Stop Shopping One Person at a Time in Sourcing and Procurement Operations

[Ravikumar Iyer]

Purchase on Behalf Of brings centralized purchasing power to Shopping Hub — so advanced shoppers can do more, faster.

If you're a procurement specialist managing purchases for an entire team, you already know the pain: one cart, one user, one session at a time. It's slow, clunky, and scales poorly.

The new Purchase on Behalf Of capability in Shopping Hub changes that entirely. Now you can shop for multiple people in a single session — without switching accounts, losing context, or duplicating effort.

Who It's For

This feature is built for the advanced shopper — someone in a centralized or decentralized procurement role who regularly purchase on behalf of multiple individuals. Think procurement coordinators, EA teams, or department buyers who handle high transaction volumes daily.

How It Works

Setup takes minutes. In Shopping Hub Configuration, admins create a new Purchase on Behalf Of record that maps who can shop for whom. You can assign by group or individual — giving you full control over purchasing relationships.

Once configured, here's what the shopping experience looks like:

• On any product detail page, a new dropdown lets you select who you're buying for.
• Locations and cost centers automatically switch to the recipient's context.
• If an item isn't eligible for a user, you're notified right away — no surprises at checkout.
• Multiple carts coexist side by side — toggle between User A, User B, and yourself in one session.

The Real Benefits

The time savings speak for themselves, but here's what makes this capability a genuine upgrade:

• No more session switching. Shop for multiple people without logging in and out.
• Context-aware checkout. Each person's locations, cost centers, and preferences are automatically applied.
• Visibility into past purchases. Filter My Purchases by user to see and manage what you've ordered on anyone's behalf.
• Eligibility checks built in. Shopping controls and delivery location rules are respected automatically.

A Few Things to Know

If your organization also uses the Shop As (delegate) function, note that both features can coexist — but when Shop As is active, multi-user toggling is read-only. For the best experience, use one model at a time.

Also keep in mind: tasks generated from purchases (like receipts) don't automatically reroute to the recipient. To direct a receipt task to the right person, list them as the recipient address at checkout.

Why This Matters

Purchase on Behalf Of is a meaningful upgrade for anyone who manages procurement at scale. Less toggling, fewer errors, and a checkout experience that actually fits the way advanced shoppers work.

If you’re interested in learning more about this exciting capability, you can read all about it here:

Purchase on behalf of another user in Shopping Hub.