Ariba PunchOut: Why Do you Require it?

As we all know, a PunchOut is a protocol that establishes a direct connection between the supplier’s site and the customer’s procurement application. It is a direct link to the supplier’s store that enables the customer to shop from within his procurement system. It allows PunchOut users (customers) to better interact with their suppliers. No wonder, B2B and B2G customers are likely to do business with suppliers that have PunchOut-enabled sites.

As a B2B customer, if you want to create a customized online store tied to your Ariba procurement system, you can always rely on Ariba PunchOut, the flexible solution to configure and integrate online store with your procurement application. A PunchOut catalog, as we all know, is another version of the supplier’s online catalog that can be directly accessed from your procurement application.

As a B2B customer, you really don’t have to worry about maintaining PunchOut catalog as it is done efficiently at the supplier’s end. Moreover, it is designed and customized as per your unique requirements. Since the buying needs vary from one B2B customer to another, your PunchOut catalog is unique in that aspect.

Ariba PunchOut catalog will never contain non-contract products, which means no wasting time in browsing through irrelevant products. You get customized content and a personalized shopping experience, which helps to simplify the purchasing process. Also, you see product data along with their photos and not in line-format.

Moreover, content and pricing are dynamic between supplier-provided updates. This means, any changes in catalog content are available to you in real time. No reloading of catalog is required to view content updates. If you want to buy configurable products from your suppliers, it is possible via PunchOut. This is because unlike CIF catalog, a PunchOut catalog allows suppliers to display configurable products on their online store. Moreover, you receive customized promotions on the basis of your preferences and shopping behavior.