Holly Condon • October 1, 2021
But the trend isn’t being driven by surface-level preferences or whims. The increased adoption of B2B eCommerce and PunchOut is rooted deeply in several underlying factors, including:
Given that, it’s critical to understand what PunchOut catalogs are, how they work, and what to look for in a PunchOut solution. Read on for the answers.
A PunchOut catalog is an eProcurement tool that enables a corporate buyer to purchase items directly from a supplier’s website. That PunchOut catalog, aka PunchOut website, is customized to reflect special pricing and discounts negotiated between the buyer and seller. Best of all, buyers can use a single-platform process for purchasing, as the supplier’s Punchout catalogs are connected directly to the buyer’s own purchasing application.
Using a PunchOut website is relatively simple, and it delivers efficiencies at every point in the buying process. A buyer selects a vendor in their own system and is taken to the vendor’s custom website, where they find their negotiated, up-to-date pricing and products with that vendor.
The buyer then places items in the shopping cart and “checks out”, auto-populating purchase requisitions and sending them through the buyer’s eProcurement system for approval, rather than straight to the supplier. Once approved, the solution automatically creates purchase orders and sends them to the vendor.
More and more buyers are requiring their suppliers to offer PunchOut websites as they realize tremendous savings in time, labor, and cost. And suppliers are happy to heed the call because, well, competition. The PunchOut site benefits buyers in many ways, including:
PunchOut websites improve speed and efficiency for all supply chain players, most notably the buyer. End-users can go directly to a suppliers’ website to make fast, informed buying decisions. Suppliers can make real-time updates to catalogs, so buyers never have to wonder if they’re looking at the correct price. And an intuitive, mobile-friendly eCommerce platform ensures a superior customer experience, making end-users more eager to adopt PunchOut automation.
PunchOut websites also free Accounts Payables (AP) staff of tedious, low-value tasks like data entry to focus on more important strategic ones. There’s no need for time-consuming purchase order (PO) processing, as the system automatically generates POs and routes them through appropriate channels. Procurement departments don’t have to maintain and update supplier catalogs either, as those tasks are the supplier’s responsibility.
Finance departments love integrated procurement PunchOut because it’s centralized within one application, providing visibility and increased control over purchasing. Controllers can ensure that departments are buying approved products at pre-negotiated rates from approved vendors while also consolidating purchases and controlling inventory.
Through automation and workflows, PunchOut can reduce processing costs by up to 85 percent. Plus, there are no printing or operational costs related to the publication and maintenance of the catalogs—as again, that’s the supplier’s responsibility.
With procurement PunchOut catalogs, you get to decide how and where your end-users can shop. You can pre-select major vendors (like Amazon, Office Depot, or Staples), choose products for your catalog, and even set pricing with your suppliers ahead of time.
With these measures in place, your accounts payable team can more easily pinpoint fraudulent payments requests when they come along. If the vendor doesn’t have a PunchOut catalog in your system or the invoice doesn’t match the negotiated prices on your supplier’s PunchOut website, you can rest assured that the invoice isn’t authentic.
Fifty percent of B2B eCommerce buyers cite “personalization” as a key factor when researching online suppliers. In response, 55 percent of B2B suppliers are using their marketing dollars to create a more personalized buying experience. The supplier’s goal is customer retention, but through that process, buyers win too.
When end-users are familiar with a brand’s interface (UI), they can easily find the items they’re looking for, which results in fewer ordering mistakes. Most importantly, these buyer-seller relationships strengthen the buyer’s negotiation position for pricing, terms, and service, and buyers enjoy a more pleasant and transparent customer experience.
Not all Punchout Systems are created equal. You need a PunchOut solution that also integrates seamlessly with your ERP and includes, at a minimum:
While eCommerce tools like procurement PunchOut are just one part of your overall procurement strategy, they can significantly impact cost savings and efficiency for improved productivity, competitive advantage, and profitability. CFOs can control spend through centralization and visibility. AP teams can focus on their best and highest use, as they no longer spend time on data entry and PO processing. And end-users can enjoy a quality buying experience that ensures they receive the correct items in the right quantity on time.
Ready to improve your procurement workflows and optimize your resources? Make PunchOut catalogs part of your procurement strategy.
Contact our team to see how our PunchOut catalogs can improve your procure-to-pay process.
With over 25 years' experience in the SaaS space, Holly brings a wealth of industry knowledge to the table. She previously held leadership roles at PairSoft's subsidiary PaperSave and resides in South Carolina with her family.
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