SiteSphere Supplier for the Ariba Commerce Cloud

Ready-to-go PunchOut catalog for Ariba, cXML, Oracle, SAP and more

Introduction
How It Works
Features
Pricing
Testimonials

Many large organisations use Ariba Buyer software. It is increasingly a requirement of these companies that their suppliers must provide an eCatalog that is able to connect to their Ariba purchasing software using Ariba cXML. SiteSphere offers suppliers ready-to-go Ariba cXML integration with the SiteSphere® Supplier e-commerce solution, which enables suppliers with a SiteSphere online store to connect the store directly to the buying software used by purchasing departments of large organisations. This allows suppliers to access this large market sector, and so greatly increase their customer base.

Ariba PunchOut is a method of connecting a supplier's online store directly to the special purchasing software used by many large buying organisations. Buyers are able to punch out from the Ariba purchasing software into a supplier's online store, and details of items selected are returned to the purchasing software in a purchase order. This has advantages to the buying organisation, in being able to control spending patterns and costs, and also limit purchases to approved suppliers. It also has advantages for the supplier, in being able to get preferential access to large buying organisations, in addition to cutting error rates, reduce invoice queries and increase sales.
An Efficient Order Process for You & Your Key Customers
- Reduces Ordering Errors
- 100% Accurate Contract Pricing
- Saves Order Processing Costs
- Eliminates Invoice Queries for Faster Settlement
- Improves Key Customer Retention
SiteSphere Supplier: Ready-to-go Ariba PunchOut solution
- Proven eCommerce platform - since 2000
- Cloud-based Product Information Manager
- Customer-specific Products & Pricing
- Easy-to-use Buyer Catalogue
- Low Setup Costs and Subscription
- Zero Transaction Fees
- PCI-DSS Compliant Security
- UK Support Team
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PunchOut?

Click here to see a step-by-step guide to how PunchOut works...

Why can't I use any online shopping system?

SiteSphere is an advanced and proven eCommerce platform with built-in Ariba support. Ariba uses the cXML punchout method requiring customisations available only in a few online shopping solutions. A PunchOut catalog is about buying at customer-specific prices not selling to the general public. PunchOut catalogs for Ariba need to be able to handle hidden requests which may come in from the buyer's system.

What does SiteSphere Supplier cost?

Click here for our pricing...

What will my PunchOut catalog look like?

Here are some examples of the standard catalog.
There's a lot more we can show you when you start your free trial!

Can it be customised? Yes! We have a variety of colour schemes to choose from. Also, the header and footer content can be managed by you. The design and style of the standard catalog can be further customised (at additional cost) for the closest match to your brand. For more details, please send your requirements to sales@sitesphere.com.

Will my PunchOut catalog be visible to the public?

SiteSphere Supplier PunchOut catalogs are secured by a login process and are not available to the public. PunchOut handles the login for your customer's buyers when they choose your catalog, but the public cannot access your catalog.

How long does it take to setup?

That depends on you! From receipt of your product information in the Starter Spreadsheet we can activate a trial within 48 hours by using our smart default catalog template featuring your own logo and colour scheme. Testing usually takes 1-2 weeks depending on the workload at customers's IT department. If you want a custom catalog template, we provide a cost and timescale given details of your requirements.

What happens during testing? Do I need to be involved?

With our experienced team managing the entire test process for you, once you are happy that the right products are loaded into the catalog and the pricing is correct, then you can leave the rest to us. We provide regular progress updates to you during the testing phase.

How do I sign up with SiteSphere after the trial?

Our sales team will send you a contract to check and e-sign. That's it.

Do I need training?

We provide telephone and email support to assist you with any queries you may have however, we have made every effort to ensure SiteSphere is easy to use. As a result, many of our customers do not require a training session at all but we do offer remote web-based training (using WebEx) if you need a more structured approach. Please ask us for more details.

How do I keep my products and pricing up-to-date?

We offer three methods. Firstly, the SiteSphere admin website allows you update your catalog items. Secondly, we include SiteSphere Excel Manager, a bulk import/export method using your installed Microsoft Office Excel software. Finally, we offer integration through the SiteSphere APIs, which you can use to connect directly to your systems to update the catalog, retrieve orders, etc.

Which browsers are supported? Is shopping secure (using SSL)?

The SiteSphere Supplier PunchOut catalog is tested on all mainstream browsers such as Internet Explorer (IE) 6 to 10, FireFox 3 to 6 and Chrome 12 onwards. Cookies are only maintained during the buyer's session, and no browser plug-ins (such as Flash) are used. SiteSphere catalogs support P3P privacy policies to ensure maximum compatibility in secure corporate environments.

SiteSphere Supplier PunchOut catalogs are secured using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) which displays the padlock symbol in the browser. The SiteSphere platform operates within a PCI-DSS compliant hosting environment and is regularly scanned to maintain our approval to securely store credit card data.

How do I prepare my product images?

SiteSphere supports GIF, JPG (JPEG) & PNG image formats. Please note that JPEG images containing CMYK colours must be converted to RGB for use in web browsers. Images are automatically resized by SiteSphere to generate any thumbnails required.

Recommended maximum size for product images: 600 x 600 pixels (graphs, tables of specifications: 1000 x 1000 pixels).

Each product can feature up to 10 different images.

Can SiteSphere be used for multiple customers?

Yes. SiteSphere Supplier Standard Edition supports use for one punchout customer. However, you can easily upgrade to the Professional or Enterprise editions to meet your needs for any number of customers. SiteSphere supports all of the leading eProcurement protocols such as Ariba cXML, Oracle iProcurement cXML and Native XML and SAP OCI. Using our technology avoids lock-in to any single eProcurement method.

Can we integrate SiteSphere into our systems? (APIs)

Yes. SiteSphere has APIs using the latest Web Services and REST-based interface technologies. Tell us about your specific needs and we'll provide the details.

How do I contact SiteSphere Sales?

Call Sales on UK: 08006 1234 06 or International: +44 8006 1234 06 Email: sales@sitesphere.com

For more details, click this button to get in touch with us:
How Ariba cXML PunchOut Works

For more details, click this button to get in touch with us:
eCatalog Manager ... plus ...
- Web-based Product eCatalog (PIM)
- Customer-specific Products & Pricing
- Enrich with unlimited Specifications, multiple images, PDFs, videos and links
- Product Personalisation at point of order
- Made-To-Order Configurations and Bundles
- Versioning, Approvals and Obsoleting
- Scaleable to 100,000 products
- Bulk Import/Export using Microsoft Excel
- SSL and PCI-DSS Compliant Security
Your Own PunchOut Catalog
- Easy-to-use, fast and product display
- Instant Search feature
- On-the-fly image thumbnails and PDF datasheet creation
- Price Breaks, Promotions and Shipping
- Quick Order for rapid order entry
- Customisable Home Page and Menu items
- Branded with your corporate logo
- Integrated with Ariba via Ariba PunchOut (cXML)
Your Free Trial

SiteSphere Supplier Features

Configuration

Main features

Account Details/Main Logo

View and update your SiteSphere account details

Disk Quota

View your SiteSphere disk space

Security

Change Password

Reset your SiteSphere password

User Manager

Manage who logs into SiteSphere

Groups

Administer the access & privileges users have in SiteSphere

SiteSphere User Audit Trail

View the activity of registered customers on your website

SiteSphere Admin Audit Trail

View SiteSphere users activity

eCatalog Management

Main features

Items

Add, edit & delete products in your online store

Variants

Easily add different product colour, size or weight variations

Manufacturers

Allow visitors to your website to search by manufacturer

Special Pricing

Add special rate pricing for specific customers

Bundles

Offer bundles of products for one "all-in" price

Product Categorization

Item Categories

Easily group products in categories to match your existing inventory

Product Specifications

Item Specification Attributes

Easily add detailed information about your products

Attributes

Describe your products in greater detail

Units of Measure

Select Units of Measure as diverse as Acre (ACR) to Year (ANN)

Icons

Display symbols for standards compliance and Units of Measure

Checkout

Payments/Refunds

Process customer payments and refunds

Tax Rates

Set up VAT or GST rates for different countries

Shipping Rates

Setup shipping rates that apply by country or shipping zone

Countries

Enable shipping rates by country

Zones

Easily group countries that have the same shipping rates

Merchandising

Promotions

Add offers like buy-one-get-one-free and other special offers

Quantity Price Breaks

Easily create price breaks based on quantities ordered

Multi-currency

Currencies

Setup the currencies in which your online store is displayed

Product Lifecycle

Obsolete Products

Make products obsolete yet visible triggering a re-order request

Versioning

View and restore old versions of products

Cross-selling

Cross Links

Include "You might also be interested in" links on your website's checkout pages

Advanced Features

Made-To-Order Options

Add "made-to-order" products

Personalisation Attributes

Add extra information to "made-to-order" products

Bulk Import/Export

Excel Manager

Bulk edit your products using SiteSphere's macro-enabled spreadsheet

Content Management

Main features

Media Library

Add detailed specifications and datasheets to your products

Sections

Use sections to manage the placement of products on your website

FTP Server Access

View FTP settings and reset your FTP password

Categorization

Tags & Categories

Tag products to allow the creation of tag clouds for easy customer searching

Spotlighting

Flashes

Highlight "Just In" or "New" products within specific categories

Featured Content

Add "Most Popular" or "Best Buy" sections to your website

Enterprise Integration

ERP integration

Stock Positions

Query your ERP for product stock and display them on your website

Bulk Import

Update product information using a nightly import

Update

Update your ERP system with customer details in realtime

Insert

Manage quotations, sales orders and order payments through your ERP system in realtime

Query

Cache often requested products so speeding up the display of your website products

eProcurement

SAP OCI PunchOut

Integrate your eCatalog into your customer's SAP SRM system using Open Catalog Interface (OCI) PunchOut

Ariba SN cXML PunchOut

Integrate your eCatalog into Ariba Commerce Cloud using cXML Level 1 & 2 PunchOut

Sales & Marketing

CRM

Enquiries/Requests

Capture and administer enquiries from your customers

Quotations

Allow customers to get a quote for work or for specific products advertised on your online store

Contacts

Add, edit & delete customer details

Order Management

Order Manager

Manage and fulfil customer orders from your online store
Thank you to SiteSphere for a very smooth running of our new PunchOut Catalogue. We are very impressed at the level of communication and service that we received and how proactive you are as a company. We would recommend SiteSphere to any of our customers or suppliers. Thanks again.
Leah Clark, OTTO Waste Solutions Limited

Working with SiteSphere to create a PunchOut catalogue has proved to be a straight forward and economical solution. After one phone call I was certain SiteSphere was going to be the right way forward, SiteSphere actually knew what I was asking for and they had no hesitation in promising that the tight deadline wouldn't be a problem. I supplied a spreadsheet with product details to the right specification and SiteSphere had a trial site up and running within days. The site was live, tested and verified by the deadline to the delight of my client and their customer. SiteSphere Supplier with SAP PunchOut has proved itself to me as an easy to implement solution that makes economical sense for my clients. I'll be recommending this as a service to other clients when they are looking to secure business with large organisations.
Andy Bell, Marketing Consultant

We've always found the SiteSphere solution to be flexible and reliable, supported by a very co-operative and accessible team. We are happy to recommend a partner who we have worked with since 1998.
Jon Paterson, Web & CRM Manager, Xylem Jabsco EMEA
SiteSphere Supplier STANDARD

£2,995 setup*

£449/quarter

*US $4,795 / €3,449 approx.
- One PunchOut Customer
- From 1 to 5,000 Products
- Single Language & Currency
- Zero Transaction Fees
- Optional Custom Catalog Template
- Optional ERP integration
Contact Us
SiteSphere Supplier PRO

£5,495 setup*

£749/quarter

*US $8,795 / €7,795 approx.
- Upto 10 PunchOut Customers
- Upto 10,000 Products
- Single Language & Currency
- Zero Transaction Fees
- Optional Custom Catalog Template
- Optional ERP integration
Contact Us
SiteSphere Supplier ENTERPRISE

£ CALL for quote
- Unlimited PunchOut Customers & Products
- Multiple Currencies & Languages
- Advanced Promotions
- Approvals
- Zero Transaction Fees
- Optional Custom Catalog Template
- Optional ERP integration
Contact Us