What is PunchOut?
PunchOut is a method for a corporate purchasing agent to buy from a supplier’s website from within the buyer’s own procurement application.
A PunchOut website is a standard e-commerce website with the special ability to communicate directly with a procurement system through cXML (an industry standard protocol used in many applications) and return a pending purchase order back to the buyer so they don’t need to enter product information in the procurement system.
PunchOut allows a user to shop a supplier’s catalogs based on the items and pricing that have been negotiated with the supplier.
A user punches out to the supplier’s website, selects from the list of available items to build a shopping cart and then checks out. Upon checkout, the selected items will populate a requisition which is then submitted for approval within the procurement application.
Who Provides PunchOut Integration To Sage 100 and Sage 100cloud?
Once the approval is complete and a purchase order is created it will be sent electronically to the vendor to complete the transaction and ship the items.
On the vendor side, companies like CIMcloud by Website Pipeline use this technology to let their e-commerce customers provide individualized catalogs for their B2B customers.
The orders placed in the catalog can flow into the CIMcloud customer’s Sage 100 system, while also being passed to the buyer’s procurement system for approval, payment, etc.
On the buyer side, purchasing agents can shop the catalogs right from a Sage-integrated procurement solution such as Paramount WorkPlace. They have access to all up-to-date pricing and product information from the vendor’s e-commerce site, including their approved products and negotiated pricing. It streamlines the procurement process and ensures that all parties are in agreement on purchasing terms.
Who Uses PunchOut?
Traditionally PunchOut vendors have been larger national suppliers for items such as office supplies and healthcare related as these are industries where pricing and products can change frequently.
Some PunchOut Partner Vendors Include:
- Amazon
- Dell
- Staples
- Burke Supply
- Evos Office Products
- Fisher Scientific
- HD Supply
- Office Depot
- PC Connection
- Office Max
- McKesson
- CDW
- Cardinal Health
However, as more suppliers and customers recognize the benefits of PunchOut the popularity and availability of PunchOut have grown significantly.
The benefits of PunchOut for customers/buyers include:
- Catalog Maintenance Eliminated: PunchOut eliminates the need for your buyers to update and maintain in-house catalogs: your vendors take on the responsibility of maintaining catalog product data
- Faster, More Accurate Requisitioning: Users access a vendor’s catalog with a single click and requisition fields are automatically populated after shopping, speeding requisition entry and reducing errors
- Catalog Is Always Current: Vendor updates to pricing and on-hand inventory are immediately visible, and requisitioners have access to current pricing and catalog information
The benefits of PunchOut for suppliers include:
- Customer Satisfaction due to:
- The quick and easy ordering process
- Shorter delivery times
- Up to date items and pricing
- Customer Retention because:
- Easy to do business
- Order accuracy
- Faster payment due to the accuracy of the PO and electronic submission of information
- Visibility to the ordering process that can facilitate additional selling opportunities to your customers.
There is a great business case for customers and suppliers of all sizes to recognize the benefits of PunchOut. It can truly be a win-win situation for all parties with a reasonable and affordable effort based on the value that you will receive.
For more information on using Punchout to order from your suppliers – see Paramount Workplace
For more information on building our your own company website for Punchout compatibility – see CIMcloud
