5 Tips for Successful EDI Implementation.

To implement EDI successfully all organizations must make EDI a part of their overall business strategy with complete buy in from all departments including senior management. Needless to say, good communication between the organization and its trading partners is also an essential component in implementing a successful EDI strategy.

Here are a few tips that should help your organization develop a successful EDI implementation:

1.       Determine where your organization lies in the supply chain.

Is your organization an ‘Initiator’ or ‘Responder’. In other words are you implementing EDI on your own terms to help improve your overall business processes (‘Initiator’) or are you responding to a request from large customers who require you to become EDI compliant in order to secure your contract (‘Responder’). An ‘Initiator’ will be able to determine which rules and regulations suit their business model best, whereas a ‘Responder’ will have to abide by the standards and protocols that have been laid down by their customers or trading partners.

2.       Put in place a dedicated project team.

A dedicated project team is needed to determine your overall business objectives (e.g. remove manual data entry to reduce errors and chargebacks, comply with trading partner requirements, etc.) and to define deliverables over a set time period.

3.       Communicate with Trading Partners.

Ensure your trading partners have full commitment. Ask for a copy of your trading partners agreement and find out which EDI standards (X12, EDIFACT, Tradacoms, Odette, etc.), transaction sets (850, 810, 846, 856, 997, etc.) and communication protocols (VAN, FTP, AS2, etc.) they will require.

4.       Use first implementation as a pilot project and thereafter a stepped approach.

If you have many trading partners to communicate thru EDI, use your first implementation as a pilot project, one that you can tweak and make improvements to as you move forward. Many organizations make the mistake of trying to add too many trading partners at once. This is a huge drain on your resources and can make trading relationships go sour very fast. A stepped or phased approach may be better. Decide which trading partner relationships are a priority and implement accordingly over a phased basis.   

5.       ‘Inhouse’ or ‘Outsourced’ EDI

At this stage you need to determine if you have the internal capabilities and resources to successfully implement your own EDI department or do you outsource your EDI requirements to a 3^rd party EDI provider. A 3^rd party EDI provider will act as your own EDI department and will take away the hassle, constraints and complexities of using EDI with many trading partners. However, if your organization is very large and you have a large IT department there may be advantages to operating your EDI needs inhouse.

If you would like further information on how B2BGateway’s fully outsourced EDI solutions can help your organization achieve successful EDI implementation please call +1 (401) 491 9595 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net 

Webinar: NetSuite EDI 101

When: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 Time: 10am PST / 1pm EST Register here As a 'Built for NetSuite' certified solution, B2BGateway would like to share our expertise about what EDI is and how it works, typical EDI data flows, how we meet the needs of the NetSuite EDI user and how much money using our services will save you.  Additionally, we'll have a 'questions and answers' segment at the end for any specific question that might not have been covered in the webinar. Please click the link below to register for the NetSuite EDI 101 webinar and we hope to see you soon!

Roger Leyden Director of Global Business Development B2BGateway

Integrate your Omni-Channel Logistics with cloud based EDI solutions from B2BGateway.

 

To fulfill goods and services for the ever increasing world of Omni-Channel Retail, suppliers have to create excellence in their Omni-Channel Logistics operations. Omni-Channel Retailing is best described by Wikipedia as the evolution of multi-channel retailing, but is concentrated more on a seamless approach to the consumer experience through all available shopping channels, i.e. mobile internet devices, computers, bricks-and-mortar, television, radio, direct mail, catalog and so on. Retailers are meeting the new customer demands by deploying specialized supply chain strategies and software solutions.

The major challenge for suppliers, in order to meet the retailers’ new omni-channel needs, is to get their goods and services to the correct channel as quickly and as accurately as possible and, needless to say,  in the most cost effective manner.

In order to help suppliers achieve excellence in Omni-Channel Logistics, B2BGateway has developed full end to end seamless connectivity between the supplier and all parties in the supply chain from box store retailers (Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, etc.) to online retailers (Amazon, Buy.com, etc.), to manufacturers, third party logistics providers (3PL) and even the suppliers own online shopping carts (which may be powered by online platform providers such as 3dcart, Volusion, Magento, etc.).

 

Through specially developed, cloud based EDI software, B2BGateway’s Omni-Channel Logistics solution fully integrates the suppliers ERP software with all parties in the supply chain, thus allowing fully automated and seamless connectivity for the exchange of all business documentation needed such as Purchase Orders (EDI 850), Invoices (EDI 810), Inventory Updates (EDI 846), Warehouse Shipping Orders (EDI 940), Advanced Shipping Notices (EDI 856) and so forth.

  

As there is full automation and no need to re-key data, the supplier benefits greatly from increased speed, increased accuracy, greater visibility and reduced labor overheads.

 

If you would like to learn more about B2BGateway’s fully integrated Omni-Channel Logistics solution please call +1 401-491-9595 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net