The step from webshop to PunchOut

When you invest in your own ERP system for controlling operational processes, the various processes are incorporated.
It may seem logical to control the information on your raw materials and end products in your own ERP system, but for MRO product groups, it turns out to be an awful lot of work collecting this information and keeping it up to date.

After all, we are soon talking about a few thousand products from dozens to hundreds of product groups.

Instead of recording this information in your own catalogues and ordering from them, setting up a PunchOut interface allows you to combine the advantages of the two systems.

For low-value, non-critical consumables, the tendency is to switch from full item management in the in-house ERPS system to a segmented approach. Naturally, this segmentation will have a customer-specific character, so it can therefore result in tools, for example, no longer being stocked in your own warehouse.

The PunchOut interface grants all authorised users within the organisation access to one or more supplier catalogues. For the PunchOut “tools” and “office supplies” catalogues, for instance, the user therefore has insight into the current stock at the supplier’s distribution centre and can see real time what is available and can be ordered. As long as the preparation is carried out for those products that can be included in the PunchOut solution and commercial agreements regarding prices and stock status at the supplier, users can order these items with a rapid turnaround time.

From a TCO point of view, this generates significant cost savings for the organisation that rapidly more than recoup the investment entailed.

When setting up a PunchOut solution, it is essential to be able to set up communication between the ERP system (closed, secured environment) and the electronic catalogues (Internet application) using communication software.

A number of ERP software suppliers offer this solution as an expansion of their basic ERP solution. Another option is to use building bricks from third party software suppliers for this integration.

From a technical point of view, these days it is definitely possible to set up PunchOut integrations between any ERP system and the TradCom platform.

If it is not possible to set up a PunchOut, then TradCom offers various options for transferring information between the TradCom marketplace and the ordering module in your ERP system.

The information from the shopping baskets you have compiled can easily be transferred to your own ERP system.

This way, you can combine the advantages of using the electronic catalogues – detailed product information, real-time stock information and customer-specific prices – with the ability to fully complete the operational processes in your own ERP system. Goods will be received in your ERP system on the basis of detailed item information and invoice control is highly simplified because the price information is up to date.