Punchout catalog & EDI integration for B2B distributors

The buyer punches out

The buyer clicks your catalog tile in Ariba, Coupa, Jaggaer or Oracle. Their system sends a cXML PunchOutSetupRequest (or an OCI call from SAP SRM/S/4HANA) and the buyer lands in your store, signed in to their company account.

They build the cart in your store

Search, spec sheets, stock and contract prices – the storefront you maintain, under your brand. A 3/8-in. hex bolt, box of 100, shows at their negotiated $18.40, not at list.

The cart returns as a requisition

One click posts the cart back (cXML PunchOutOrderMessage or OCI form). It becomes a requisition, passes approval and reaches you as a PO – cXML OrderRequest, EDI 850 or email.

PunchOutSetupRequest in, PunchOutOrderMessage back – the protocol behind SAP Ariba, Coupa, Jaggaer, Oracle iProcurement and most US procurement platforms.

Buyers on SAP SRM or S/4HANA punch out via OCI (catalog URL, credentials, HOOK_URL). Same store, second protocol.

Each punchout account is tied to a customer account, and that account to its price lists and special prices in the ERP. See customer-specific pricing.

You decide which account gets punchout access to which storefront. The buyer’s IT receives a one-page setup sheet: URL, credentials and the fields returned per line (SKU, description, quantity, UOM, net price).

Purchase order

The customer’s PO arrives and is created as a sales order in your ERP – ship-to, PO number, lines, requested dates.

PO acknowledgment

Confirms lines, quantities, prices and ship dates from what your ERP actually accepted, including backorders.

Advance ship notice

Generated from the ERP delivery: shipment, packages, tracking numbers – so the receiving dock knows what is coming.

Invoice

Sent from the ERP invoice with the customer’s PO reference, so it matches automatically in their AP system.

Industrial supply & MRO

Many low-value lines, high frequency, plant buyers with approval limits. Suppliers without punchout drop off the preferred list.

Safety & PPE

Gloves, eyewear and respirators are ordered by many people at many sites. Punchout keeps them inside the approved assortment.

Jan-San

Facilities and campus buyers order from a contracted list with tiered pricing. The catalog has to show the tier price, not list.

Packaging

Blanket agreements, plant-specific ship-tos, case and pallet quantities – punchout plus 850/856 is the usual combination.

Lab supply

Universities, hospitals and research groups buy through Jaggaer or Ariba almost exclusively. No punchout, no PO.

Do you support cXML PunchOut for SAP Ariba?

Yes. The CS Order Suite implements cXML PunchOut (PunchOutSetupRequest in, PunchOutOrderMessage back), the protocol used by SAP Ariba, Coupa, Jaggaer and Oracle iProcurement. The buyer’s catalog admin registers your punchout URL and shared secret, we test in their test realm, then the catalog goes live for that account.

What is the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 punchout?

Level 1 takes the buyer to the front door of your store to search and browse. Level 2 adds item-level entry points, so the buyer’s procurement search lists your items and deep-links to the product page. Level 1 is the standard setup; Level 2 is scoped per buyer during onboarding, since it depends on what their platform indexes.

Can we do EDI 850 without punchout?

Yes, they are independent. An account that only sends EDI 850s and expects 855, 856 and 810 back never touches the storefront; the documents flow between their EDI provider and your ERP through the platform. Some accounts use both: punchout to select, EDI to transmit the PO.

Amazon Business or our own punchout catalog?

Amazon Business is itself a punchout catalog inside Ariba, Coupa and Oracle, so your customers’ buyers know the workflow. The difference is ownership: there you pay a marketplace fee, competitors sit on the same product page and pricing is standardized. Your own catalog carries your contract pricing from the ERP, your assortment and no commission – the stronger channel for negotiated terms. Amazon Business suits standardized C-parts without special pricing.

How long does onboarding a punchout customer take?

Once the platform is live, typically a few days per buyer: we create the punchout account tied to their customer record, hand their procurement team a setup sheet (URL, credentials, supported fields) and run a joint test from their system. The pace is set by the buyer’s procurement or IT team, not the technology – some enable a supplier in an afternoon, others wait for a monthly catalog window.

Do punchout orders use the customer’s contract pricing?

Yes. Every punchout account is linked to a customer account, and that account to its price lists and special prices in your ERP. The buyer sees the same net prices your inside sales team sees, and the cart returns them line by line.

Where does the purchase order arrive after a punchout session?

That depends on the buyer. After approval, their system issues the PO as a cXML OrderRequest, an EDI 850 or an emailed PO. Either way it ends up as a sales order in your ERP – for SAP Business One through the ready adapter.

Do we need an EDI provider or VAN?

Not necessarily. Many large trading partners require a VAN or a specific EDI provider; others accept a direct AS2 connection. The CS Order Suite works with the provider you or your customer already use, or connects directly where the partner allows it. The route is settled per trading partner during onboarding.

Ready to be a punchout-enabled supplier?

In a live demo we walk through a punchout session end to end – from the buyer’s procurement system into the store and back, to the order arriving in SAP Business One. Pricing is something we cover personally.

Your contact

Christian Stockerl

Managing Director
CS Management & IT-Beratung GmbH