Sending ad hoc information to vendors using Punchout attributes or Extrinsic elements

Vendors may request that you send additional information in the PunchOutSetupRequest document. This is accomplished by using the XML element known as Extrinsic.

The mechanism for entering this ad hoc information is through Punchout Attributes (ED53). This is where the name or value pairings are defined. For example, the punchout-enabled vendor ACME Corp. requires that you send contact information about the requester doing the punchout. Specifically, ACME Corp. wants the individual's first and last names and the email address. The company specifies that this information are conveyed in <EXTRINSIC> elements in the PunchOutSetupRequest document. They require that the Extrinsic elements that contain this information are named FirstName, LastName, and EMailAddress.

You can implement this request using Punchout Attributes (ED53). Each attribute contains two fields, one for the name of the attribute and one for the value for the attribute.

Using the example, create three Punchout Attributes, one each for theFirstName, LastName, and EMailAddress.

  1. Specify FirstName in the Attribute Name field, and the actual requester's first name into the Attribute Value field.
  2. Repeat this process for all the extra information that the vendor is requesting.
  3. After the attributes are added, find the appropriate Punchout Users (ED43) record and associate the relevant Punchout Attributes to the user's record.
    Next time you punchout to that vendor, you should see one or more <Extrinsic> elements in the PunchOutSetupRequest document, each one representing the new information you set up.
  4. Click Attributes to transfer to Punchout User Attributes (ED49.1).

    If the information that is required by the vendor is not user-specific, for example, applies to all requesters who punchout to that vendor, then you can set up the Punchout Attribute as described above. But instead of associating the attribute with a particular Punchout User record, you can associate it with the Punchout User Group (ED41) record representing the vendor. Click Attributes to transfer to Punchout User Group Attr (ED47.1).

    In summary, you can define Punchout Attributes to convey ad hoc information that a punchout vendor requires, at the vendor- or user-levels. The Punchout Attributes are converted to <Extrinsic> elements in the PunchOutSetupRequest document.