PunchOut is a protocol that connects a supplier’s e-commerce software with the buyer’s procurement system. This allows the buyer to view the supplier’s site from within his own procurement system, thereby simplifying the purchasing process. PunchOut was once considered a luxury but today no more. As a supplier, if you want to stay relevant in today’s highly competitive environment, you have no option but to provide PunchOut integration.

Why You Should Implement a PunchOut Catalog Solution for your Big Customers

Customized Solution

PunchOut gives you the opportunity to create a customized solution for your B2B buyers. The PunchOut catalog is customized as per the buyer’s requirements. This means that the buyer can only view products and their negotiated prices as decided in the contract. They don’t have to browse through non-contract products, which helps to simplify their purchasing process. You are able to provide an Amazon-like shopping experience for your B2B buyers. From the business point of view, this works in your favor.

Expand your Business Reach

If you are serious about increasing your customer reach, it is important that you offer PunchOut catalog solutions to your B2B buyers. In fact, suppliers are unlikely to get contracts if they cannot provide access to a PunchOut catalog. Whether it is a government entity or a large private company, organizations are increasingly depending on procurement systems like Ariba, SciQuest or Oracle for making purchases. In such circumstances, suppliers cannot win new business without offering PunchOut.

Boost your Business Revenue

As aforementioned, offering PunchOut opens door to many lucrative business opportunities and subsequently brings success. Increase in customer base automatically translates into higher revenue. From attracting new customers to increase customer retention rates, PunchOut offers plenty of benefits to keep your B2B business financially sustainable. Also, as a supplier, the cost of setting up and maintaining the PunchOut catalog is insignificant as compared to the profits you make.

Establish an Efficient Sales Process

Implementing a PunchOut solution will bring efficiency into your sales process. With PunchOut, your customers can send electronic orders, which will help you to process and fulfill the order faster. Moreover, customers have access to real-time product and pricing information, which means you will always receive correct orders. Order accuracy is guaranteed, so no spending time in correcting orders.

Implement Upselling and Cross-Selling Strategies

PunchOut supports product upselling and cross-selling, proven sales strategies to increase in revenue. So for every PunchOut customer, you can cross-sell related products or upsell by suggesting upgraded versions. This ability to upsell/cross-sell products to PunchOut customers can help to increase order value and overall revenue.

Display Product Configurations

PunchOut gives you the opportunity to display product configurations. So as a supplier, if you are selling a wide range of product configurations, you can easily represent them on PunchOut catalog. CIF catalog lacks configuration capabilities but PunchOut allows you to display different configuration options so that your customer can create his own configuration and order it via PunchOut store.
On the whole, PunchOuts that come with unique features provide a hassle-free buying experience for B2B customers. So Online resellers are at a competitive disadvantage if they fail to provide PunchOut solution in a B2B sales environment.