cXML PunchOut

1. What is cXML PunchOut?

This article discusses the technical workings of cXML PunchOut. For a general explanation of cXML PunchOut, please refer to the general article on PunchOut integrations.

cXML PunchOut is a standard developed by Ariba, and uses HTTP(S) methods to send cXML files back and forth. To log into (or PunchOut to) the webshop, the purchasing package sends a cXML file to the webshop. This file contains, among other things, the user data and a URL where the shopping cart can be sent back to. The web shop verifies the data, and if the user data is correct, the web shop returns a confirmation in cXML format containing a URL back to the purchasing package. After receiving the confirmation, the purchasing package will forward the user to the URL, after which the user is immediately logged in to the webshop. The webshop thus keeps track of which URLs are returned, for which customers they apply, and to which URL the user and the shopping cart must be returned.

For the return of the shopping cart to the purchasing package, again cXML files are used which are sent over HTTPS. The original cXML file that the user logged in with contained a URL that the user must be returned to. The user must be sent back to this address along with a cXML file, after which the user can see the shopping cart in their purchasing package.