Punchout Catalogs

As a catalog administrator, you can set up punchout catalogs using the Manage Catalogs task from the Catalogs work area.

To get started, first take some time to consider the following:

• Why use punchout

• When to use punchout

• Considerations for Choosing a punchout model.

• Considerations for Integrating a Punchout Catalog with a Market Place

• Punchout workflow from Oracle Self Service Procurement to a Supplier Hosted Catalog.

• Repeat punchout.

Why Use Punchout

Punchout catalogs enable requesters using the Requisitions and Search pages of the Purchase Requisitions work area to click a link that opens a supplier catalog. They can use the punchout catalog to search for items on the supplier site, and to return those items directly to a requisition. They can then edit and submit the requisition.

Using a punchout catalog allows suppliers to maintain and host their own catalog information. This ensures that the latest content and pricing is available to requesters. The supplier can closely manage the content, and can control access by allowing only certain buyers or requesters to use the site.

If a contract agreement exists with a punchout supplier, the shopping cart returned from the supplier punchout site can include the contract agreement number. This contract agreement number, if valid, is stored on the requisition line and allows for the automatic creation of a purchase order when the requisition is approved.

When to Use Punchout

Punchout is particularly useful for products that are configurable, or include highly variable dynamic items and pricing. These products are difficult and costly to maintain in a buyer-hosted catalog.

Considerations for Choosing a Punchout Model

The figure below shows the process to decide which punchout model to use. Choose the punchout model that best works for your organization.

For a particular supplier punchout site, determine which XML protocol to use. Punchout supports both cXML and Oracle native XML standards, depending on the model used.In model 1a, use the XML (Extensible Markup Language) protocol. XML is a standard for passing data between applications, and provides a common language for sites to communicate across the internet. In model 1b, use the cXML (Commerce Extensible Markup Language) protocol. cXML is an extension of XML, with standards published by cXML.org.Suppliers who already maintain cXML catalogs can continue to do so without having to support XML as well.

Considerations for Integrating a Punchout Catalog with a Market Place

You can integrate punchout catalogs with a marketplace solution that hosts local catalog items. Therefore, procurement requesters can add master items and agreement lines from a market place to the user's requisition in Oracle Fusion Cloud Procurement.

When you configure a punchout catalog with a marketplace solution, the deliver-to organization is derived from the deliver-to location specified in the requisition preferences and send to a user's punchout request. The external market place can use this content filtering information and display only the goods and services that are purchasable in that organization.

The shopping cart returned from the marketplace can include a master item number. The master item number, if valid, is captured on the requisition line. When items are available internally, the application determines the best way to source it. Items can be fulfilled using an internal material transfer or can be purchased from a supplier. In the case of supplier purchases, items can be automatically sourced from a blanket purchase agreement in addition to a contract purchase agreement. When finding a source agreement, the application uses the supplier information returned in the shopping cart. If no supplier information is available in the cart, the application selects the best candidate agreement among all suppliers. The price of the item defaults on the requisition from the blanket purchase agreement. Configure the punchout catalog to disable automatic document sourcing when you want to retain the supplier's price on items.

The shopping cart can also include the blanket or contract purchase agreement number if an agreement exists. In case of a blanket purchase agreement, the agreement line number should be returned in the cart. The agreement number, if valid, is captured on the requisition line. The item and pricing information defaults on the requisition from the blanket purchase agreement.

Punchout Workflow from Self Service Procurement to Supplier Hosted Catalog

In both models 1a and 1b, the supplier hosts the catalog on their own site or web store. As the catalog administrator, you set up a punchout catalog to use the supplier site as a punchout site.

The figure shows the flow of information between Self Service Procurement and a punchout supplier site for models 1a and 1b.When a requester clicks a punchout link to the supplier site, the supplier authenticates the requester and returns a response. If the authentication is successful, the requester is directed to the supplier punchout catalog to search for and add items. When the requester completes adding items to the supplier shopping cart, the supplier site returns the shopping cart items to the Purchase Requisitions work area. In cXML (1b) catalogs, user-defined purchasing line types along with goods and fixed price services can be returned for items in the cart.When the requester returns from punchout with items, they're returned to the Edit Requisition page. The requester can view the items added as requisition lines, and can then submit the requisition. For lines leveraging user-defined line types in 1b, the downstream business processes such as approvals and invoice matching will be as per the options defined on line types.

Repeat Punchout (cXML)

Self Service Procurement provides the capability for requesters and approvers to inspect cXML punchout items through repeat punchout, if the supplier site supports the inspect or edit operation. This is controlled through the operationAllowed tag in the cXML files. Because Self Service Procurement supports only the inspect operations, any changes made on the supplier site during repeat punchout aren't returned to the requisition. If repeat punchout is enabled, the item is linked on the Edit Requisition page.