Seamless integration with Cloudfy Punchout will allow your B2B buyers to view your product catalog and place orders directly from their enterprise or procurement system.
You can tailor the experience for each of your buyers, including the look and feel, catalog listings and method of integration. Existing and new customers can place paperless Punchout orders with you.
Streamlining processes and minimizing order errors will improve your performance and build trust with your customers.
How does Punchout work?
Your buyers can access your product catalog from their own purchasing system. They leave or ‘punch out’ of their application to add items from your catalog to their shopping cart.
All the items they have chosen are then brought back to their in-house system as a requisition to be processed. They might not even be aware that they have visited your site.
What is a Punchout catalog?
You can offer a single Punchout catalog or multiple versions, tailored to your customers’ needs. Your catalog is supported by an open catalog interface (OCI). This allows a direct connection between your buyer’s enterprise or e-procurement system and your B2B ecommerce site.
How does a Punchout catalog work?
The OCI at the heart of Punchout is a standard format used by a wide range of enterprise and procurement systems, including SAP Ariba and Microsoft Dynamics AX.
When your buyer leaves their site, a login request is sent to connect their system with yours. They will be able to see products, prices, descriptions, purchase terms, and other information to help them make their purchases.
Once they have made their selection, their order will be processed using their own company’s workflow and financial approval processes. It will only be sent to you when it’s approved.
Your website communicates directly with your buyer’s procurement system using document sharing protocols like commerce XML (cXML), electronic data interchange (EDI) or XML common business library (xCBL), for example.
These protocols provide standards for online business transactions using document type definition (DTD). These explain the rules of the exchange and allow large volumes of data that can be transferred easily. Documents can be modified and validated, and information about the transaction is delivered during the connection.
Why is Punchout important?
Your buyers don’t need to import your catalog directly into their system, so it won’t become out of date; your pricing, stock levels and availability can be viewed in real-time. Order accuracy and speed of processing are improved, helping to build your customers’ loyalty and satisfaction.
Electronic purchase orders, e-invoicing and other B2B order automation can all be used to reduce the cost and complexity of each transaction, saving you time and money.
It’s easy to set up and test and you will have real-time feedback, so you can measure performance and track conversions. Thanks to integration with your customer’s systems, new users can be created and authorized easily. You can handle everything from simple listings to customized, grouped and configurable products.
Why choose Cloudfy B2B Punchout?
This is a one-stop solution that will make it really easy to connect with new buyers. It has been configured and set-up by our experts to be fully Punchout compliant and to deliver end-to-end integration.
Combined with the Cloudfy B2B ecommerce platform, it’s an easy-to-manage and cost-effective tool to improve customer experience and reduce transaction costs. This makes it ideal for small and medium-sized businesses and SMEs or for major corporations.
Find out how you can improve the cost to serve in your business. Talk to one of our Punchout experts.
