3 Key Takeaways from SuiteWorld17

As you may be aware, NetSuite’s annual conference SuiteWorld took place last week in Las Vegas, NV. There was a new look and feel to this year’s conference with the new Oracle branding on all signage and Jim McGeever replaced Zach Nelson to deliver the main keynote address. It was during this keynote that Mark Hurd, CEO of Oracle, confirmed that oracle would continue to run NetSuite as a global business unit within Oracle and would help the world’s number 1 cloud based ERP system to grow and dominate its market share.

From Jim McGeever’s opening address to the NetSuite partners on Monday April 24^th, here are my 3 key takeaways:

1.       NetSuite is Going Global 

With the help and support of Oracle, NetSuite is going to put a huge push on growing and dominating the worldwide Cloud ERP marketplace. This year NetSuite has plans to expand into 30 more countries including Germany, the Benelux countries and Scandinavia to name a few.

2.       NetSuite is now a complete Unified Suite

With the introduction of SuitePeople, NetSuite adds HCM to its existing portfolio of ERP, CRM, eCommerce (SuiteCommerce) and Omni-Channel solutions. Adding a HCM solution now gives NetSuite a complete suite of business software solutions to all organizations.

3.       SuiteSuccess

SuiteSuccess was the big buzzword at SuiteWorld17. According to NetSuite ‘SuiteSuccess is the culmination of a multi-year transformation effort to combine the NetSuite unified suite, 20 years of industry leading practices, a new customer engagement model and business optimization methods into a unified, industry cloud solution. SuiteSuccess is engineered to solve unique industry challenges that historically have limited a company’s ability to grow, scale and adapt to change.’ Also, according to NetSuite, following the best business practices of SuiteSuccess, new customer implementations should go live within the first 100 days.

B2BGateway, a Built for NetSuite solution, has been NetSuite’s EDI partner for over 15 years and provides cloud based, fully integrated EDI solutions to NetSuite users across the globe. If you would like to know more on how B2BGateway’s EDI for NetSuite solutions can help your organization please join our free webinar on May 10^th, 2017 at 1pm EST. Details and registration here http://bit.ly/2qtx2Lh

Kitchen Food Company

See how B2BGateway.Net helped Kitchen Foood Company to fully integrate EDI with their new NetSuite ERP system for seamless communications with customers such as Coles, General Mills and Woolworths Supermarkets https://goo.gl/91zsqY

MYOB appoints JCurve Solutions to sell and implement MYOB Advanced ERP in Australia.

Sydney's JCurve Solutions has partnered with MYOB to sell, implement and support the Australian accounting software vendor's MYOB Advanced cloud ERP software for large businesses.

MYOB Advanced offers clients control over inventory, sales, distribution, CRM, finance and payroll.

JCurve chief executive Stephen Canning said Advanced would offer new opportunities for tailored customer solutions.

"With Advanced we now feel JCS is better placed to provide customers with a choice of their preferred cloud ERP platform to best suit their specific business requirements," he said.

Carolyn Luey, MYOB's general manager of enterprise solutions, added: "MYOB is delighted to have JCurve Solutions working with us to distribute MYOB Advanced. JCurve Solutions is one of the most experienced implementers of cloud ERP solutions in the market today and will make a valuable addition to MYOB's network of local business partners in the mid-market."

JCurve is also a 5-star NetSuite solution provider and has implemented 550 ERP solutions across Australian businesses.

B2BGateway, which has partnerships with both MYOB and JCurve Solutions to deliver cloud based, fully integrated EDI solutions to their clients, is delighted with this latest announcement. According to Dante Dell’Agnese, Director of Sales APAC at B2BGateway, “Up to now B2BGateway has been supporting both MYOB and JCurve Solutions over different channels and ERP solutions, now with this agreement between MYOB and JCurve we will be able to support the end users EDI needs all from the one ERP platform.”

You can learn more about EDI and how it can improve the MYOB Advanced users supply chain processes here B2BGateway EDI for MYOB Advanced.

EDI for NetSuite

Cloud based, fully integrated EDI solutions for NetSuite users http://bit.ly/2aptiDt

Newsletter - 'EDI Matters'

B2BGateway quarterly newsletter 'EDI Matters' out now http://bit.ly/2fIgFnw

B2BGateway to sponsor NetSuite SuiteConnect EMEA in London

B2BGateway will be sponsoring SuiteConnect EMEA which takes place on October 11^th in the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel in London.

SuiteConnect EMEA is a NetSuite conference for clients and partners located in the European, Middle East and African regions. The conference promises to give attendees insights from NetSuite’s seventeen years of delivering cloud solutions to over 30,000 organizations globally, learn how to stay current with new trends and findings from Frost & Sullivan and to network with over 800 attendees. Guests will also be able to attend dedicated industry vertical breakout sessions as well as visit the exhibition hall to meet with NetSuite partners and their solutions. The keynote address will be delivered by NetSuite CEO, Zach Nelson, who will speak on how modern global companies are thriving in the cloud economy.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) has become best business practice in the transfer of electronic business documents such as Purchase Orders, Invoices, Advanced Shipping Notices (ASNs), Inventory Updates, etc., between trading partners and is highly popular in market verticals such as Wholesale Distribution, Retail, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Automotive and Finance.

By integrating with B2BGateway’s cloud based EDI solution the NetSuite user can be compliant in all internationally recognized EDI standards and communication protocols such as EDIFACT, Eancom, Tradacoms, ANSI X12, oioUBL, PEPPOL, VAN, AS2, etc. The B2BGateway EDI solution is built into the NetSuite dashboard and full integration removes the need for the user to re-key data when exchanging electronic business documents with trading partners, leading to greater accuracy, increased labour efficiencies and expediting the ‘order-to-payment’ cash cycle with customers.

For further information on B2BGateway's cloud based, fully integrated EDI solutions for NetSuite please visit https://www.b2bgateway.net/edi-for-netsuite/

B2BGateway and Maclaren Shortlisted for a UK Supply Chain Excellence Award

B2BGateway, a leading global EDI solution provider and Maclaren, the company which introduced the world's first lightweight aluminum baby stroller over fifty years ago, have been shortlisted for a UK Supply Chain Excellence Award 2016 for developing a mobile EDI Connect App in the Technology Awards Category.

B2BGateway provides cloud based EDI solutions to Maclaren which fully integrate with Maclaren's NetSuite ERP system. The B2BGateway EDI solution allows Maclaren to exchange electronic business documents such as orders, invoices and shipping notices, etc., with customers such as Target and Amazon and removes the need for the Maclaren staff to re-key data.

This summer B2BGateway developed a mobile EDI Connect App that lets Maclaren executives check EDI orders from anywhere on their mobile devices, ensuring EDI documents are transmitting properly and that all orders are fulfilled in a timely fashion. Some of Maclaren’s EDI customers include retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond, John Lewis and Saks.The B2BGateway EDI Connect App works with the majority of ERP systems and is available on both iOS and Android platforms to B2BGateway clients.

The winners of the UK Supply Chain Excellence Awards will be announced in London on November 14, 2016. You can see a full list of all the organizations that are shortlisted for this year's awards here.

A baby stroller manufacturer rolls faster with electronic orders

By Phil Burgert on B2BeCommerce.com

Maclaren, a pioneer in strollers, is using a mobile app to check EDI orders as it also takes orders via its e-commerce site.

Maclaren is a manufacturer known for introducing 50 years ago lightweight, easy-to-use “umbrella” baby strollers made with aviation-grade aluminum. It’s continuing try new things today, including a more flexible means of managing its electronic orders from all sizes of customers.

Maclaren sells to retailers ranging from large corporations like Target Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. to smaller regional store chains and individual “mom-and-pop” stores. While the Targets and Amazons prefer to place most if not all of their orders via electronic data interchange, or EDI, many of the smaller merchants aren’t set up to exchange EDI documents and prefer to order via Maclaren’s e-commerce site, MaclarenBaby.com, which also takes orders from consumers.

In early 2015, Maclaren deployed NetSuite Inc.’s SuiteCommerce software suite, which includes Maclaren’s e-commerce platform and its enterprise resource planning, or ERP, business software applications for managing inventory, customer orders and financial records. As Maclaren receives e-commerce orders from customers across eight countries, it automatically updates data across the SuiteCommerce ERP applications.

But it can be difficult to monitor the flow of EDI orders, checking for transmission problems and ensuring enough inventory is on hand to fulfill the orders. Following the SuiteCommerce deployment, Maclaren worked with B2BGateway to also integrate its EDI orders with the SuiteCommerce ERP system, relieving the manufacturer of manually entering EDI order data into its ERP applications.

This summer, Maclaren took things up another notch by deploying B2BGateways’ EDI Connect App, a mobile app that lets Maclaren executives check EDI orders from anywhere, ensuring EDI documents are transmitting properly and that orders are fulfilled. EDI documents include customer purchase orders and Maclaren’s invoices and ship notices. Maclaren’s EDI customers also include retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond, John Lewis and Saks.

“We have an EDI team and they use the app to work with EDI transactions coming and going,” says James Ramsey, global head of technology for Maclaren, a unit of United Kingdom-based holding company Dory Ventures.

“All of our larger customers prefer to work through EDI so they don’t have to use our B2B e-commerce site and everything can be done through EDI with those customers,” he says. “That’s why we’re working with B2BGateway. They’ve been a great partner in getting EDI set up with all of these big accounts, which takes a lot of the load off our account executives and sales team for everything that comes in and goes back out again.”

Ramsey says considerable volume goes through EDI at Maclaren, and that that having the integration with SuiteCommerce and the mobile app make it far easier to keep it running smoothly. “The misconception with EDI is people think once it is put in place it just runs and everything is good in the world. But it never gets done, there’s always some issue that comes up,” he says.

Louisa Gooding, director of sales and strategic relationships at B2BGateway, says B2BGateway is continuing to add more of Maclaren’s trading partners into its EDI system. “We’re in the process of adding 40 more online trading partner relationships between now and December.”
Gooding described the B2BGateway EDI Connect App as primarily a reporting app. Ramsey, she says, “needs it because he wants to have a quick place to see what’s going on.”

Ramsey says he has been able to use the app to catch up on the status of trading partners while walking into the office or to get complete overviews of a day’s EDI transactions while watching his son’s soccer games.

B2BGateway launched the app last year on iOS platforms and added Android platforms earlier this year.

For further information on the B2BGateway EDI Connect App please visit www.B2BGateway.Net or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net

Oracle and NetSuite: A match made in heaven - but what does the future hold?

Oracle announced on July 28^th its intention to purchase NetSuite for $9.3 billion subject to regulatory approval. NetSuite is a leading cloud based ERP/CRM/eCommerce software business suite that was founded in 1998 by Evan Goldberg and has been to the forefront of financial cloud technology since its inception. But what does the future hold for both organizations and why did Oracle feel the need to purchase NetSuite?

The Cloud
Oracle has been shifting aggressively to the cloud over the past two years as its more traditional client/server based enterprise solutions have become less popular with customers. Indeed, its revenue mix has shown just how important cloud is becoming to Oracle’s future. NetSuite as a pure bred cloud company will help Oracle get a great share of the cloud driven marketplace.

SMB Marketplace
NetSuite will help Oracle strengthen its position in the ever growing small to medium marketplace, a sector that Oracle has largely ignored up to now. It hopes the NetSuite acquisition will help Oracle to reach smaller companies that can't afford Oracle's traditional high-cost, high-maintenance product.

International Reach
In NetSuite, Oracle saw a cloud company whose sales of e-commerce and manufacturing software to smaller businesses were stalling as it tried to move into international markets. Oracle will use its branding and international knowledge to help NetSuite overcome international obstacles.

Competition.
If Oracle had not purchased NetSuite, chances are that a rival such as Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce or Sage may have done so.

NetSuite Two-Tier Strategy
Oracle’s powerful databases will help NetSuite’s Two Tier Strategy of going to market, i.e. where multi-national corporations use cloud solutions such as NetSuite for their subsidiaries and international markets, but feed all the data back to the head office main ERP system such as SAP.

Will NetSuite remain as a separate entity?
Oracle’s Mark Hurd has stated that they will continue to run NetSuite as a separate company, but if the previous PeopleSoft acquisition is anything to go by, it may not be long before Oracle turns NetSuite into a complete Oracle offering which may mean price increases for existing NetSuite clients.

B2BGateway, a ‘Built for NetSuite’ solution, has been NetSuite’s EDI partner since 2001, back when they were known as NetLedger, and we wish them the very best for the future. If you would like to know more about B2BGateway’s cloud based, fully integrated EDI solutions for NetSuite users please email Sales@B2BGateway.Net or visit https://www.b2bgateway.net/edi-for-netsuite/

EDI Matters Newsletter

B2BGateway Newsletter out now! Taking the heat out of your EDI needs http://bit.ly/2ahQlTC

B2BGateway's EDI Connect App Brings Maclaren's Customer Communications Into the 21st Century!

Iconic baby stroller company uses newly developed B2BGateway EDI Connect App to manage all customer accounts with backend NetSuite ERP while on the go!

Maclaren, the company which introduced the world’s first lightweight aluminum baby stroller over fifty years ago, has announced that it has implemented B2BGateway’s EDI Connect App to help staff monitor all EDI customer accounts while on the move.

In order to improve supply chain efficiencies, comply with customer requirements and to scale for rapid growth, Maclaren enlisted the help of B2BGateway to integrate EDI with their NetSuite ERP system. Having a fully integrated, cloud based EDI solution allows Maclaren to automate the sending and receiving of standard business documents such as purchase orders, invoices and advanced shipping notifications (ASN) with global customers such as Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, John Lewis, Saks and Target to name but a few. Having B2BGateway’s EDI solution fully integrated with Maclaren’s NetSuite system removes the need for the Maclaren staff to manually re-key data; this in turn leads to reduced errors, lower labor costs and faster payments from their customers.

B2BGateway have made further improvements to their solutions offered to all clients by recently introducing the B2BGateway EDI Connect App. The App supports both iOS and Android platforms and is available to download for free on the Apple iTunes and Google Play app stores. While the existing B2BGateway platform allows users to manage their full EDI accounts, clients can now use the B2BGateway EDI Connect App on their Android and Apple devices to oversee trading partner relationships, daily EDI transactions and contact support 24/7. 

“B2BGateways’s cloud based, fully integrated EDI solution for NetSuite has greatly improved our overall supply chain efficiencies and customer communications,” states James Ramsey ICT Manager at Maclaren,” Now with this new wonderful B2BGateway EDI Connect App, I can catch up on where new trading partner setups stand on my walk into the office, or get a complete overview of all the day’s EDI transactions while watching my son’s soccer game.”

Louisa Gooding, Director of Sales & Strategic Relationships at B2BGateway adds “Our technologies are innovative because they meet the specific needs of business people around the world. Regardless of where they are, our clients will now have full access to all their EDI transactions thru the B2BGateway EDI Connect App. Our goal is to help clients increase productivity, generate greater market share and improve relationships with their customers. By downloading the B2BGateway EDI Connect App the user will now have instantaneous, up to date information regardless of geographical location or time zone.”  

To Move, or Not To Move (Your ERP to the Cloud)........That is the Question!

According to a recent article by Forbes, PwC is predicting that by 2016, investment in SaaS or Cloud Based ERP solutions will more than double to $78 billion while investment in traditional on premise ERP systems will decline over 30% to less than $15 billion. Their recent analysis of Cloud ERP adoption shows that net new license revenues for traditional ERP systems have been declining since 2013 to a level that has already been surpassed by global revenue from cloud-based SaaS ERP solutions.

The report by PwC, Beyond ERP: New technology, New Options also states that Leading Cloud ERP providers including Acumatica, FinancialForce, Intacct, Kenandy, NetSuite, Plex Systems, Workday are all increasingly being integrated into Hybrid ERP and two-tier ERP system architectures as their customers shift gears into new business models. To support new business models, enterprises are integrating cloud-based and legacy ERP applications, creating Hybrid ERP systems that can scale to new customer demands.

PwC is seeing enterprises opt for Cloud-based ERP systems and applications that can scale across human resources, supplier management, e-commerce, customer relationship management, selling, service and many other areas. Hybrid ERP systems are enabling enterprises to make the most of their legacy, on premise ERP systems while scaling their IT strategies to align with and accelerate current and future customer-driven business models. Hybrid ERP systems are especially valuable for manufacturers who rely on diverse sourcing, supply chain, production and service operations as they can unify a company across diverse locations. Multisite ERP support has challenged legacy on premise ERP providers in the past, yet the current generation of Cloud ERP providers are looking to capitalize on this requirement.

Another report by Hitachi Solutions Europe has found that over 31% of organizations have already moved part or all of their ERP solutions to the cloud. Looking at the responses from larger organizations (those with over 500 employees) suggests that it is no longer just smaller organizations taking a Cloud-based approach to ERP. In fact, almost a third of larger organizations surveyed said they have moved all or part of their ERP to the Cloud, or are in the process.

Those who have moved say the main benefits include easier access to information, reduced operating cost and ERP performance. Eighty per cent rated their experience of using cloud-based ERP as excellent or good.

B2BGateway has been providing cloud-based, fully integrated EDI solutions to ERP users across the globe since 1999. For further details on B2BGateway's fully integrated EDI solutions for cloud based ERP systems please visit http://www.b2bgateway.net or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net 

Will we see you at SuiteWorld 16?

B2BGateway is yet again a proud sponsor of this year’s SuiteWorld conference taking place in San Jose, CA, May 16-19. SuiteWorld is NetSuite’s annual user and partner conference and has rapidly become the world’s number 1 conference on Cloud ERP.

B2BGateway has been NetSuite’s EDI partner since 2001 and provides NetSuite users with cloud based, fully integrated EDI solutions. EDI can be defined as the structured transmission of electronic business data such as purchase orders, invoices, shipping notices, inventory updates, etc., between organizations and removes the need to re-key data.

If you are attending SuiteWorld this May, make sure to drop by booth #305 and say hello to the B2BGateway team. Alternatively, you can attend the B2BGateway presentation on how to use EDI to improve your organization’s supply chain efficiencies in the Expo Hall on Tuesday May 17 at 4.15pm.

For further information on B2BGateway’s EDI solutions for NetSuite please visit http://b2bgateway.net/EDI-for-NetSuite.asp or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net 

B2BGateway and NetSuite: Conquering the Wholesale Distribution Marketplace

By Kevin Hoyle, CEO, B2BGateway.

B2BGateway and NetSuite first partnered way back in 2001, back when NetSuite was known as NetLedger and the term ‘cloud computing’ was not yet invented. Back then we just referred to the cloud as plain and simple, doing business over the internet! In the intervening 15+ years, the world of EDI and ERP has changed a great deal; many integrations now use web-services and CFO’s are actively seeking cloud based ERP systems such as NetSuite. These solutions provide instant anywhere ERP access, along with fully integrated EDI solutions, through cloud technology and they are both affordable and available to the masses.

Since B2BGateway became NetSuite’s EDI partner in 2001, the Wholesale Distribution market has evolved significantly. The traditional supply chain route of; manufacturer to wholesaler to box store retailer has been altered. Now, we have online shopping carts, multi-layered e-commerce stores and drop shipping where the retailer may never handle the goods. EDI technology has played a major part in automating and simplifying all e-commerce solutions. Take for example the EDI 846 transaction set or inventory inquiry document. The EDI 846 is used by Wholesale Distributors to communicate inventory levels to their trading partners. It has become particularly important for online retailers such as Amazon to have this information at hand, especially when drop shipping. Online retailers cannot reliably offer goods to consumers without having up to date inventory information from their distributors. Cloud based, fully integrated EDI solutions can solve this problem by instantly sending electronic inventory updates from NetSuite to the trading partners.

Furthermore, many Wholesale Distributors are now outsourcing their warehouse and transportation needs to Third Party Logistics Providers (3PLs). By using the EDI 900 transaction set series, Wholesale Distributors can automate and communicate electronically with their 3PLs. Going beyond conventional EDI, NetSuite users can have their EDI 945 transaction sets (warehouse ship advice), received from the 3PL fulfill their transactions in NetSuite.

In Wholesale Distribution, margins are tight and getting tighter every day. Customers have choices of where they can purchase their products and the competition is always out there. Through better management of the warehouse, dead stock can be eliminated, items can be purchased that have better turn rates, and long lead time items can be better forecast. Wholesale Distributors can use EDI to optimize order entry, but they can also use EDI for Advanced Ship Notifications (ASNs), invoicing, creation of shipping labels and in some cases for ‘Just In Time’ (JIT) inventory processing and ‘Vendor Managed Inventory’ (VMI).

As we start 2016, more and more distributors are beginning to sell directly to consumers through e-commerce solutions such as NetSuite’s SuiteCommerce platform, Magento, Shopify, etc., and see it as an important driver for growth. Wholesale Distributors, whether they are very mature commodity businesses or young technology distributors, are facing the same challenges with respect to e-commerce. Essentially, an e-commerce company relies on a virtual storefront to sell goods and the distributor to fulfill the orders. In the past, Wholesale Distributors shipped to a B2B world of brick and mortar organizations. Generally, goods would be packaged in lots of dozens or grosses. Now with e-commerce the Wholesale Distribution business is beginning to cover both B2B and B2C (business to consumer) marketplaces, where the customer is buying in quantities of one or two. As such, product packaging has had to change and the methods of handling items are different for these reduced quantities.  

Further, e-commerce has substantially changed retail. In a Wall Street Journal article, Sarah Nasshauer describes that retail now has between 13 and 20 different seasons. We all know about Christmas, Halloween, Spring DIY season, but there are seasons like Storage and Organization in January, Allergy Season in late spring and Fall Gatherings (rakes and sweaters) in early October.  Wholesale Distribution needs to fulfill orders for these new seasonal demands, so they need technology to better manage their inventory and to be able to quickly handle orders and order changes. Wholesale Distributors need to be more nimble than ever in order to meet the changing needs of their customers.

NetSuite is a great product to use for managing a Wholesale Distribution organization. NetSuite has fantastic inbuilt functionality, but it also supports a complete eco-system of third party add-ons, such as B2BGateway’s fully integrated EDI (which can be found on the NetSuite SuiteApp platform). By continuously adding or improving third party applications and verifying their quality through verification processes such as ‘Built For NetSuite’, NetSuite can be assured their customers are getting the very best integrated cloud technology and market leading solutions.   

Read the full CIO Review magazine article here

Online Reviews - The New Word of Mouth!

 

The power of word of mouth has long been extolled by marketers far and wide as one of the strongest, most cost effective tools in gaining new customers and increasing brand awareness. A recommendation of a product or service from a friend, peer or associate is almost as good as a ‘done deal’.

So in today’s modern connected world of online communications and social media (Facebook recently reported 1 billion users in a single day), where does the traditional word of mouth stand? Please step forward and go straight to the top of the class Online Review. As once stated by social media expert Brian Solis “Welcome to a new era of marketing and service in which your brand is defined by those who experience it”.

Online product or service reviews make big impact on purchasers’ expectations and decisions.  A survey from PowerReviews says that buyers not only look to online reviews for more information, but the majority (57%) actually prefer to visit e-commerce sites that offer reviews. They also noted that 90% of buyers stated that buying decisions were influenced by online reviews. Ratings and reviews scored second only to price as the most important consideration affecting a purchase decision in the survey; recommendations from family and friends, product brand, and free shipping had less influence. Those 18 to 44 were 61% more likely to trust consumer reviews over friends and family.

 

To help your organization attract and improve online reviews, Nellie Alkap on Forbes put together 6 simple steps to get customers to review your business online:

1.       Setup profiles on multiple review sites.

Consider all the sites that are relevant to your business, e.g. Yelp, TripAdvisor, Trustpilot, LinkedIn to name a few. Also try to get your product listed on partners App stores or market places.

 

2.       Ask your customers.

Might seem like a no brainer, but the easiest way to increase your reviews is just to simply ask!

 

3.       Make it easy to leave reviews.

Unless someone has a negative experience to share, the average customer is not going to look for ways to leave your company a review. That’s why you need to ask them to post a review and make it as easy as possible for them to do so. Put direct links to your review profiles in multiple places; for example, a follow-up email, newsletter, and your website.

 

4.       Incentivise reviews, but don’t buy

Often offering a small incentive is a good way to show your appreciation to loyal customers.

 

5.       Thank your reviewers.

 

6.       Make reviews a part of your overall work processes.

Make sure that all customer service and sales employees understand the importance of soliciting reviews from the customers they work with.

If you would like to check out B2BGateway’s reviews or learn more about what we do visit these sites Intuit App Store, NetSuite SuiteApp Store, Intuit Marketplace or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net for further details.

B2BGateway continues global expansion with new office in China

B2BGateway, a leading cloud based EDI solution provider continues its global expansion by opening a new office in Jinan, China. The new office will further enhance B2BGateway’s EDI and automated supply chain solutions to clients and trading partners in Asia.

 

B2BGateway is a world recognized EDI solution provider since being established in Boston, USA in 1999. As EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) has become best business practice in data transfer between trading organizations, B2BGateway believes the time is right to further enhance their offerings in the Pacific and Asian regions after recently opening an office in Sydney. B2BGateway’s EDI solutions are used primarily by clients in wholesale distribution, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, automotive, government and non-profit industries.

 

B2BGateway has developed a cloud-based EDI software solution that fully integrates with most ERP or accounting software solutions including SAP, JD Edwards, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, MYOB, Brightpearl, QuickBooks, Sage and Xero to name but a few. As an international company with offices throughout North America, Europe, Australia and now China, B2BGateway can support all recognized international EDI standards and communication protocols that may be required: ANSI X12, EDIFACT, Tradacoms, Eancom, Odette, XML, VAN, FTPs, AS2, etc.. By fully integrating the solution through cloud based technology, B2BGateway is able to remove the need for the client to re-key data. This, in turn, leads to greater accuracy, increased labor efficiencies and it expedites the order-to-payment cycle for the end user.

 

The new B2BGateway Chinese office will be based in Jinan, the capital of the Shandong Province and will be led by Jordan Johnson, who has previously worked with B2BGateway in their Rhode Island, USA offices.

 

For further information on how B2BGateway can help automate and improve your supply chain please visit www.B2BGateway.Net

Webinar for NetSuite users in Australia/Pacific Region

Webinar: ‪‎EDI‬ for NetSuite users in The AU/Pacific region by B2BGateway. July 15 at 12pm AEST. Details and registration here http://bit.ly/1exu0P9

Managing the Omni-Channel – Hot Topic during SuiteWorld 2015.



Speaking at SuiteWorld, NetSuite’s annual client and partner conference, Branden Jenkins, General Manager for Global Retail at NetSuite, commented on disruption and change and how retailers need to adapt to the new world of omni-channel retail.

According to Jenkins "Retailers need to put systems in place that give them the omni-channel capability”. He believes that the NetSuite eco-system (combination of NetSuite product features and partner add-on features will give NetSuite users a clear lead in the omni-channel market place. NetSuite also introduced their new Point of Sale (PoS) functionality which should greatly enhance the retailers omni-channel approach.

As well getting the product visible and sold through the right channels, the NetSuite user also needs to look closely at a complete and seamless supply chain integration platform. A platform which ties in all the players in the channel from online retail to box store to shopping carts to 3PL providers to drop shippers to manufacturers and more.

The omni-channel approach by NetSuite seems to be working as they were able to announce at SuiteWorld that they have just landed international surfing and clothing company, Billabong as a major new customer. Billabong is starting with NetSuite’s eCommerce platform and says that over time it may also switch its current ERP systems as well.  According to Kadima Lonji, CTO at Billabong, the new NetSuite implementation with enhanced inventory and stock visibility has the potential to deliver Billabong cost savings of $13 million per annum.

If you would like to know more on how B2BGateway’s fully integrated EDI solutions for NetSuite can help your organization handle the disruption of the omni-channel while at the same time enhancing your business call +1 401 491 9595 (NA) / +353 61 708533 (EU) or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net

B2BGateway to Exhibit and Speak at NetSuite SuiteWorld 2015.

B2BGateway, the leading cloud based EDI solution provider and NetSuite partner since 2001, will yet again be exhibiting and meeting clients, partners and colleagues at this year’s SuiteWorld which takes place May 4-7 in San Jose, CA, USA.

SuiteWorld is NetSuite’s annual conference and this year NetSuite hopes to attract 7,500 attendees consisting of clients, partners, prospects and industry analysts. During the 4 day event attendees will hear key notes from CEO, Zach Nelson and CTO and founder, Evan Goldberg as well as learning about all things NetSuite.

As in every other year, B2BGateway will yet again have a booth at SuiteWorld 2015 where attendees can learn how B2BGateway’s fully integrated NetSuite EDI solutions remove the need to re-key data and help organizations improve and automate their supply chain and omni-channel operations. Removing the need to re-key data greatly reduces potential human errors while at the same time increasing overall supply chain efficiencies.

This year B2BGateway will also host two speaking sessions, “Improve your Supply Chain: B2BGateway EDI for NetSuite” , on Tuesday May 5^th at 8am in the Expo Hall Program Stage and on Thursday May 7^th at 8.30am also in the Expo Hall Program Stage.

If you or your colleagues are attending SuiteWorld 2015, make sure to drop by booth #538 to say hello to the B2BGateway team or drop by the Expo Hall Program Stage to hear one of the B2BGateway talks.

For further information on B2BGateway’s cloud based, fully integrated EDI solutions please call +1 401 491 9595 (USA) / +353 61 708533 (EU) or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net   

Automating Orders and Inventory between your eCommerce site and ERP

As online shopping continues to gather rapid pace (Forrester predicts that over $278 Billion will be spent this year online by US consumers on products and services), many organizations are purchasing eCommerce platforms such as 3dcart, Volusion, Magento, etc., to help them operate their eCommerce online stores. An eCommerce platform is a complete online store application that includes search, navigation, user accounts, shopping cart and ordering capabilities.

Without the right tools using an eCommerce platform can be quite a cumbersome and manual process as the following steps will outline:

1.       Setup product items to sell online including pricing, imagery, inventory.

2.       Customer places order online through the shopping cart.

3.       Order details are keyed in manually into the organizations backend accounting software solution or ERP.

4.       The order is sent (email, fax, etc.) to the warehouse for fulfilment, where it is manually entered again into the warehouse’s WMS.

5.       The warehouse fulfils the order and sends the organization notice (email, fax, etc.) that the goods have been shipped with tracking details.

6.       Order information from warehouse re-keyed into organizations backend system.

7.       Product shipped to customer.

 



 

As can be seen from the steps above, the entire process is quite laborious and can be error prone. Now let’s see how the same transaction would work if the organization implemented EDI:

1.       Setup product items to sell online including pricing, imagery inventory.

2.       Customer places order online through the shopping cart.

3.       EDI 850 Purchase Order is sent directly into organizations backend accounting software or ERP (no need to re-key data). The EDI 850 triggers an EDI 940 (warehouse ship order) to be sent directly into the warehouses WMS (again full automation and no re-keying of data required).

4.       The warehouse fulfills the order and sends an EDI 945 (warehouse shipping advice) to the organization letting them know the goods have been shipped. The organization uses the EDI 945 to close out the sale in their back end system.

5.       Product shipped to customer.

As well as orders and shipping notices, organizations can use the EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice document to let their trading partners know of stock levels at all times to avoid selling out of stock goods and the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice to let trading partners know when to expect to receive goods.

For further information on integrating your eCommerce platform with your ERP/Accounting Software system please call B2BGateway today at (401) 491 9595 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net