Optimising punchout for IT procurement

OPTIMISING PUNCHOUT FOR IT PROCUREMENT
OCTOBER 2023
Punchout integration with a real-time marketplace for buying IT hardware and accesso-
ries offers numerous benefits in terms of efficiency, real-time information access, and
centralised procurement. However, it also comes with challenges related to integration
complexity, dependency on external systems, and potential customisation limitations.
This report aims to weigh the risks and benefits in a transparent and balanced manner.

WWW.MARKIT.EU 2 OCTOBER 2023
CONTENTS
CONTEXT AND INTRODUCTION 3
THE PERFECT FIT 4
BENEFITS OF PUNCHOUT INTEGRATION 5
Efficiency 5
Real-time Pricing and Availability 5
Catalogue Consistency 5
Centralised Procurement 6
Simplified Reordering 6
Dynamic Product Range 6
Updated Pricing 6
Real-Time Inventory 6
Variety of Suppliers 6
POTENTIAL RISKS OF PUNCHOUT INTEGRATION 7
Integration Complexity 7
Dependency on the Marketplace 7
Customisation Limitations 7
Supplier Compatibility 7
Data Security and Privacy 8
User Training 8
Initial Investment 8
CORE CONSIDERATIONS WHEN CHOOSING TO INTEGRATE PUNCHOUT 9
WITH A MARKETPLACE
Business Needs 9
Procurement Strategy 9
IT Resources 9
User Experience 9
WHICH PROCURMENT PLATFORMS DO MARKIT CLIENTS USE? 10

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CONTEXT AND INTRODUCTION
To give some context to this report: Markit is a stand-alone real time IT marketplace where
hundreds of multinationals and thousands of international companies across 43 countries simply log
in and buy IT devices, quickly and easily. They compare real time pricing and stock availability on over 5
million unique IT hardware and accessory products and receive delivery direct from distribution.
However, over the past 20 years we have increasingly been asked by our larger/international clients
to integrate our marketplace with their business systems, especially punchout platforms. Punchout is
clearly useful “as an intermediator” for our global clients and we are happy to provide them value in
whatever way we can.
Punchout catalogues are even more useful when they provide the client with a “marketplace-like” prod-
uct selection (which can be customised to client requirements), covering a real-time-price-availability
data with local-to-local delivery speeds.
WHO IS USING PUNCHOUT TO BUY IT DEVICES THROUGH MARKIT’S IT MARKETPLACE?
200+ Multinationals
Spread across 6 continents
1000+ Businesses
Multinational client business
entities
48000+ IT Buyers
Employees of Markit client
companies.
Punchout integration is a common requirement from Markit clients - to automate PO management con-
nected with order fulfilment and invoice handling. However, each client’s situation, and therefore each
integration scope, has its own nuances and is therefore unique.

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THE PERFECT FIT
“Thanks to our decisions to choose Markit as our sole IT accessory supplier,
and integrate their customizable catalogue with Coupa, we have achieved
many of our set goals. There have been notable purchase process time
savings and cost savings.”
Karolina Tojak, IT Support Specialist PBN
A punchout-connected marketplace makes obvious sense for finding, comparing and buying IT
accessories - primarily because there is a substantial number of SKUs, high amount of product rotation
due to development cycles in client companies, and frequent price fluctuations. There are several chal-
lenges when purchasing IT accessories. The number of available products is enormous. Prices are very
volatile. Product churn is extremely high as life cycles are short. Average order sizes are relatively small.
Products are standardized. The number of purchases is relatively high. Availability is also volatile with
many products moving quickly off the shelves. IT accessory purchasing is one the most the ideal product
categories that exists where the challenges can be solved by marketplaces and punchout catalogues.
“Integration with our ERP and Ariba was quick and easy, for example in one
quarter, we rolled out in 7 countries. The Markit infrastructure and system
is geared towards internationalisation and has the flexibility to tailor special
features to meet our needs. Markit Product team is friendly, professional,
and fast.”
Joanna Siemiatkowska, Global Project Manager

PUNCHOUT REALITY CHECK
Using punchout connected to a real-time marketplace for buying IT hardware and accessories has a lot
of advantages, but potential risks too.
Here is a breakdown of the key benefits and potential risks with additional comments that relate to the
specific case of punchout integration with Markit e.g., How Markit leverages the benefits and also miti-
gates, or negates, the risks to deliver optimum value for our clients.
BENEFITS OF PUNCHOUT INTEGRATION
Efficiency
Punchout integration streamlines the procurement process by allowing users to access the marketplace
directly from their procurement system.
In the case of PO integration to Markit’s IT marketplace this eliminates the need to manually search and
order products (directly from the marketplace), saving time and reducing errors.
Real-time Pricing and Availability
Punchout enables real-time access to pricing, availability, and product information.
Markit ensures that buyers have accurate and up-to-date information when making IT hardware and
accessory purchasing decisions.
Catalogue Consistency
With punchout, the catalogue available on the procurement system is consistent with the marketplace’s
offerings.
Markit’s daily synchronisation of data feeds from the world’s leading IT distributors and 1WorldSync
reduce confusion and errors caused by discrepancies between different platforms.

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Centralised Procurement
Punchout allows Markit clients to maintain control over their procurement processes while providing
users with a convenient and user-friendly way to access a wide range of IT hardware and accessories.
Simplified Reordering
For frequently ordered items, punchout makes reordering easy, as users can access their order history
and quickly replenish IT supplies.
Dynamic Product Range
Real-time marketplaces like Markit offer a constantly updated and diverse range of products. This means
buyers have access to the latest products, technologies, and innovations.
Markit’s global IT hardware and accessory catalogue contains over 5 million unique SKUs.
Updated Pricing
Pricing on real-time marketplaces is always up to date, allowing buyers to make informed decisions
based on current costs.
Real-Time Inventory
Buyers can see near real-time inventory levels, reducing the risk of purchasing products that are out of
stock.
In Markit, we show real time inventory when the supplier (IT distributor) provides that information and is
updated on constant basis.
Variety of Suppliers
Real-time marketplaces often host products from various suppliers, providing buyers with more options
to choose from.
The Markit catalogue offers over 5 million products from over 9,000 unique brands (vendors).

POTENTIAL RISKS OF PUNCHOUT INTEGRATION
Not all marketplaces are created equal. Not all have fully considered multinational companies’ require-
ments for business system integrations (especially punchout). So, there can be downsides and it is
therefore important to understand how the marketplace you are evaluating mitigates potential risks.
Integration Complexity
Setting up and maintaining punchout integration can be complex, requiring coordination between the
procurement system, the marketplace, and potentially other systems. This may necessitate IT resources
and expertise.
Markit has a wealth of expertise and can integrate simply and efficiently with all OCI 3.0 and cXML-based
systems, including well known business and procurement systems such as SAP, Ivalua, Coupa etc.
Dependency on the Marketplace
Organisations become reliant on the functionality and reliability of the marketplace’s punchout system.
Any issues on the marketplace’s end could disrupt procurement operations.
Markit is reliable. Uptime is recorded as 99.9%. A dedicated team of developers is constantly optimising
necessary functions and they also provide round the clock monitoring and maintenance of critical sys-
tems.
Customisation Limitations
The level of customisation available in the procurement system’s interface may be limited by the pun-
chout integration, potentially impacting the user experience.
The Markit catalogue, when accessed through punchout integration, is the same, so all Markit function-
ality is kept the same. However, some client procurement systems might not have all the (or identical)
functions or the same UI that Markit offers. It is important to note, however, that Markit is able to take
full advantage of the features and technical possibilities available in the client’s PO system.
Supplier Compatibility
Not all suppliers or marketplaces support punchout integration. This could restrict the range of vendors
and products available through the procurement system.
Markit supports all Punchout integrations which are made according to cXML (https://xml.cxml.org/current/
cXMLReferenceGuide.pdf) or OCI 3.0 (https://punchoutcommerce.com/docs/sap-oci-3.pdf) standards.

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Data Security and Privacy
Integrating with an external marketplace involves sharing data between systems, which could raise con-
cerns about data security and privacy compliance. The leading punchout platforms have all implemented
advanced measures to protect their clients.
When integrating the Markit marketplace we comply with these. Additonally, as “data security and
privacy” is a complex topic, we address our clients’ needs on a case-by-case basis to ensure we meet
their requirements.
User Training
Users need to be trained on how to effectively use the punchout system within the procurement inter-
face, which could require additional resources and time.
Markit’s punchout clients have access to our marketplace catalogue for product selection purposes e.g.,
search, filters and product descriptions, the core features of our platform. No special training is needed
for the use of those, as anyone who has shopped online should easily manage its usage. Local Markit
client support teams will happily provide overviews and instructions on request. After the product selec-
tion is done, the rest of the purchase process, address entry, clients’ internal PO confirmations etc. are
all executed on whichever platform the client uses to manage their IT purchases. The training for that
would be done by the client in-house or by the procurement/punchout platform provider.
Initial Investment
Implementing punchout integration might require an initial investment in terms of time, money, and
resources to set up the necessary infrastructure and processes.
It is important to note that Markit does not charge any joining, setup, or membership fees for access to
its marketplace nor is any integration fee required.
In conclusion, punchout integration with a real-time marketplace for buying IT hardware
and accessories offers numerous benefits in terms of efficiency, real-time information
access, and centralised procurement. However, it also comes with challenges related to
integration complexity, dependency on external systems, and potential customisation
limitations. Organisations should carefully weigh these pros and cons before deciding to
implement punchout integration for their procurement processes.

CORE CONSIDERATIONS WHEN CHOOSING TO INTEGRATE
PUNCHOUT WITH A MARKETPLACE
BUSINESS NEEDS
If your organisation requires access to the latest products and competitive pricing, a real-time market-
place could be suitable. If consistency and customisation are paramount, a customised catalogue within
the marketplace might be advisable. Markit can customise the catalogues users see, for example: select-
ed vendors, product categories, “favourites,” price ranges etc. It is also possible to export static Markit
catalogues (as excel files, from a specific point in time) which can then be used in our clients’ systems,
without visiting Markit, yet still allow our clients to post Purchase Orders which we can automatically
process.
PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
If your procurement strategy involves agility and adaptability, a real-time marketplace aligns well.
IT RESOURCES
Implementing and maintaining a real-time marketplace integration could demand additional IT resourc-
es compared to other options.
Each case is unique. Given our wide and deep experience of integrating various PO systems with Markit
we are confident the process will be smooth. Contact us to discuss your specific scenario.
USER EXPERIENCE
Consider how users prefer to interact with the system. Some might appreciate the dynamic options
of a “full marketplace,” while others might prefer the familiarity of a consistent limited catalogue – a
sub-catalogue if you like. With Markit, all options can be considered.

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WHICH PROCURMENT PLATFORMS DO MARKIT CLIENTS USE?
CXML “Commerce eXtensible Markup Language” and OCI punchout “Open Catalog Interface” are the two
standards for communicating data between the Markit marketplace and our clients’ procurement sys-
tems. Markit supports both fully. Each client has their platform preferences and Markit has considerable
experience working with a wide selection of them.
Markit has integrated numerous well-known punchout platforms
CONCLUSION
It is important to carefully evaluate whether the benefits of using punchout-connected IT marketplaces
outweigh the potential drawbacks in your specific IT procurement scenario. We can help with that evalu-
ation in a professional and transparent way. We have evidence that the Markit marketplace is an espe-
cially helpful solution to many of our clients. They are maximising time and money savings for numerous
IT device categories, most notably IT accessories.
To find about more about Markit please see: Markit 2023 Factsheet
Contact Margus Vahemäe, Head of Global Accounts at margus.vahemae@markit.eu

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Copyright © 2023 Markit Holding AS
This report is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
TAKE THE CHASING
OUT OF IT PURCHASING
WWW.MARKIT.EU
MARKIT IS A GLOBALLY RECOGNISED IT
PROCUREMENT MARKETPLACE
Thousands of international companies across 6 continents are saving
considerable amounts of time and money by sourcing and buying
their IT hardware and accessories through Markit’s IT marketplace
and procurement solution.
Markit clients compare prices and delivery times in real time in our
marketplace of over 5 million unique IT products. In 2022, they saved
an average of 10.3 % on average market prices and thousands of
hours by using Markit to manage, centralize, and streamline their IT
purchasing.
Founded in Estonia in 2003, Markit is now working in 43 countries in
2023. In 2022, Markit’s revenue was 217.8 million euros.
If you would like to discuss your sustainable IT hardware and acces-
sory requirements, please contact:
Margus Vahemäe
Head of Global Accounts, Markit
E-mail: margus.vahemae@markit.eu
Markit has reached the World Procurement
Awards finals shortlist twice. We owe a huge
thank you to all our clients, partners, and
Markiteers who helped make our global
recognition possible.

Optimising punchout for IT procurement

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