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The integration of procurement systems with eCommerce Punchout catalogs has revolutionized B2B eCommerce. The buyers no longer have to visit each and every seller’s eCommerce platform to search, browse, compare and buy the goods. Punchout Catalog integration allows them to perform all these operations through their procurement application. But this is possible only after you as a seller have made your business PunchOut-enabled.

What is a PunchOut catalog and How does it work?

Let’s first recap what PunchOut catalogs are and how they work. PunchOut catalog software is an online catalog created and maintained by a B2B seller that the buyer can access through their eProcurement system. But this is possible only if the seller’s online store is a PunchOut website i.e has set up PunchOut integration.

A procurement process is where a business(buyer) buys or procures certain goods like raw materials for their products from another business(seller). They do these using eProcurement systems that help them to process purchase orders and payments.

To save them the trouble of visiting each seller’s eCommerce website, PunchOut catalog software allows them to directly view, browse, search, and order products from the seller’s online catalog through their procurement application itself.

How to make your business PunchOut enabled?

PunchOut catalog is beneficial not only for B2B buyers but B2B sellers and suppliers too. It increases buyer retention, sales, and revenue for your business. Not only that, it demands little to zero maintenance and helps you scale your business. Let’s see how you can make your business PunchOut enabled.

1. Set up long-term contracts

Work on setting up long-term contracts with your existing customers and clients. This helps you to work better with the procurement applications they are using. Because while setting up your PunchOut catalog, the first and most important factor you need to check off is its compatibility with leading procurement systems.

Although PunchOut catalogs are easy to use and provide a better shopping experience, it does involve some learning curve in the beginning. You don’t want to lose your existing customers for solely that reason when you set up your PunchOut catalog. A long-term contract helps in these situations.

2. Connect to the eProcurement system

Since the entire shopping or procurement process begins in your customer’s eProcurement system, you need to connect your PunchOut catalog to their eProcurement application. After integration, the application mirrors your eCommerce store through which they can browse, search and order your products.

When the buyer decides to buy from you, a PunchOut request is set up where they punch out to your platform to shop and check out their cart. After examining the user’s data and credentials, you can offer custom pricing and products to the buyer.

3. Set up shopping cart response

After the buyer zeros in on which goods to buy from you, you need to transfer the shopping cart details from your eCommerce store to their shopping cart in their eProcurement application. This is what you call a shopping cart response. Once set up, the buyer-side system can easily generate purchase orders and send them for review within the company.

4. Enable ERP for orders

Most procurement applications integrate with Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP systems. You might be using one to help run your business. Make sure that you have enabled your ERP to receive orders from the buyers and review them before accepting them. Within your ERP, you will have all the necessary details like accounting information, budget, inventory, and other details that you will need for generating invoices.

5. Acknowledgment & send invoices

After you have reviewed and accepted the order, you need to notify your customers. This is something that you need to automate in your PunchOut catalog. It should automatically generate the purchase order acknowledgment and send it to your customer. This confirms that you will be able to provide the requested products or services.

Along with the acknowledgment, your eCommerce PunchOut catalog should also generate an electronic invoice and send it to your customer.

6. Pocess payments

Once you send your invoice to your customer along with the bank details, they will process the payments. This is the last step of the procurement process after which, the order is considered closed or completed. Of course, this will be followed by order fulfillment from your side where you need to process, pack and ship the products to the delivery address mentioned by your customer. But this is something you need to handle and will not come under the working of the PunchOut catalog.

Streamline your business with the VARStreet PunchOut solution

If you are a B2B seller looking to make your business PunchOut enabled, you need a solution that is compatible with leading eProcurement systems. VARStreet offers a diverse set of PunchOut integrations like SAP PunchOut, Ariba PunchOut catalog, PunchOut catalog Coupa, Jaggaer PunchOut catalog, JD Edwards PunchOut catalog, Peoplesoft PunchOut catalog, etc. Contact our PunchOut experts for simple and seamless integration so that you can retain your existing customers and onboard new ones.

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