Lab Punchout Catalogs: The Complete Guide for R&D Procurement

Procurement in biotech and life sciences is anything but simple. Unlike office supply or MRO purchasing, R&D teams source highly specialized lab supplies, from consumables and reagents to instruments, across hundreds of suppliers while balancing speed, compliance, and budget. To manage this complexity, many organizations rely on lab punchout catalogs.

Lab punchout catalogs connect supplier websites directly into ERP and P2P systems such as Coupa, Ariba, SAP, Oracle, Jaggaer, or NetSuite. They allow labs to shop supplier catalogs with negotiated pricing while keeping approvals, budgets, and audit trails intact.

However, punchout catalogs are simply a procurement mechanism, not a complete procurement solution. In lab procurement, a punchout catalog is best understood as a transactional bridge that moves order data between systems, not a sourcing layer that manages supplier complexity. They work well for individual supplier relationships, but they were not designed to support R&D environments sourcing across dozens or hundreds of vendors.

This guide explains what lab punchout catalogs are, how they work, where they fall short for R&D, and how modern labs use them alongside broader procurement platforms to support scalable procure-to-pay workflows.

Short on time? You can jump to the lab punchout catalog FAQs for quick answers, or keep reading for a deeper look at how punchout fits into R&D procurement.

What is a lab punchout catalog?

A lab punchout catalog is a connection between your organization’s procurement system and a supplier’s online catalog. Instead of logging into supplier websites separately or uploading static spreadsheets, users “punch out” from the ERP into the supplier’s site, shop with contract pricing, and return the cart to the procurement system for approval.

Punchout catalogs are commonly used to:

• Enforce negotiated pricing
• Maintain compliance and auditability
• Reduce manual data entry
• Support structured lab procure-to-pay processes

For a broader look at how labs structure purchasing workflows beyond individual supplier catalogs, see our Complete Lab Purchasing Guide.

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Hosted vs. punchout catalogs

Hosted catalogs were an early step toward digital procurement, but they rely on static data that quickly becomes outdated. Punchout catalogs replaced hosted catalogs by providing real-time pricing and availability, but neither approach alone addresses the full complexity of R&D procurement.

The complexity of lab procurement and where punchout catalogs fit

R&D procurement introduces challenges that do not exist in general purchasing:

• Volatile supply chains where availability changes rapidly
• Extremely high SKU counts across many categories
• Documentation requirements such as SDS, COAs, and compliance records
• The need to balance scientific speed with procurement controls

Punchout catalogs help by providing real-time product data and preserving approval workflows. What they do not address is supplier sprawl, longtail sourcing, or fragmented order tracking. As labs expand research programs and vendor networks, these gaps become harder to manage without additional procurement infrastructure.

The five biggest challenges with multiple lab punchout catalogs

Punchout catalogs work best when labs rely on a small number of strategic suppliers. Once supplier count grows, those same punchouts often introduce new problems:

1. Complex integrations → Every punchout catalog requires IT setup, testing, and maintenance.
2. Inconsistent user experience → Every supplier’s catalog behaves differently.
3. Limited supplier coverage → Many niche vendors don’t offer punchout, forcing workarounds and increasing longtail spend.
4. Fragmented tracking → Labs waste time checking multiple portals for status updates.
5. Administrative overload → Multiple POs, invoices, and contracts.

ZAGENO survey data shows:

• 67% of scientists and lab ops would not recommend their current lab supply ordering process.
• 90% reported delays caused by unavailable or backordered items.

Troubleshooting common lab punchout catalog issues 

Labs frequently encounter integration and workflow issues with punchout catalogs.

Tip: Labs should use a punchout test checklist covering units of measure, GL codes, UNSPSC codes, contract pricing, and ship-to addresses before go-live.

Punchout catalogs vs multi-supplier lab procurement platforms

Supplier punchout catalogs improve compliance within individual vendor relationships. They were not designed to manage sourcing across dozens or hundreds of suppliers.

Multi-supplier lab procurement platforms complement punchout catalogs by centralizing sourcing and ordering across the supplier ecosystem.

Punchout catalogs solve inefficiencies inside a supplier relationship. Procurement platforms solve inefficiencies across supplier relationships.

For teams evaluating alternatives to supplier-by-supplier punchout, this guide on how to choose a lab supply marketplace outlines key considerations.

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Supplier punchout vs platform-based punchout

Not all punchout models are the same.

• Supplier punchout connects one supplier at a time into the ERP
• Platform-based punchout connects a procurement platform into the ERP, providing access to many suppliers through one entry point

For R&D organizations managing longtail and niche suppliers, platform-based punchout reduces repeated IT work while preserving ERP-level controls and compliance.

Guided buying and lab punchout catalogs

With multiple punchout catalogs in play, scientists often struggle to know where to buy the right product. Product data is fragmented, comparisons are manual, and procurement teams are pulled into routine sourcing questions that slow research.

Guided buying addresses this by applying rules and recommendations directly into the purchasing workflow.

With ZAGENO, guided buying supports:

• Steering users toward preferred suppliers and pricing
• Automatic mapping to cost centers, GL codes, and projects
• Customizable budget thresholds that streamline approvals
• Rebate optimization through preferred vendor routing
• Metacart checkout that consolidates items from multiple suppliers

This approach improves the buying experience while preserving procurement controls and ERP integration.

A deeper comparison of procurement approaches is covered in our biotech procurement solution comparison.

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Procurement KPIs for evaluating lab punchout catalogs

To assess effectiveness, labs should monitor:

• Time to requisition
• Percentage of spend off-catalog
• PO cycle time
• Percentage of orders delayed due to backorders
• Suppliers per cart and per invoice
• Scientist time spent searching for products

These KPIs are closely tied to spend management and invoice consolidation.

When lab punchout catalogs fit and when you need more

Punchout catalogs fit when:

• Spend is concentrated with a few suppliers
• Product requirements are relatively stable

Labs need more when:

• Supplier count grows into the hundreds
• Scientists spend excessive time searching across punchouts
• Finance teams require consolidated POs and invoices
• New or niche suppliers must be onboarded quickly

How ZAGENO simplifies lab punchout catalog management

ZAGENO reduces the operational burden of managing multiple lab punchout catalogs by acting as a single procurement layer between your ERP and suppliers.

ZAGENO provides:

• One punchout connection into Coupa, Ariba, SAP, Oracle, or NetSuite
• Access to over 40M SKUs from more than 5,000 suppliers
• Metacart checkout with one PO and one invoice
• Supplier onboarding in weeks instead of months
• AI-driven insights for availability, delivery, and cost optimization

Making sense of lab punchout catalogs

Lab punchout catalogs play an important role by connecting procurement systems to strategic suppliers. They help preserve approvals, pricing, and compliance, but they were not designed to manage the full complexity of R&D sourcing. As supplier networks grow and product needs change, labs often need additional flexibility, consolidation, and visibility across vendors.

That’s where broader procurement platforms come into play, helping teams apply these concepts consistently across suppliers while keeping existing ERP and P2P workflows intact.

See how labs bring these pieces together.
ZAGENO helps teams combine punchout compliance with flexible sourcing through a single procurement platform.

See how labs bring these pieces together.
ZAGENO helps teams combine punchout compliance with flexible sourcing through a single procurement platform.

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Lab punchout catalog FAQs

1. What is a lab punchout catalog?
   A lab punchout catalog links your procurement system with a supplier’s live catalog, allowing you to shop in real time and sync orders into your ERP.

2. What’s the main advantage of a lab punchout catalog?
   Real-time pricing and inventory inside your procurement workflow.

3. Why are punchout catalogs limited for labs?
   They don’t support non-catalog sourcing, require IT maintenance, and restrict supplier flexibility.

4. How is a lab punchout catalog different from a hosted catalog?
   Hosted catalogs are static and buyer-maintained. Lab punchout catalogs are dynamic and supplier-maintained.

5. Can labs use punchout catalogs with multiple suppliers?
   Yes, but each adds setup and maintenance. Platforms like ZAGENO reduce this by providing a single punchout connection to many suppliers.

6. Do punchout catalogs support approval workflows?
   Yes. Carts route back into your ERP for approval before a purchase order is issued.

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A Day in the Life: Ziyi Wang, Chief of Staff & Strategic Growth at ZAGENO

Smarter R&D Spend Management: How Technology is Transforming Biotech Procurement

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