Out of contract purchases is one of the biggest problems faced by B2B customers. This is because these large customers access the entire vendor/supplier catalog. Hence many times, they inadvertently choose non-contract items, leading to error in order processing. However, when the customers use PunchOut catalog, they have access only to pre-approved items, thereby eliminating the time consuming task of going through the whole catalog.

Contract compliance with PunchOut is guaranteed while purchasing products as only contract items are made available to the users. Also, product pricing is never the same for two B2B customers. PunchOut ensures that every customer will be able to view his own product pricing that are decided in the agreement. As a result, buyers no longer have to spend time in manually calculating the special or contract pricing whenever they select a product from the vendor catalog.

Also, after logging out of the session, the cart returns to the customer’s procurement system wherein it is automatically routed for approval. Moreover, once the approval is received and a purchase order is created, it can be electronically sent to the vendor with a single click. So one can say that the protocol streamlines the ordering process of large customers. Orders generated are error free, which can save a lot of time and money of both the customer and the vendor.

Ariba and SciQuest are some of the most sought after PunchOut providers. Suppliers commonly use Ariba PunchOut catalog to connect with their customers. No matter which one you prefer, B2B buyers will surely find it convenient to purchase items through this functionality.


On the whole, with PunchOut, interacting with vendor has never become so easy before for B2B customers. The protocol makes it easy for them to do business with vendor. So as a supplier, if you want to close more B2B deals, make sure that you provide SciQuest PunchOut catalog for your customers.