Top 3 arguments for OCI
Time saving, since no double entry in the ERP has to take place
Large catalog selection with standardized purchasing process
No master data maintenance, thanks to retrieval from the OCI Shop
Interface between your enterprise resource planning (ERP) and the K&K Onlineshop
You can access your individual catalogue assortment in the Keller & Kalmbach online shop via OCI interface from your merchandise management system. You can continue to use your merchandise management system as usual - with all authorizations and settings - and access current product data and search options directly and on a daily basis. This saves you the time-consuming maintenance of article data or the import of catalogue data into your merchandise management system.
What is OCI?
Open Catalog Interface, short OCI, is a standard interface for the exchange of product information between independent systems. It enables the transfer of product data in the form of digital catalogues between ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or merchandise management systems and online platforms.
The open standard was developed by SAP and is now supported by various software manufacturers worldwide. SAP also coined the term punchout, which refers to access to an external product catalog.
The goal of OCI is to integrate eCommerce platforms for research and product selection processes into the ERP system without having to store all product data in detail separately. The resulting product information is integrated into the B2B ordering process and the order transmission is then carried out directly from the ERP system.
How does OCI work?
Order processing via OCI is explained below using a possible example scenario.
Max is a buyer for a medium-sized company. He would like to order products online from Keller & Kalmbach in the categories fasteners, fastening technology and hand tools, among others, but at the same time process the order via his ERP system.
The ordering process must meet the following requirements for his company:
- An additional entry of the order in the ERP system must be avoided at all costs
- The articles to be ordered must be sorted into the merchandise categories of the ERP system This is necessary to determine important key figures and statistics
- An internal approval process already integrated and lived in the ERP system must be retained
- The cost centers existing in the ERP system must be assigned to the articles to be ordered in order to guarantee a needs-based accounting
The Open Catalog Interface (OCI), a standardized, open catalog interface that connects the customer's ERP system with the Keller & Kalmbach online shop, meets the requirements of Max. After leaving the ERP system, the customer is transferred to the K&K online shop where he can fill his shopping cart.
Schematic representation of the OCI ordering process
He can then transfer the filled OCI shopping cart to his ERP system. In this way, all relevant product information such as price, quantity, item description and delivery time as well as additional customer or product relevant information such as classification (e.g. eClass or UNSPSC) and customer item number are transferred to the customer's ERP system.
Now Max has all the necessary information in his ERP. The open purchase order can now run through the internal approval workflow. After the final approval it is only necessary to send the order directly to Keller & Kalmbach via EDI interface or automated e-mail.
Source: Study „Indirekter Einkauf im Fokus“ of the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK Leipzig) 2017
Further Arguments for OCI
No additional administration of user and access data in the online shop
Data protection with encrypted data transmission and certified servers. The servers are located in Europe
Avoidance of maverick buying (wild shopping)
We provide our OCI interface free of charge
Increase the efficiency of the production chain
No additional login to the shop necessary
Standardized and simple connection from your ERP to K&K
Product search of the K&K online shop usable
Check prices and delivery times in real time
Catalogues in the shop are maintained by Keller & Kalmbach
No address, payment or delivery data need to be entered when transferring the shopping cart (shortened shopping cart)
Reduction of procurement costs through process improvement. A simple product search saves time and therefore money. Avoidance of errors in procurement by means of already defined and called off articles. Every user can order by himself because a control in the ERP is possible and therefore a shift of the purchase to the demanders takes place without a loss of control. The statistics about the purchases can be created in your ERP as usual.
Reduction of the processing time of individual orders through fast search and clearly identifiable articles. There is no need for clarification between purchaser and buyer as to exactly which article should be ordered. You save valuable time by eliminating the processing of complaints and reverse processing of article mix-ups in the ordering process.
Checklist for your OCI connection
Does your ERP have an OCI module?
Do you need your orders to be process-oriented in your merchandise management?
How many orders do you process manually with us? Many, very good, few also ok.
Do you want or are you in a business relationship with K&K?
Can you transmit orders from your ERP via EDI? (optional)
Check if OCI interfaces with other suppliers have already been set up? (optional)
Which additional information, e.g. eCl@ss or customer part numbers should be transmitted? (optional)
If all or the majority of the points apply to your company, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Technical steps for setting up the OCI interface
1. check if an OCI module is available in your ERP
2. Request of personal OCI access parameters to the Keller & Kalmbach online shop
3. Define the fields of the ERP OCI module, if necessary
4. Test of the OCI interface
5. Installation of an EDI interface for automatic transmission of orders to Keller & Kalmbach
6. Live switching of the OCI interface for all users
Jump parameters for Keller & Kalmbach OCI-Shop
In order to jump from your merchandise management or your Procument system to the K&K OCI-Shop, the following parameters must be stored. You will receive the parameters for your company directly from us. Please contact us for this.
| No. | Parameter name | Parameter value | Type |
| 1 | https://keller-kalmbach.de/oci/login | URL | |
| 2 | USERNAME | you will receive from K&K - Request now | Fixed value |
| 3 | PASSWORT | you will receive from K&K - Request now | Fixed value |
| 4 | USERID | dynamic user name from your software | Dynamic system field |
| 5 | LAN | en | Fixed value |
| 6 | HOOK_URL | Return URL of your software | Return value |
To give you an impression of how the Keller & Kalmbach online shop looks after an OCI jump or to enable you to test the access parameters provided to you, we provide you with a test option here. After you have entered your parameters and click "Test parameters" you will be taken to the OCI shop. Here you can add items to your shopping cart and after you have used the OCI transfer shopping cart button, you will see the data that the Keller & Kalmbach online shop provides via OCI.
Test your Keller & Kalmbach OCI jump parameters now
Fields and field contents of the OCI shopping cart
Fields and, as an example, field contents that are transferred from the Keller & Kalmbach online shop to your ERP during a standard OCI shopping cart transfer are listed in the table. Individual change requests for the assignment of field contents to the OCI code can be configured flexibly.
| OCI code | Maximum data length | Explanation | Example |
| NEW_ITEM-DESCRIPTION | 40 | Article description | DIN 933, hexagon head bolt, Steel 8.8 galvanised, M5x60 |
| NEW_ITEM-MATGROUP | 10 | Product classification without hyphens | 23110101 |
| NEW_ITEM-QUANTITY | 15 | Quantity | 200.000 |
| NEW_ITEM-UNIT | 3 | Unit of measure as ISO code | C62 |
| NEW_ITEM-PRICE | 15 | Price | 32.254 |
| NEW_ITEM-PRICEUNIT | 5 | Price unit | 100 |
| NEW_ITEM-CURRENCY | 5 | Currency | EUR |
| NEW_ITEM-LEADTIME | 5 | Delivery time in working days | 1 |
| NEW_ITEM-VENDOR | 10 | K&K supplier number at the customer | KK123456 |
| NEW_ITEM-MATNR | 40 | Customer item number | Your ITEM.No. |
| NEW_ITEM-VENDORMAT | 40 | Item number | 240933560 |
| NEW_ITEM-LONGTEXT_N:132 | nonrestricted | Long text | Threaded close up to the head. |
| NEW_ITEM-EXT_SCHEMA_TYPE | 10 | Classification system and version | ECLASS-9.1 |
| NEW_ITEM-EXT_CATEGORY_ID | 60 | Product classification without hyphens | 23110101 |
| NEW_ITEM-MANUFACTCODE | 10 | Manufacturer name | |
| NEW_ITEM-MANUFACTMAT | 40 | Manufacturer ProductID |
Further clarifications
for OCI:
The abbreviation OCI has a different meaning in finance, where it stands for Other Comprehensive Income. In corporate accounting, this stands for other comprehensive income (OCI), which includes income, expenses, profits and losses that have not yet been realized. OCI is used here to show changes in value that do not reflect the value creation of the company.
In the software world, the abbreviation OCI stands for Open Container Initiative, which is a project of the Linux Foundation to define open standards for virtualization at operating system level.
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