Large enterprise and government buyers operate through procurement systems that require specific integration standards — cXML PunchOut, structured purchase orders, and ERP connectivity. ShopSTAR3 supports these natively, enabling Halo’s stores to participate in B2B procurement workflows without custom development or third-party middleware.
cXML PunchOut#
PunchOut enables corporate buyers to browse the store catalog from within their eProcurement system (SAP Ariba, Coupa, Oracle, and compatible systems). When the buyer initiates a PunchOut session, they are taken directly into the storefront in a special procurement mode. Items added to cart are returned as a structured cart document to the procurement system for internal approval — no order is placed until the buyer’s organization issues a Purchase Order.
Each connected procurement system is registered with a network identity and a shared secret used to authenticate the cXML session handshake. Credentials are stored securely and are not visible after initial setup.
Purchase Orders#
Once a buyer’s PO is approved by their procurement system, it is sent to the platform as a cXML Purchase Order document. The platform validates the PO, maps the buyer’s product identifiers to catalog items, and creates the order automatically.
Part ID mappings — which translate the buyer’s internal part numbers (SupplierPartIDs) to store catalog variants — are configured in the Enterprise settings and can be imported in bulk.
ERP Integration#
Connect the store to an ERP system for bidirectional data sync. Supported ERPs: SAP S/4HANA, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Odoo.
Outbound — Orders, invoices, and new customers are pushed to the ERP automatically when they are created in the platform.
Inbound — The platform polls the ERP on a configurable schedule and pulls inventory levels, product data, and purchase orders. Inventory updates are applied to the store’s stock records; product data updates are synced to the catalog.
ERP API credentials are stored securely in Vault. The sync schedule, entity types to sync, and non-sensitive connection settings (company ID, API endpoint, environment) are configurable per ERP connection.