eCommerce PunchOut
What is PunchOut?
B2B PunchOut is an ecommerce solution that enables buyers to access the seller’s website to browse and purchase products - without leaving their own ERP.
Clicking through from SAP, Oracle or other procurement system, the buyer accesses the Punchout catalogue of pre-approved products on the seller’s website. Instead of checking out online, they “punch out” back to their own system to complete their usual purchasing workflow.
Whether using OCI or cXML, PunchOut technology connects the Buy-side (procure to pay) to the Sell-side (order to cash), in a way that delivers a win-win for both parties.
The PunchOut process
Budget and approval hierarchies mean your corporate customers can have complex purchasing needs.
PunchOut is one way those customers can leverage ecommerce, buying securely from your website without leaving their own hosted system or compromising their internal processes.
- 01 Buyer clicks through to you
- 02 Buyer builds cart
- 03 Buyer "punches out"
- 04 Buyer sends order
- 05 You fill the order
Buyer clicks through to you
Logging into their own procurement environment, the buyer clicks through to access your online product catalogue.
Though still in their own internal system, they see real-time product, availability, and pricing data on your website.
Buyer builds cart
Buyer "punches out"
Once the basket of goods is complete, the buyer punches out back to their own system.
From here, they complete their usual process for internal approval.
Purchase order is sent to you
You fill the order
An error-free customer order is now in your hands, ready to process and fulfill.
If you use sales order automation or EDI, the processing will be hands-free.
What are the benefits of PunchOut?
PunchOut aligns your selling process to your customer’s buying process.
By integrating your ecommerce site to your customer’s internal purchasing system, you provide superior service, reduce your cost-to-serve, and differentiate your business.
PunchOut benefits include
Buyers are accessing product and pricing data directly from your website. This means up-to-date order information is served in real time to your customer – no more obsolete items, incorrect units of measure, or invoice disputes.
Increasingly a B2B prerequisite, many enterprise organisations will refuse to do business with sellers who can’t offer them PunchOut. It’s a powerful part of any B2B ecommerce offering where large corporate customers are concerned.
Why offer PunchOut?
When it comes to PunchOut, everyone wins.
Deeply integrated and prized by enterprise level procurement, PunchOut creates not just value, but a strong bond between your customer and your business.
Offer procurement capability that your competitors are not likely to match.