When making purchases, procurement professionals expect the same functionality they experience as consumers shopping online at home. They want a seamless experience between their purchasing or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, and their approved vendors’ most up-to-date product and pricing information. In order to do this, businesses need to have a PunchOut store or the capability to PunchOut. Because this can be technologically complex, public sector organizations often inadvertently favor larger, more sophisticated vendors with this capability, and small businesses can get left in the dust.
“Every year since we have had our PunchOut store, sales have increased.”
Robin Peterson
Midwest Technology Products
How can small/disadvantaged vendors compete against the big guys, especially if don’t have an online presence already?
EqualLevel GO gives small OEMs or distributors, who may have limited IT capabilities, the opportunity to establish a PunchOut catalog store, or PunchOut store, that integrates with ERPs. This allows small companies to appear alongside their larger competitors.
A PunchOut store is a web-based, supplier-managed catalog storefront. The PunchOut store can be custom built on top of an existing eCommerce site or, more commonly, managed for the supplier by a third-party solution provider. Buying organization employees can access the supplier’s PunchOut store directly from their eProcurement marketplace, also known as “punching out” to the supplier’s site, or “PunchOut.” PunchOut allows the organization to maintain full control over order approval and payment.
How PunchOut works
The customer connects, or “punches out,” from their company’s system to a supplier’s eCommerce site. The PunchOut site identifies the buying organization and displays the appropriate products and prices. The shopper searches and selects goods they wish to purchase and adds them to their cart on the PunchOut site. At the end of the shopping session, the shopper checks out, which sends descriptions and prices of the goods placed in their cart to their ERP system.
Benefits of EqualLevel GO
EqualLevel GO’s PunchOut commerce site is scalable, easy-to-use and administer, and is provided at no charge to sellers when combined with EqualLevel’s buy-side eProcurement Marketplace solution.
EqualLevel GO customers experience tangible benefits, such as:
Increased Average Order Value
A PunchOut catalog store, combined with up-selling and cross-selling, is a powerful combination that increases total and average order value. Suppliers can show related and complementary products in their PunchOut store shopping cart and can anticipate and make adjustments that will increase the average sale.
Greater Ability to Attract Big Customers
When it comes to gaining large customers, a PunchOut catalog store is a win-win. Big enterprises are often on the lookout for suppliers who can allow them to order directly through their ERP procurement system. For many large organizations, PunchOut is a ”must-have” for engagement.
Improved Sales Productivity
A PunchOut catalog store streamlines the sales process because it produces more accurate orders. This means less time is spent correcting orders, which improves response times and overall productivity.
Improved Customer Relationships
By simplifying the purchasing process, suppliers strengthen customer relationships by receiving and responding to orders more quickly.
Click here to learn more about EqualLevel GO.
Further Reading
Small/disadvantaged customers like Midwest Technology Products, GBEX, and El Paso Office Products have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, EqualLevel GO to ensure their products are showing up in the search results of big buyers. Below are their stories:
Supplier Spotlight: Midwest Technology Products
