Basic Order Fulfillment Processing Guide

Part 2: Catalogue Pricing

This B2B process enables a supplier to send information about products or services (items) to a potential buyer to support the procurement process.  The catalogue information may include item identifiers, descriptions, availability and fixed pricing information.

Business Process Management

There are two basic methods for electronically exchanging catalogue and pricing information business-to-business (B2B).

1. The supplier (sender) sends an electronic catalogue to a potential buyer (receiver).  The B2B catalogue message is delivered based on a prior agreement between the partners (trading partner agreement).  This one-way B2B message (push) may be delivered at fixed-time intervals or only when the catalogue is updated.

2. The receiving partner sends an electronic request to the seller for a catalogue.  The supplier sends an automatic reply message with the catalogue.  This two-way B2B process allows the potential buyer to control when a new catalogue is received.

The B2B process for catalogue pricing may support these use cases so potential buyers have an electronic copy of the supplier’s catalogue:

• New potential buyer - The supplier sends a complete catalogue.  The potential buyer receives the new catalogue to store in their local computing environment.

• Existing buyer - The supplier sends a complete catalogue and the buyer fully replaces any prior catalogue with this new version.

• Limited Update - The supplier sends a partial catalogue that includes only new or changed items.  The buyer uses the information to update their existing version of the suppliers catalogue.

Total Quality Management

The primary challenge for suppliers is ensuring customers have access to the most current product/service catalogue and pricing.  The B2B process for catalogue pricing helps suppliers efficiently distribute, and maintain accurate catalogues made available through the potential buyers’ own business applications.

Performance measures improved using the B2B process for catalogue pricing:

• Increases product and pricing awareness by potential customers.

• Easier for buyers to access catalogue-pricing information from their own business applications versus manually checking the supplier’s website.

• Decreases labor costs associated with maintaining accurate catalogue information.

• Reduces failed purchase orders that include incorrect or obsoleted products.

Information Technology

Product and service catalogues can become very large electronic files.  Sending completely new catalogues each time a few items change may not be practical.

The electronic catalogues allow buyers to easily compare features and prices from their suppliers.  Inaccurate or missing catalogue data is a common issue with the B2B process for catalogue pricing.

Product master data may be sourced from two or more internal business groups.  Each supplier’s IT solutions for catalogue pricing must help the various internal business groups effectively maintain accurate catalogue and pricing information.

Often major buyers require unique methods for obtaining and managing suppliers’ catalogue information.  This is why many industries have established standards for their catalogue and basic pricing information. The supplier’s electronic catalogue many need to support multiple standards for different industries or buyers.

Managing the catalogue synchronization across many distributed buyers requires clear trading partner agreements defining how and when the data will be distributed and maintained.

Standards-based data-synchronization services (information hubs with supporting networks) are used in the retail industries.  These services help suppliers and buyers keep catalogue data current and consistent across the entire trading network.

B2B Standards

This table identifies standards supporting the B2B process for Catalogue Pricing.