Procurement Office introduces Punchout
02 Jul 2009
Access suppliers' websites directly from Oracle Financials iProc system
The Procurement Office is pleased to announce an enhancement to the use of catalogues within Oracle iProcurement. For some months now, we have had several local supplier catalogues hosted within Oracle that have been maintained and updated by the Procurement Office and have now implemented 'punchout' direct to supplier web sites.
What is Punchout?
Punchout is the ability to access a supplier's website directly from Oracle Financials iProcurement (iProc) system. This utilises the suppliers’ search, compare and 'shopping basket' functionality and brings the information directly back to iProc requisitions without the need to re-key data.
What are the benefits of using Punchout?
- No re-keying of data and utilising the supplier's description. Reduces the risk of receiving the wrong item due to mis-typing of information.
- Commodity code already set up on the system allowing enhanced use of management information and correct accounting for expenditure.
- Utilising the University approved suppliers with the resultant cost savings.
- Increased take up on expenditure with suppliers which will allow the Procurement Office to renegotiate enhanced benefits for the University.
- Auto creation of purchase order negating the re-keying of information.
What happens next?
The two suppliers inititally chosen for testing were Lyreco (Stationery suppliers) and OneCall (Electronic components) and both these are available for you to use now directly from iProc.
Details on how to use these suppliers can be found at the link below. We are also adding more punchout catalogues and local catalogues on a regular basis and new “How to ...” sheets will be available on the same page.
Can I nominate suppliers to be added to iProc?
The only suppliers that can be added to iProc are those that have been awarded formal contracts via the Central Procurement Office, are in common use across the University as a whole and apply consistent pricing to all customers. Details of these contracted suppliers can be found via the Procurement home page (see link below) and by looking at the CuPID database. Initially we are adding contracted suppliers that have a high volume of transactions to make it easier for University staff to place orders and these should be visible within the next couple of months.
Details of new suppliers, news and announcements will be regularly updated via the Procurement Office News web pages and you are encouraged to regularly visit these pages to see the latest news.
Janet Lewis
Senior Procurement Officer