E-Procurement and PunchOut for Shopware 6
We connect Shopware 6 shops to your business customers' procurement systems via PunchOut, using cXML as with SAP Ariba or OCI. Your customers order directly from their purchasing system, the cart is returned for approval and the order reaches you electronically. For retailers and manufacturers supplying industrial and corporate customers.
Who PunchOut is relevant for
Typical starting points for retailers and manufacturers with business customers.
A key account demands PunchOut
The purchasing department of a corporate customer only orders through its procurement system and sends you a requirement for a PunchOut catalogue.
Orders arrive by email and PDF
Business customers order from their purchasing system, your staff retype the orders into the shop or the ERP.
Static catalogues go stale
You deliver price lists as files to your customers. Prices and availability are out of date within weeks.
Tenders require e-procurement
Framework agreements with industry or the public sector demand an electronic catalogue and ordering connection.
Procedures and systems we cover
The target system is Shopware 6. On the customer side: SAP Ariba and other cXML-capable platforms as well as OCI connections from the SAP ecosystem.
cXML PunchOut
XML-based standard used by cloud procurement platforms such as SAP Ariba. Supports setup request, cart return, order (OrderRequest) and order confirmation.
OCI PunchOut
Open Catalog Interface from the SAP ecosystem. Returns the cart to the purchasing system via form post. Common with on-premise SAP installations.
Order import and confirmation
The approved order reaches Shopware or your ERP as a cXML OrderRequest or via an interface. An order confirmation goes back.
Customer-specific prices
PunchOut sessions run under the buyer's customer account. Agreed price lists, discounts and assortments from Shopware apply automatically.
How your customer's buyer experiences the process
Six steps from catalogue call to order confirmation.
Open the catalogue
The buyer clicks your catalogue in the procurement system. The system sends a setup request with credentials to your shop.
Sign-in without login
Shopware validates the request, maps the buyer to the right customer account and starts a PunchOut session.
Shop as usual
The buyer sees your shop with their prices and assortment, searches, filters and fills the cart.
Return the cart
Instead of checkout, the cart goes back to the purchasing system as a PunchOutOrderMessage (cXML) or form post (OCI).
Approval at the customer
The cart passes through the customer's approval workflow. Only then does a binding order exist.
Order and confirmation
The approved order reaches Shopware or your ERP. You confirm electronically and deliver as usual.
How a PunchOut project runs
Five steps, aligned with your customer's IT.
Clarify the customer's requirements
Which procurement system, which standard (cXML or OCI), which fields and catalogue formats does purchasing require? We read the customer's specification and settle open points directly with their IT.
Prepare customer accounts and prices
In Shopware we set up the customer account, customer group, price lists and, if needed, a restricted assortment for PunchOut access.
Implement the PunchOut endpoint
We implement setup request, session start, cart return and order import for the respective standard and harden authentication and logging.
Test against the customer's test system
The connection is tested against the procurement system's test environment: setup, cart, approval, order, confirmation. This way errors show up before activation rather than in production.
Activation and operations
After acceptance by the customer the connection moves to the production system. Monitoring and logs show every session and every order.
What drives effort and duration
The customer's specification determines the scope. After reviewing it you receive a schedule and a quote with itemised positions.
- The customer's standard: OCI is leaner, cXML covers more process steps
- Number of customers and procurement systems to connect
- Scope of feedback: cart only, or also order, confirmation, shipping notice, invoice
- Catalogue formats and mandatory fields set by purchasing, such as UNSPSC or eCl@ss classifications
- Mapping of customer-specific prices, assortments and cost centres in Shopware
- Connection to your ERP for order import and confirmation
- Availability of a test system and a contact on the customer side
Typical pitfalls
Where PunchOut projects get stuck when these points are not settled from the start.
No access to the test system
Without the customer's test environment the connection can only be developed blind. Access belongs in the first alignment round.
Specification by hearsay
Every purchasing department has its own mandatory fields, item number logic and classifications. Without the written specification, carts will not fit the approval process later.
A cart is not an order
The cart return is only a proposal. It becomes binding with the approved order. Booking the cart as an order creates duplicates.
Prices from two sources
If agreed prices live in the ERP, the shop and the framework agreement, they drift apart. One leading source must be defined.
Sessions expire
PunchOut sessions are time-limited and often embedded in an iframe. Long searches, cookie banners and redirects break the flow.
Confirmation forgotten
Many procurement systems expect an electronic order confirmation. Without it the order stays open at the customer and reminders start.
Frequently asked questions about PunchOut and e-procurement
What is PunchOut?
PunchOut is a procedure where buyers shop directly in your online shop from within their procurement system. The cart is returned to the purchasing system for approval, and the order reaches you electronically after sign-off. Technically this runs over the cXML or OCI standards.
cXML or OCI: which one do I need?
Your customer decides. Cloud platforms such as SAP Ariba use cXML, which also covers order and order confirmation. OCI is mainly used with on-premise SAP systems and transfers only the cart. Many suppliers implement both because different customers use different systems.
Can an existing Shopware 6 shop be used for PunchOut?
Yes. PunchOut is an extension of your existing shop, not a second catalogue database. Products, prices and availability stay in one place, and the buyer sees the shop under their customer account.
How does the order reach us after approval?
With cXML the procurement system sends an OrderRequest to an endpoint that we connect to Shopware or your ERP. With OCI the order is placed, depending on the customer, electronically via a separate interface or still as an order document. We settle both in the specification.
Do I need an account in the SAP Business Network?
Not necessarily for the technical PunchOut connection. Your customer can set you up as a supplier directly. An account in the SAP Business Network increases visibility for other Ariba customers and is required by some purchasing departments. Whether and which account makes sense depends on your customers.
Which catalogue formats do purchasing systems require?
For PunchOut itself the live shop is enough. In addition, purchasing departments often request master data as a file, such as BMEcat or CSV with UNSPSC or eCl@ss classifications. We generate these exports from the Shopware product data.
What determines the effort of a PunchOut connection?
The standard, the number of customers and systems, the scope of feedback messages and the mandatory fields set by purchasing. After reviewing the customer specification we give you the process and a quote with itemised positions.
Who talks to our customer's IT?
We handle that. Aligning credentials, fields and tests with the customer's procurement team is part of the project; you stay in the loop as the commercial contact.
Related services and knowledge
E-Procurement explained: cXML, OCI, PunchOut
Basics, integration models and standards compared
Data Synchronisation
Orders, stock and prices between Shopware and ERP
Shopware 6 Development
B2B features, customer groups, price lists
Planning ERP integration properly
Data ownership, mapping and error handling
Received a PunchOut requirement?
Send us your customer's specification. We will tell you what Shopware already covers and what needs to be added.