically used to do things like quickly measure spend across a particular commodity (e.g copier paper – UNSPSC 14111507).

Classifying your products can seem like a daunting task but it doesn’t have to be. Depending on your product offering you may be able to apply one or a small sub-set of UNSPSC codes to your products.

In some cases your client’s eProcurement platform may require that UNSPSC codes be mapped system-wide. In these cases, they may provide you with a pre-set selection of UNSPSC codes for your product offering.

The business benefits gained by vendors when integrating punchout catalogs into their customer’s e-procurement systems are hard to ignore. Punchout catalogs can be one of the best ways to increase revenues from—and grow deep roots into—your largest customers.

However, it is important to realize that participating in e-procurement connectivity is not a destination, it’s a journey. Punchout is the beginning of your enhanced relationship with the customer, not the end. Don’t stop sales and marketing efforts to that customer once the punchout is in place.