IFAS: PunchOut

PunchOut can help streamline the purchasing process by allowing your organization to shop directly on a vendor’s web catalog, using negotiated pricing and catalogs. When a user checks out from the web site, PunchOut seamlessly imports their shopping cart as an IFAS requisition, where it is pre-encumbered and can follow your standard Workflow approval routing. When the purchase order is finalized in IFAS, it is electronically transmitted to the vendor to initiate the order. In essence, PunchOut integrates the supplier website with your IFAS Purchasing module.

Many vendors already support punchout technology, and have developed “punchout catalogs” designed specifically for the punchout process. When a vendor authorizes your organization to use their punchout catalog, the catalog items listed on the website can be customized to your organization and offered at a discounted price.

SunGard Public Sector’s PunchOut offers an additional cost benefit over other punchout offerings: your organization can avoid hiring a third party to implement the punchout connection. IFAS has a single setup screen which simplifies the implementation, enabling your staff to configure new vendors for use with PunchOut.

Features

• Link directly to PunchOut vendors from the IFAS dashboard.
• Vendors are responsible for punchout catalog maintenance, so your buyers don’t have to verify product cost or availability.
• When the user goes through the checkout of the supplier webpage, PunchOut drafts a purchase request in the IFAS Purchasing module, populated with information such as product descriptions, prices and quantities.
• PunchOut can trigger a workflow process to route the purchase request for approvals, budget checks, or any other IFAS tasks.
• As part of the creation of the purchase request, the items are pre-encumbered.
• When the purchase order is printed, a workflow model initiates the purchase order with the supplier.
• PunchOut utilizes cXML, the most widely adopted B2B protocol available.