In procurement, speed and visibility are everything. The less time your employees spend searching across multiple systems, the faster they can find the right products at the right price. That’s why we’re excited to introduce a new enhancement to PeopleSoft eProcurement: the ability to bring external supplier catalog items directly into your PeopleSoft search.
With this innovation, requesters can now browse internal and external catalogs side by side — no more bouncing between punchout sites or losing time navigating different supplier punchout sites.
The Challenge Today
Traditionally, external supplier items (punchout catalogs) have been outside PeopleSoft’s core search. Employees had to leave the system, punch out to a supplier site, and then return to complete their requisition. This created extra steps and made it hard to:
- Compare pricing across multiple suppliers
- Identify alternate sources for the same product
- Ensure consistent procurement workflows
The Solution: Unified Catalog Search
The new enhancement solves this by indexing external supplier catalogs right inside PeopleSoft. Here’s what that means for your organization:
- One-stop search – Internal and external catalogs are displayed together, giving employees a single place to find what they need:
- Better visibility – Key item details, including descriptions, supplier information, and images, are available right in the search results
- Smarter comparisons – The ‘Alternate Punchout Suppliers’ link appears when the same item is offered by multiple suppliers, so requesters can quickly evaluate the best option:
Why It Matters
This isn’t just a convenience feature — it’s a game-changer for procurement efficiency:
- Save time by reducing system-hopping
- Cut costs by easily identifying the best supplier deals
- Improve compliance with a consistent, controlled purchasing experience
- Empower requesters with clear, comparable options at their fingertips
Designed for Flexibility
Whether you’re leveraging the Oracle Business Network (OBN) or connecting directly with suppliers, this enhancement adapts to your setup. And since OBN is free for trading partners, it’s a cost-effective way to simplify supplier integrations.
The Bottom Line
With external catalog indexing, PeopleSoft eProcurement becomes a more powerful, intuitive tool for your organization. By unifying internal and external catalogs in a single search experience, you’ll unlock faster purchasing, smarter decision-making, and greater visibility across your supply base.
This is procurement made simple
Check out this other blog to see how OBN can help manage your existing punchout Suppliers