Hosted catalogs can only provide limited information to buyers, don’t include effective product availability data, and can’t be customized for different audiences. The lack of regular updates to hosted catalogs can also lead to potential confusion for buyers and extensive manual work for suppliers. Supplier-hosted catalogs are typically slow and costly to set up and maintain, lacking the flexibility that B2B suppliers need in the expanding eProcurement world.
PunchOut Catalogs vs Hosted Catalogs
As hosted catalogs require manual uploading and editing of product information, it can be challenging for B2B marketing teams to provide their complex product data to end customers. This, in turn, prevents suppliers from providing buyers with a complete and engaging product view. With PunchOut catalogs, however, changes to product data can be automated across all touchpoints. Real-time information on product availability can also be displayed to your buyers. PunchOut catalogs provide a faster, more agile and more streamlined way of working for manufacturers and suppliers with large SKU catalogs and those handling high numbers of transactions.
Instant Catalogs
Sales Layer’s Instant Catalogs offer a revolutionary tool for suppliers, with a multitude of benefits, including cXML PunchOut capabilities. Instant Catalogs allow you to showcase your products more easily, with catalogs customized to the needs of a specific buyer or procurement platform. This catalog provides real-time information about your products, with changes to data automatically updated within dedicated buying channels. Instant Catalogs offer a superior alternative to hosted catalogs for suppliers and buyers, serving as a PunchOut-viable, B2B ecommerce site.
Customize Your Catalogs with Connect
Sales Layer’s Connect provides you with a global-leading tool to create Instant Catalogs and directly connect them to procurement platforms with cXML PunchOut capabilities. The platform allows you to display only the relevant product information that a buyer requires in your product catalogs. Sales Layer Connect empowers you to manage and distribute your product information in the most effective way. By switching from hosted catalogs to Instant Catalogs, you can increase your sales and improve the product experience your buyers receive.
"Instant Catalogs makes us more flexible as a company. Now we can bring up a new catalog and put it online every few months: you have all the information in the PIM, you add it to the catalog, and then you can share direct information with the customer, for pre-orders, offers, price lists… all in one system."
