Ecommerce
Ecommerce platform implementation
Connecting customer's e-procurement system directly to business's 5,981-product catalog, eliminating manual requisitions end to end.
Year :
2023
Industry :
Retail
Client :
Independence Australia
Project Duration :
32 weeks
Problem :
Phone calls and spreadsheets for healthcare procurement.
A major disability services and healthcare organisation, had no direct integration between its e-procurement system and its supplier. Procurement users navigated multiple systems to place orders by phone, email, and manual data entry with no visibility into real-time inventory or pricing. Slower order cycles, data-entry errors, and administrative burden fell across multiple account types. Without a direct integration, strategic sourcing time was consumed by order administration, and supply chain delays were a recurring risk across the care-product categories that disability clients depend on.
Challenge :
Two enterprise systems, one strict standard.
End to end integration required strict compliance with the cXML e-procurement standard — a technical protocol that governs exactly how order and invoice data passes between enterprise procurement systems. The solution had to handle 5,981 SKUs across eight product categories, support multiple account types with separate cost-centre allocations and procurement rules, and coordinate testing across four distinct stakeholder groups. Regulatory compliance for healthcare procurement and maintaining order accuracy through the basket transfer mechanism added further complexity.
Solution :
A live ecommerce webstore
A Punchout webstore was built, giving buyers direct access to suppliers full 5,981-item catalog from within their e-procurement workflow. Buyers log in via e-procurement system, browse by category, apply manufacturer and specification filters, and transfer a basket back to e-procurement system as a purchase requisition — eliminating manual data entry entirely. The integration uses cXML 1.2.014 and 1.2.020 schemas for structured order and invoice transmission, with multi-account switching and separate cost-centre allocation built to support the full range of organisational procurement governance.
Summary :
Orders in seconds. No manual entry.
Deployed a fully functional Punchout e-procurement solution connecting 5,981 healthcare and continence products. Procurement users now complete orders 60% faster through direct catalog browsing instead of phone and email requisitions. Manual data entry errors are eliminated, and real-time stock and pricing are visible at the point of order. Role-specific user guides for Marketing, Business Operations, Key Accounts, and Finance embedded the solution across all teams with formal UAT sign-off from all four stakeholder groups by 24 June 2025.
Our Approach
How it came together
