Introducing Catalogs

Catalogs are digital repositories that store data for product and service line items, which enable repeat, compliant purchases. Catalogs are a significant component of procurement that enable buyers to efficiently search, compare, and purchase items in a centralized platform.​

• CIF catalogs are manually created or edited using a simple Comma Separated Values (CSV) style file
• ​​CIF catalogs are used by buyers to create internal catalogs that facilitate the purchase of internal company goods or services​​

Catalogs created for, and used by the SAP Business Network and other digital commerce platforms, may also utilize the cXML file format.

• PunchOut catalogs are externally managed and hosted supplier catalogs

• PunchOut catalogs can be used to make standard purchases but can also be used to leverage additional functionality that may exist on the suppliers’ PunchOut catalog website(s)

• The Spot Buy catalog allows for one-time purchases of non-sourced items or services from a niche curated list of suppliers

For items not contained in any catalog, users can be given permission to add a non-catalog item to a request. Non-catalog items, also referred to as ad-hoc items, allow for the manual data entry of the item details. Non-catalog item requests can be routed to specific procurement approvers to ensure compliance.