PunchOut Catalogs can be simple websites or they can be very customizable. You may have many questions about where to start and what's the right direction for your company. We will be happy to help analyze which b2b ecommerce solution is best for your companies requirements. Feel free to contact us at 203-687-4117 for more information or complete the form on your right and a representative will follow up with you shortly. Below is some useful information as well as common questions we receive regarding Punchout Catalogs.

1) What is a Punchout Catalog?

A Punchout catalog is an online catalog (generally a vendor catalog) that is created with standard Punchout protocols such as cXML punchout which are used to connect the punchout website to a client's eprocurement system (i.e. Ariba, SAP, Oracle, SciQuest, Peoplesoft, etc). It is hosted and maintained by the vendor.

The punchout catalog's user interface is designed to provide the buyer with a user-friendly shopping experience. The term "punchout" refers to the act of the buyer selecting a link that "punches out" of the client's eprocurement system to a website managed by the vendor which is an online version of their product and/or service "catalog".

2) What is a CIF Catalog?

CIF stands for Catalog Interchange Format. A standard language for a list format of products and services and their attributes. It is also referred to as a hosted catalog or line item catalog. It's maintained by either the buyer or the vendor. The biggest negative to the CIF catalog is the large amount of resources needed to keep the CIF catalog up to date and relevant. Changes are also not real time because they require a re-upload of the data.

3) What is a Level 2 punchout catalog?

A level 2 punchout enables punchout suppliers to make their catalog searchable within the buyer's product search. When a buyers searches their eprocurement system the product will appear in the search results and a link will be displayed next to the product which will take the user to that punchout catalog (usually to that specific product page on the supplier’s punch-out site. For example, if the buyer searches their eprocurement system for a digital camera model C324, then the search result returns a link straight to the page of the supplier's punchout catalog that is designated for the digital camera C324.

4) Why would I use a Punchout Catalog instead of a Hosted Catalog/CIF Catalog?

A hosted catalog (also referred to as CIF catalog) limits your ability to sell your product to your buyer. With a PunchOut website you can create an Amazon like experience where you can provide more information about your product, control multilevel or custom pricing, provide more images, and upsell related products on the same landing page. In addition, as a vendor you have more control over keeping items on the site up to date.

5) What eprocurement systems can you create a punchout for?

AIT can connect you to any e-procurement system or e-procurement protocol including but not limited to ...

• Ariba
• ePlusB2B
• MRO
• PeopleSoft
• Oracle
• Market4Care
• Epicor
• Perfect Commerce
• SciQuest
• Oracle Exchange
• SupplyNet
• Science Warehouse
  SAP
• IBM ShopOut
• ExoStar
• Ketera
• Infor
• Unity