PunchOut Catalogs and Marketplace Configuration Page

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• What is a PunchOut Catalog

• How to Manage PunchOut Integrations

  • Marketplace Configuration Page

  • Available Integrations

• How to Set Up and Test PunchOut Catalogs

  • PunchOut Configuration for Multiple Legal Entities
  • Automatically Add PunchOut Items to the Catalog

• How to Use PunchOut Catalogs

  • Create a Document from a PunchOut Catalog
  • Shipping Address in PunchOut Documents
  • Cancel PunchOut PRs When Their PO Is Canceled

• How to Notice Orders that Weren't Sent

• How to Disable or Delete a PunchOut Catalog

  • Temporarily disable a PunchOut
  • Delete a PunchOut catalog

What is a PunchOut Catalog

PunchOut technology allows you to access your preferred suppliers' stores from Precoro. Once the integration is established, you can be redirected to the vendor’s website from the purchase requisition or order creation pages. There, you can browse items, add the needed supplies to the shopping cart, and then transfer the cart directly to the document you are creating.

PunchOut Catalogs help you:

• Stay within budget by accessing real-time prices and negotiating personalized discounts.
• Reduce manual work with an ordering process as simple as online shopping.
• Delegate catalog maintenance to suppliers who keep product details and pricing up to date.

You can choose whether to use the catalog for purchase requisitions or orders when configuring the integration. Therefore, you can set it up even if your company doesn’t use the Purchase Requisitions module.

How to Manage PunchOut Integrations

Marketplace Configuration Page

To set up and manage PunchOut catalogs, navigate to Configuration → Marketplace Configuration. Take note of these features available on the page:

• The list of vendors with short overviews can help you decide which catalogs to set up. Cards also have links to the suppliers’ official websites.

• The previously connected catalogs are displayed at the top with a white background and information about legal entities. Press three-dot button to Edit or Delete the catalog.

• Available vendor cards have Add (+) button, which directs you to the specific catalog configuration page.

• The Create button (top-right corner) allows you to build a Custom Connector to integrate with any PunchOut-supported supplier.
  

Available Integrations

Below is the list of currently available PunchOut catalogs with descriptions. Here, you can also find detailed setup guides for every catalog. The guides feature emails of representatives you can contact for credentials; if no contact is listed, there’s no dedicated manager for setting up a PunchOut integration with Precoro, so you can contact the store’s sales representative.

Precoro uses cXML for PunchOut catalog connections. For custom PunchOut integrations, you can choose how approved purchase orders are delivered to the supplier: through a cXML Purchase Order Request or by email as a PDF. Learn more here.

How to Set Up and Test PunchOut Catalogs

Please follow these steps when setting up any of the available PunchOut Catalogs. This sequence will help you communicate with the supplier and establish the integration correctly.

Additionally, the setup guides linked in this section provide specific recommendations for every PunchOut and notes on how to fill out configuration fields.

1. Ensure you have a business account on the vendor’s website. If you don’t, contact the supplier to discuss this possibility and ask if a PunchOut catalog can be set up for your company. 

2. Then, reach out to a sales representative or a contact specified in the setup guide for this particular catalog and request a PunchOut.

3. Once the vendor configures the catalog, you’ll receive credentials for testing and production.

4. Navigate to Configuration → Marketplace Configuration, find the necessary vendor, and click the Add button to open the PunchOut Configuration page.

5. In the Start Purchase Process From field, select whether your purchase process will begin with an Order or a Requisition document. You can always return and change this selection later.

6. If your company uses multiple legal entities, enable the Set by Legal Entity option to configure PunchOut catalogs separately for each one. Learn more here.

7. Optionally, you can first enter your test credentials to check how the catalog works.  The orders you create during testing are not processed or sent to the supplier.

8. Once ready, enter the production credentials on the PunchOut Configuration page. After you update the settings, the orders you create with the catalog are processed, so the supplier will receive and fulfill them.

9. Required: after placing your first order via the PunchOut Catalog using the production credits, please contact the supplier to verify your order was received. It is not recommended to create new orders until you’ve received the confirmation.

PunchOut Configuration for Multiple Legal Entities

If your company uses multiple legal entities, you may need to set up PunchOut Catalogs with different credentials and settings for each of them.

How it works:

1. Enable the Set by Legal Entity option during PunchOut integration setup.

2. You’ll see several tabs corresponding to legal entities on the PunchOut Configuration page.
3. While this option is disabled, you’ll have the same setup for all LEs.

Note!

• The Start Purchase Processes From field must have the same value for all LEs that use this PunchOut. Once you’ve selected starting with PR or PO for one LE, other tabs will display this field as View Only.
• You can change Start Purchase Processes From on the All Legal Entities tab. In this case, incomplete PunchOut documents will be converted into standard ones and processed manually.
• Changes made in the All Legal Entities tab are applied across all entities where possible. If a change cannot be applied (for instance, due to access restrictions), the system will display a notification.
• If you add a new LE after you’ve configured a PunchOut, you’ll need to connect it separately for this entity.

Automatically Add PunchOut Items to the Catalog

If you’re using PunchOuts and the Inventory module, you can automatically add items ordered via PunchOuts to your item catalog and tracks them in your inventory when you add receipts.

To enable it:

1. Go to Configuration → Marketplace Configuration.
2. Open the needed PunchOut configuration.
3. Enable Automatically Add Items to the Catalog.
4. Save the changes.

Once this setting is enabled, Precoro checks items from approved PunchOut orders.

• If the item matches an existing catalog item, Precoro links the PunchOut item to it instead of creating a duplicate. PunchOut items are matched the same way whether or not this setting is enabled. See Mapping with Catalog for how Precoro finds a matching item.

• If no matching item is found, Precoro creates a new Inventory catalog item using the details received from the supplier, such as SKU, name, price, currency, and unit of measurement.
  
  When available in the PunchOut data, Precoro also saves the Supplier Part #, MPN (Manufacturer Part Number), and Manufacturer. You can review or edit these values later in the Catalog.

• When you post receipts to a warehouse, these PunchOut items are recorded under the corresponding inventory items.

How to Use PunchOut Catalogs

Once a PunchOut catalog is connected, you can use it to create documents in the module selected in Start Purchase Processes From: Purchase Requisitions or Purchase Orders.

Create a Document from a PunchOut Catalog

1. Open the Purchase Requisitions or Purchase Orders module.

2. Click the request button at the top of the page:

• Request from [Supplier], if one catalog is set up for this module (for example, Request from Staples).
  
  
• Request from Marketplace, if several catalogs are set up. Select the catalog you need and click Create.
  
  

3. Fill out the document details, including Shipping Address, which is where the supplier will deliver your order. Learn more below.

4.Click Next Step. You’ll be redirected to the supplier’s website.

5. Add the items you need to the cart and complete checkout. Precoro brings you back to the document with your cart items added.

6. Review the details and click Confirm to start the approval process.

Shipping Address in PunchOut Documents

PunchOut documents have a separate Shipping Address field that shows where the supplier delivers the order. When you start a PunchOut session, the field appears right after Location.

• The field is prefilled from the location's Shipping Address. If the location has none, enter the address manually, because the field is required.
• You can change the address right away or later, until the purchase order is sent to the marketplace. For example, enter a one-time address that isn't saved as a location.
• The address stays the same from PR to PO, and Precoro sends it to the supplier with the order.

To have the address prefilled, add it to the location. Read how here.

Cancel PunchOut PRs When Their PO Is Canceled

When you cancel an approved PO that was created from a PunchOut PR and already sent to the supplier, Precoro cancels the PR too, so it no longer stays open as Not Ordered.

If the PO hasn’t been sent to the supplier yet, the PR stays Not Ordered after you cancel the PO, so you can still order the items.

How to Notice Orders that Weren't Sent

Orders from PunchOut catalogs may occasionally fail to send due to connection errors or incorrect credentials. Precoro sends email notifications that let you know whenever you need to resend an order. Thanks to this feature, no info will be lost, so you can be confident that suppliers are informed of your purchases.

Here’s how the notifications work:

1. If the order can’t be sent to the supplier, the PO creator receives a Please Resend Your PunchOut Order email.
2. The email contains a link to the document that wasn’t sent. On the document page, click the new Resend Order to Marketplace button once ready. 
3. After the order is successfully sent, it will gain the Sent to Marketplace status. If the issue persists, please check if the credentials in the PunchOut configuration are up to date or contact our support team. 

How to Disable or Delete a PunchOut Catalog

Temporarily disable a PunchOut

Disable the connection while keeping your credentials saved in Precoro. This is useful while a supplier is experiencing issues or while you're negotiating new terms.

1. Navigate to Configuration → Marketplace Configuration and open the needed PunchOut’s page.
2. Temporarily disable the connection. We offer two options:
• Click a toggle near the page header to disable the integration for the entire company.
• If you have multiple legal entities, find the needed LE in the left-hand panel, click three vertical dots (more actions), and click Disable.

When a PunchOut is disabled, your team won’t be able to use it to create PRs or POs. However, your credentials will remain on the page, so you can re-activate the integration once ready.

Delete a PunchOut catalog

Users with the Configuration role can delete PunchOut Catalogs by following these steps:

1. Navigate to Configuration → Marketplace Configuration, find the catalog you want to delete, and press Edit.
2. On the next page, scroll to the bottom and press Delete.
3. You’ll see a notification describing how the incomplete documents are processed. Press Yes to confirm the action.

Here's what changes when you delete a PunchOut:

1. The credentials for this integration are permanently deleted. You'll need to enter them again to reconnect the catalog.

2. All documents created via the PunchOut that haven't been approved are converted to regular documents. They're no longer marked as "from PunchOut". Once they're approved, they can still be sent to the supplier via email.
3. All Draft documents created via the PunchOut are deleted.

Can't find a feature you need? You can submit an idea and see what's planned on our Open Product Roadmap—to learn how, see How to Request a New Feature or Share Feedback.