Website features hidden while in a PunchOut session

  • Updated

Optimizely Configured Commerce defaults to hiding certain PunchOut features to maintain a streamlined shopping experience that prevents customers from leaving the commerce site. This helps with returning the commerce cart to the purchasing system.

By default, users cannot see the following features when they access the website through PunchOut:

  • Customer selection – The ability to select or change the customer bill to and ship to, upon "punching out" into the website, is hidden. Although the intended behavior is not to include the ability to select the customer, circumstances can result in the customer selection being presented.
  • My Account menu – This includes Order History, Invoice History, Account Administration, Wish Lists, Saved Orders, My Quotes, and so on.
  • Checkout/Order workflows – Users do not go through the typical checkout process. Instead, PunchOut sends cart information back to the procurement system for processing.
  • VMI – Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) is hidden during a Punchout Session because punchout catalogs are external procurement systems accessed from within a buyer's procurement application. In a punchout session, the buyer is temporarily taken to the supplier’s website to select items, and the integration focuses on the buying process rather than inventory management. Therefore, VMI, which is not directly related to the purchasing process, is not displayed during punchout sessions.

The following features are not hidden but are a change in checkout or order workflow behavior:

  • Submit for Approval – Configured Commerce approval workflows are not used. PunchOut is often implemented to let the customer approval workflows in their procurement system be used for site orders.
  • Payment – Orders submitted through PunchOut are assumed to be terms-based (that is, not credit card).
  • Personas in CMS – If personas were created by role, they should be tested against the ISC_PunchOut Role to ensure the display is per client requirements.
  • Customer Segments in CMS – If customer segments were created by role, they should be tested against the PunchOut Role to ensure the display is per client requirements.

You need custom development for access to any of these features.