Technology continues to play a greater role in the B2B industry as businesses large and small find it helps streamline processes, create more sales channels, and increase their reach. B2B buyers benefit from wholesale distribution’s use of technology as well: they have easier access to information to help them make purchasing decisions, their interactions with suppliers are more engaging, relevant, and timely, and the entire buying process is less complex.
These efficiencies and expanded offerings can only be realized with digital technologies like cloud-based computing, digital communication channels, eCommerce, and punchout. A tool that is quickly becoming a preferred ordering method for B2B buyers, punchout connects a customer’s e-procurement solution to a supplier’s eCommerce site so they can shop the vendors’ products within their own procurement system. According to Digital Commerce 360, e-procurement sales increased 16% from 2022 to 2023 and continue to contribute to overall B2B eCommerce sales, which are predicted to reach over $2 trillion dollars this year.
Many industries – including medical and healthcare supplies, manufacturing and industrial, construction and building materials, educational institutions, and the public sector (government) – are pushing their vendors to offer punchout catalogs of their products. Those distributors who are meeting their needs find punchout not only simplifies their customers’ path to purchase, but it also creates more sales opportunities for their business and differentiates them from their competitors.
Why your customers want punchout
Punchout gives customers more control and visibility of their overall spend management. When purchases are made from their preferred vendors’ punchout catalogs within their own procurement application, those orders are consolidated into one centralized system where they can monitor and manage them more efficiently. Because the product orders go directly through their e-procurement system, there is no need for customers to manually re-key order data and they can be certain all orders that come through are from pre-approved catalogs with their contracted pricing.
Another benefit for customers is they shop from a personalized punchout catalog tailored to their needs. The distributor works with their customers to determine the products they order regularly and that are relevant to their industry. Once their custom punchout catalog is curated, customers can access it from their procurement system with a single sign-on and then navigate quickly and easily to their products.
Finally, punchout enables customers more efficient and frictionless buying without sacrificing the user experience. A punchout catalog offers an online shopping experience similar to the distributor’s eCommerce site, providing robust product information like product images, specs, pricing, and availability, as well as the ability to build and save multiple carts and add items to favorites lists. The product data within the punchout catalog is updated in real-time via a punchout module integrated with the distributor’s eCommerce platform, ensuring a consistent and reliable buying experience.
Benefits of punchout for your business
If your customers are initiating punchout conversations with you, consider their requests to integrate punchout technology into your eCommerce platform. Implementing punchout is easy and can provide some great benefits for your company as well. Once set up, punchout catalogs become another revenue channel that accelerates the purchasing cycle and streamlines your order management. The catalogs require little to no maintenance as product information is automatically updated via your eCommerce platform. Furthermore, punchout capabilities open the doors to attracting more customers looking for punchout suppliers.
Drive Growth with Punchout
Meet your customers where they are and drive growth for your business with punchout. It’s simple to integrate, easy to manage, and convenient to use. Unilog’s CX1 CIMM2 eCommerce platform has a self-configurable punchout module that enables easy setup and integration with many customer procurement systems including SAP, Ariba, Coupa, and Jaeggar.
Get in Touch
Interested in learning more about how punchout can benefit your business? Get in touch with us.