What is a Hosted Catalog?
A hosted catalog brings a supplier's products directly into your procurement platform — with your negotiated pricing, your approved items, fully searchable by your buyers.
Hosted Catalog Defined
A hosted catalog is an electronic product catalog that is uploaded into and maintained within a buyer's procurement platform. Rather than connecting to a supplier's live website like a punchout, a hosted catalog consists of a structured data file — typically in CIF (Catalog Interchange Format) or spreadsheet format — that contains the supplier's products, part numbers, descriptions, and pre-negotiated pricing.
Buyers search and shop the catalog entirely within their procurement system. When they find what they need and add it to their cart, the order flows through the standard approval and PO process — no browser redirect, no supplier login required.
Advantages of Hosted Catalogs
- Negotiated contract pricing is locked in — buyers can't pay retail rates
- Works with any supplier, even those without e-commerce capability
- Faster for buyers — no redirect to external sites
- Administrators control exactly which items appear and to whom
- Easily updated via bulk spreadsheet uploads
- Ideal for suppliers with stable, predictable product lines
- Full integration with existing approval workflows
How Hosted Catalogs Work
1. Catalog Upload
The supplier or procurement admin uploads a CIF file or spreadsheet containing items, part numbers, descriptions, and pricing.
2. Organize & Assign
Items are categorized and assigned to appropriate buyer groups. Admins control which users can see which catalogs.
3. Buyers Search & Shop
Buyers find items using search or browse by category — all within the procurement platform interface they already use.
4. Order Flows Normally
Cart items become a purchase requisition, route through approvals, and convert to a PO transmitted to the supplier.
Hosted Catalog vs. Punchout: Which is Right for You?
The right choice depends on your supplier and purchasing pattern. Hosted catalogs are better when pricing is stable, when the supplier doesn't have a punchout-ready e-commerce site, or when you want maximum control over what buyers can purchase. Punchouts are better for suppliers with large, frequently changing catalogs where real-time pricing and live inventory matter.
Many organizations use both: punchouts for large national distributors like Grainger, and hosted catalogs for smaller specialty suppliers and diversity vendors who may not have the IT resources to support a live punchout connection.
Hosted Catalogs for Diversity Suppliers
Hosted catalogs are particularly valuable for diversity resellers and small business suppliers. Unlike punchouts, which require technical e-commerce infrastructure, a hosted catalog can be set up with nothing more than a spreadsheet of your products and prices. This low barrier to entry makes it the most accessible electronic procurement option for small and diverse-owned businesses looking to compete for enterprise contracts.
How Provision Connect Can Help
Provision Connect's Hosted Catalog Module makes it simple to build, maintain, and deploy catalogs for any supplier. Upload your products in bulk, set your pricing, organize by category, and your buyers can start purchasing within days. We support CIF format, Excel uploads, and automatic pricing updates — plus full integration with your existing procurement workflows.
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Provision Connect makes it easy to upload, organize, and deploy hosted catalogs for any supplier — big or small.
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