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OCI PunchOut

SAP OCI PunchOut for suppliers

Large customers on SAP S/4HANA or SAP ECC often punch out straight from their own SAP, using SAP’s Open Catalog Interface. Their buyers open your store from a purchase requisition, shop at their prices, and the cart lands back in SAP. TierCommerce speaks OCI, and takes the purchase order into your ERP.

  • OCI 4.0 PunchOut from S/4HANA, ECC and SRM
  • NEW_ITEM fields filled to SAP’s lengths and rules
  • Purchase orders by cXML or email, sent into your ERP
Book a demo How it works
SAP S/4HANA Harbourside University

New purchase requisition · Catalogues

BS Brightline Supplies Shop

OCI · signed straight in

Brightline Supplies Harbourside contract prices
  • A4 copy paper, 80gsm, 5 reams 10 × $38.50
  • Nitrile gloves, medium, 100 6 × $11.20
  • Whiteboard markers, 4 pack 12 × $6.95
$535.60 ex GST Return cart to SAP

OCI · cart sent back

Purchase requisition · 3 lines Cost centre 4120
A4 copy paper, 80gsm, 5 reams $385.00
Nitrile gloves, medium, 100 $67.20
Whiteboard markers, 4 pack $83.40
Approved → PO 4500018273 → In your ERP

SAP S/4HANA and ECC PunchOut at a glance

This page is for customers running SAP’s own ERP. If your customer buys through SAP Ariba, that’s a cXML PunchOut instead.

Protocol
OCI 4.0
Buyers start from
A purchase requisition, from Add from External Catalog in S/4HANA or the catalogue button in ECC or SRM
The cart goes back as
An HTML form of NEW_ITEM fields, posted to the HOOK_URL
The purchase order arrives
Separately: cXML through SAP Business Network, an EDI IDoc, or a PDF by email
What you need on their side
A catalogue URL, username and password in their web service settings

How an SAP OCI PunchOut works

OCI is simpler than cXML: a login, a shopping session and a form posted back to SAP. Here’s each step, with the OCI fields behind it.

  1. 1

    The buyer opens your catalogue

    From a purchase requisition, they choose your catalogue. SAP sends the username and password from its settings, with a HOOK_URL to send the cart back to.

    USERNAME · PASSWORD · HOOK_URL

  2. 2

    They shop your store

    TierCommerce checks the login and opens your store already signed in, with the account’s prices and range.

  3. 3

    The cart goes back

    Return cart posts each line to the HOOK_URL: description, quantity, ISO unit, price, currency, your material number and UNSPSC code.

    NEW_ITEM-DESCRIPTION[1]

  4. 4

    The purchase order follows

    OCI stops at the cart. Once the requisition becomes a purchase order, SAP sends it its own way: cXML, EDI or email.

    OrderRequest or ORDERS05

Getting set up with an SAP customer

Your customer’s SAP team adds your catalogue as a web service. These are the steps, and who does each one.

Free PunchOut setup checklist
  1. 1

    Create the OCI login

    TierCommerce

    Choose OCI on the customer’s PunchOut page and generate a username and password. Add your vendor number in their SAP if they give you one.

  2. 2

    Add the web service

    Your customer

    In S/4HANA, their admin adds your catalogue in Settings for Web Services. In ECC it’s Web Services: ID and Description, and in SRM, Define External Web Services.

  3. 3

    Agree units and categories

    You

    SAP takes units and currencies as ISO codes. Agree the unit codes you’ll send, and whether they want UNSPSC codes or their own material groups.

  4. 4

    Agree how purchase orders arrive

    You

    If they can send cXML purchase orders, set up a cXML credential as well. If they email them, Order Entry reads them into orders.

  5. 5

    Test from a requisition

    Together

    Open your catalogue from a test requisition, return a cart and check every field lands where it should, then switch to production.

What TierCommerce handles for SAP

OCI is old, strict and fussy about field lengths. TierCommerce fills every field the way SAP expects.

  • OCI logins checked against each customer’s username and password
  • Each account’s own prices and product range
  • Descriptions cut to SAP’s 40 characters, with the full text as long text
  • Price units, ISO units, currency and your vendor number on every line
  • UNSPSC codes as SAP’s material group and external category
  • Carts only ever returned to your customer’s own hosts, over HTTPS
  • cXML purchase orders checked and sent into your ERP
  • Every session logged, with passwords removed

PunchOut add-on

$149 a month

Includes your first connected customer account, then $69 for each extra account up to 10 and $39 each after that. Australian dollars, ex GST.

  • cXML and OCI PunchOut, and Unimarket catalogues
  • On the Professional and Enterprise plans
  • Only accounts that used PunchOut that month count
See pricing About PunchOut

Where SAP OCI PunchOuts go wrong

OCI rarely fails on the shopping. It fails on the fields that come back. Here’s what to check.

  • Units SAP can’t map

    SAP maps ISO unit codes to its own. A code it doesn’t know, or a piece sent as PCE when they expect EA, rejects the line. Agree the codes first.

  • 40-character descriptions

    SAP only keeps 40 characters of a description. TierCommerce cuts it cleanly and sends the full description as long text.

  • Price per what?

    OCI prices are per price unit, which matters for cheap items sold in hundreds. TierCommerce sends the price unit with every line.

  • Material groups

    Some customers want their own SAP material groups, others want UNSPSC. TierCommerce sends UNSPSC, and your customer maps it once.

  • A catalogue that won’t open

    If the catalogue URL is missing from SAP’s call structure, or no default is set in ECC, the catalogue fails without an error. Check the settings first.

  • No route for purchase orders

    OCI carries the cart, not the order. Agree how purchase orders reach you before go-live: cXML into TierCommerce, or email for Order Entry.

Who runs SAP in Australia and New Zealand

Utilities, councils and government agencies run SAP S/4HANA or ECC on both sides of the Tasman. Many ECC customers are moving to S/4HANA as SAP’s mainstream maintenance for ECC winds down.

  • Australian Government agencies
  • Auckland Council
  • Ausgrid
  • AusNet
  • Mercury NZ

PunchOut across your customers’ systems

Your customers won’t all buy through SAP S/4HANA and ECC. One TierCommerce store handles each of these, with the same products, prices and orders behind them.

Buyer’s system Protocol Buyers start from The purchase order arrives
SAP Ariba cXML, through SAP Business Network A requisition in SAP Ariba Buying or Guided Buying A cXML OrderRequest, routed through SAP Business Network
C Coupa cXML Your logo under Shop Online on their Coupa home page A cXML OrderRequest, the Coupa Supplier Portal or email
U Unimarket cXML PunchOut, or a hosted catalogue Unimarket’s own search, or your PunchOut catalogue in Unimarket A cXML OrderRequest, or by email
SAP S/4HANA and ECC OCI 4.0 A purchase requisition, from Add from External Catalog in S/4HANA or the catalogue button in ECC or SRM Separately: cXML through SAP Business Network, an EDI IDoc, or a PDF by email
T TechnologyOne cXML A requisition in TechnologyOne, or in Unimarket where it runs alongside A cXML purchase order, or a PDF by email
O Oracle cXML A requisition in Self Service Procurement (Fusion) or iProcurement (E-Business Suite) A cXML OrderRequest, directly or through Oracle Business Network, or a PDF by email
Dynamics 365 cXML A purchase requisition, from the External catalogs action A cXML OrderRequest, or by email
J JAGGAER cXML A PunchOut catalogue in JAGGAER eProcurement A cXML OrderRequest, or email or the supplier portal

SAP S/4HANA and ECC PunchOut questions

What is SAP OCI?

The Open Catalog Interface, SAP’s own PunchOut standard. It lets a buyer open a supplier’s catalogue from SAP and send the cart back as requisition lines, using simple web forms instead of XML.

Is this the same as SAP Ariba PunchOut?

No. OCI is for customers buying straight from SAP S/4HANA, ECC or SRM. SAP Ariba uses cXML through SAP Business Network. TierCommerce supports both.

OCI 4.0 or OCI 5.0?

PunchOut uses OCI 4.0, the round-trip from SAP to your catalogue and back. OCI 5.0 in S/4HANA imports catalogue data for SAP’s own search instead.

Which fields does SAP need in the cart?

A description or SAP material number, and a quantity, on every line. A unit is needed without a material number, and a currency with a price. TierCommerce also sends your material number, price unit, vendor number and UNSPSC code.

How do purchase orders reach us?

OCI doesn’t carry purchase orders. SAP sends them separately, as cXML through SAP Business Network, as EDI IDocs or as PDFs by email. TierCommerce takes cXML purchase orders into your ERP, and Order Entry reads emailed ones.

Does it work with SAP ECC and SRM, not just S/4HANA?

Yes. ECC, SRM and S/4HANA all use the same OCI round-trip. Only the screen where your customer adds your catalogue is different.

Can we test before going live?

Yes. Your customer opens your catalogue from a test requisition, returns a cart and checks the lines, before switching to production. Every session is logged on your PunchOut page.

What does PunchOut cost in TierCommerce?

PunchOut is an add-on on Professional and Enterprise. It’s $149 a month, including your first connected customer account, then $69 for each extra account up to 10 and $39 each after that, in Australian dollars ex GST.

Sources

  1. SAP: Open Catalog Interface 4.0 specification
  2. SAP Help: OCI catalogs in S/4HANA Cloud (SAP_COM_0046)
  3. SAP Community: OCI 5.0 and OCI 4.0 in S/4HANA Cloud
  4. SAP Community: OCI catalogs for purchasing in ECC
  5. SAP Learning: Purchase orders through SAP Business Network
  6. DTA: Whole-of-government agreement with SAP (2024)
  7. Auckland Council adopts RISE with SAP
  8. SAP: AusNet and RISE with SAP
  9. SAP: Ausgrid moves to SAP Cloud ERP Private
  10. Eursap: SAP extends support for Business Suite 7

SAP S/4HANA and ECC is a trademark of its owner. TierCommerce isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by it.

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