eProcurement is one of the fastest growing B2B sales channels with over one trillion dollars in sales globally in 2022.

A large part of this growth is due to eCommerce website ‘Punch Out’ capabilities which allows you to integrate your eCommerce webstore with your customers eProcurement platforms.

This allows your buyer to shop on your ecommerce webstore from their eProcurement platform, with purchase order and invoice data automatically exchanged between you and customer.  Traditionally eProcurement was restricted to large organisations with big budgets, due to the technology required and the costs involved. However, Technology has now evolved to the point where these sophisticated systems are available to smaller companies at affordable prices. Source 2023 U.S. B2B Ecommerce Market Report

How does Punch Out work.. 

1. Your customer punches out from their eProcurement system to your ecommerce webstore and build a shopping cart of products that they want to order.
2. When they have added everything to their shopping cart, they will click on a button that takes them back to their procurement system along with a file containing all the items they placed in the cart.
3. The items will become a purchase order in their eProcurement system with the all the correct product codes and prices and a delivery address and other details.
4. Your customer then places the order using their eProcurement system which will have internal buying processes built in such approvals, budget management, contract compliance and many others. 

Benefits

1. Streamlined Procurement Process: Punch Out Round Trip streamlines the procurement process and reduces the need for manual data entry and ensures that the procurement process is more efficient.
2. Improved Accuracy and Data Integrity: By eliminating manual data entry, Punch Out reduces the risk of errors and ensures better data integrity. The information retrieved from your ecommerce webstore is directly integrated into your customers ERP procurement system, minimizing the chance of inaccuracies.
3. Enhanced User Experience: The Punch Out method offers a better user experience as it combines searching for products, ordering, tracking etc into a simple integrated flow. This can lead to increased customer adoption and satisfaction and also enables a greater number of users to familiarize themselves with your product catalogue.
4. Real-Time Catalogue Updates: With Punch Out, your larger customers can access your product catalogue in real-time. This means that they see the most up-to-date product information, prices, and availability. This is especially important in industries where product offerings and prices can change frequently.
5. Consistent Pricing and Contract Compliance: Punch Out helps enforce consistent pricing and contract compliance as your large customers are more likely to see the agreed-upon prices and terms, plus other data such as product specifications and stock availability reducing the risk of errors or discrepancies.
6. Better Spend Visibility: Punch Out can provide better visibility into spending patterns. Procurement systems can capture detailed information about the items selected by buyers, helping companies analyze spending trends and make more informed decisions.

Ultimately this will help you win and retain large customers and get paid faster.

With the 360 Commerce Punch Out module, 360 Commerce can help you integrate with your customer's eProcurement system to provide an integrated, streamlined shopping experience.