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/

B2BGateway heading to the Windy City for Sage Summit

Leading global EDI provider B2BGateway will be attending this year’s Sage Summit from July 25-28, 2016 at the McCormick Place Convention Centre in Chicago.

Sage Summit is the largest gathering of Sage users, business partners and add-on specialists in the world. Throughout the week attendees will be greeted by celebrated speakers such as Richard Branson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Herjavec, business experts, tech innovations and mentors. The annual Sage Summit is also an ideal place for peer networking, in-depth education, interactive training and achieving Sage certification. And of course not forgetting the after show party where attendees can let their hair down by dancing and singing along to The Killers.

B2BGateway which is a Sage Universal Developer, provides cloud based, fully integrated EDI solutions to Sage 50 (US, EU), Sage 100 (US), Sage 200 (EU) and Sage 500 ERP (US) users. B2BGateway’s fully integrated EDI solutions remove the need for the Sage user to re-key data when exchanging electronic business documents such as orders, invoices, acknowledgements and advance ship notices (ASN) with trading partners.

If you are attending Sage Summit this year in the Windy City and would like to learn more about how B2BGateway’s EDI solutions for Sage can help your organization eliminate manual data entry, reduce labor costs and expedite payments from customers, email Sales@B2BGateway.Net to arrange an appointment. We look forward to seeing you there!

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

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

The essential components required for implementing and running a successful EDI operation.

 

To implement and run a successful end to end EDI communication with your trading partners, the following five components are essential:

 
EDI Translation Software: Although the concept of EDI was introduced to have a sole standard for the exchange of electronic data, overtime and across multiple market sectors, many different EDI standards have emerged such as ANSI X12 (predominantly used in North America), EDIFACT (Europe and Automotive sector), Tradacom (UK), Odette and much, much more. In fact within the same standard there are now multiple versions or upgrades, take ANSI X12 version 4010, version 4030 or version 5010 as an example. In order to deal successful and seamlessly with all these standards and versions within standards, it is essential that you have a robust EDI software translator in place.
 
Data Mapping: Data mapping is the converting of 0information from one location to another. In EDI, data mapping converts a user’s application data into the required EDI file format, and vice versa. Mapping outbound data involves establishing what information from the ERP or accounting software goes where in an EDI file. The data must be properly arranged and formatted so that it conforms to both the EDI standard required and the trading partner’s rules and regulations.
 
Communication Network: The EDI transaction sets can be transported between trading partners over numerous different methods such as a VAN (Value added Network), AS2, FTP, FTPs, etc. When trading with multiple customers, you will probably need the ability to handle all of the aforementioned communication protocols as different organizations will use different protocols.
 
Integration: Although there are some stand-alone EDI systems that may suit very small operations or seasonal companies, in order to get the best ROI out of using EDI, any organization should integrate their EDI solution with their back end ERP/Accounting Software/OMS, for example QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage, SAP, Aptean, Microsoft Dynamics, Brightpearl, Acumatica, etc.. Integration with back end software removes the need to re-key data, thus providing further automation and reducing errors.
 
Support: It is one thing to get a good EDI system in place, but yet quite another to make sure that that system runs smoothly 24/7. Any system that does not run 24/7 or is prone to hiccups could be costing your organization new orders and therefore costing you lost income. Having good support will also keep your organization functioning seamlessly as trading partners require system upgrades or new EDI transaction sets to be introduced.
 
B2BGateway is a full service EDI provider and handles all of the vital components listed above on behalf of thousands of clients worldwide on a daily basis. If you would like to know more about B2BGateway’s full service EDI and automated EDI solutions, please call +1 401 491 9595 (North America)  / +353 61 708533 (Europe) or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net

EDI Web Portals Vs. Full Integration

 

Many organizations use vendor specific EDI web portals (e.g. Amazon Vendor Central) to communicate with their trading parties, often these organizations may have multiple vendor specific EDI portals to deal with on a daily basis. This requires a lot of labor and manual data entry on the organizations behalf, from downloading purchase orders and re-keying the data into the organizations backend ERP/accounting software solution, to manually creating invoices and uploading same to the vendor specific EDI web portal.

 
As one client previously said “I know these portals are tedious and error prone, but I guess this is the price we have to pay to trade with the large vendors?” Wrong. Organizations do not have to solely communicate with their trading partners through their vendor specific EDI portals. Yes the option is there to use these EDI portals and often they are a good starting point for a young or seasonal operation. But as the organization grows, more trading partners are added and orders increase, the organization should seriously consider switching from a portal based EDI system to one that is fully integrated with their ERP or accounting software solution (e.g. NetSuite, Intacct, Sage, SAP, QuickBooks, etc.).
 
By fully integrating the organizations EDI needs with their business software application the organization can create greater efficiencies by having a seamless flow of all business documentation required. Fully integrated EDI solutions remove the need to re-key data, reduce labor costs, reduce human error and speed up the ‘order to payment’ cash cycle for the organization.
 
If you would like to know more on how B2BGateway can help your organization gain greater efficiencies and cost savings by bypassing vendor specific EDI web portals and introducing a fully integrated EDI solution, please call (401) 491 9595 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net  

Congratulations to Russ Griffith of e2b teknologies - Winner of our Hot Air Balloon Ride at Sage Summit!

Congratulations to Russ Griffith of e2b technologies, winner of our grand prize of a Hot Air Balloon Ride at last year’s Sage Summit. Russ had a great time travelling over some spectacular scenery and sent us these pictures with a brief note: “I wanted to let you (B2BGateway.Net) know that we were able to take our balloon ride over this past weekend.  We flew on Sunday morning and it was absolutely great!  I wanted to say thank you again!  My sister and I had a great time on the flight and we got a few pictures that I wanted to share with you”. We are so glad that you enjoyed it Russ and we look forward to meeting you and all the Sage partners and clients again at this years Sage Summit which takes place at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center | National Harbor, MD (near Washington, DC) from July 21-26, 2013.

To learn more about B2BGateway.Net's cloud based, fully integrated EDI solutions for Sage please visit www.B2BGateway.Net

Will EDI work with 'Cloud' based ERP systems?

Question: Roger, we are considering switching our current on-premise ERP solution to a new cloud-based ERP solution. Will this affect our capabilities to continue doing EDI with our trading partners?

Answer: The short answer is no, it should not. At B2BGateway we have been providing fully-integrated EDI solutions for the leading cloud-based ERP providers such as NetSuite and Sage ERP X3 for over a decade. However, like everything else, you will need to do your homework to see if the new cloud-based ERP system you are considering is EDI capable. I would advise finding out the following:

·         Is the new ERP system fully cloud-based, or is it a hosted online version of a current on-premises ERP product?

·         Does the ERP system have both import and export functionality?

·         Will you need to purchase additional EDI modules/connectors from the cloud ERP vendor?

·         Is your current EDI provider capable of working with and integrating the new cloud based ERP solution? If not, are there other third party EDI providers on the market who can work with the new product?

·         Does the cloud-based ERP vendor currently have clients and partners using EDI with their system and can you get references?

I would also go to online sites such as LinkedIn to see are there any user groups for the new ERP system. You could post a question amongst users to see if any are currently using EDI and to get their recommendations. For further information on B2BGateway’s EDI solutions, including solutions for cloud-based ERP systems, please visit www.B2BGateway.Net or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net

Roger Leyden is the European Sales & Marketing Director with B2BGateway

B2BGateway and ERPVAR.com announce partnership and webcast series.

ERPVAR.com, a network comprised of Sage, Microsoft Dynamics, Epicor, NetSuite, Intacct and Intuit Value-Added Resellers (VARs), has partnered with B2BGateway to give members access to B2BGateway's EDI solutions. B2BGateway and ERPVAR.com will engage in a monthly webcast series to educate customers about their cloud-based, fully-integrated EDI solutions and how these solutions can meet the customers requirements in a cost effective manner. There will be one webcast held in partnership with five participating VARs outlining the benefits of EDI and automating the supply chain process. http://bit.ly/Vnh6W6

Sage North America Product Name Changes

As you may or may not be aware, Sage North America is rebranding all Sage North America product names in 2012 to be in line with those offered throughout the worldwide Sage family suite. A quick reference guide of the most popular ERP/Accounting package name changes can be viewed here:

• Sage Peachtree                  -     Sage 50 US Edition
• Sage Simply Accounting     -     Sage 50 Canadian Edition
• Sage ERP MAS 90              -     Sage 100 Standard ERP
• Sage ERP MAS 200            -     Sage 100 Advanced ERP
• Sage ERP Accpac                -     Sage 300 ERP
• Sage ERP MAS 500            -     Sage 500 ERP
• Sage ERP X3                       -     Sage ERP X3

Although the majority of the above Sage North America ERP/Accounting packages have changed names, B2BGateway's leading cloud-based, fully integrated EDI solutions for all Sage products remain the same, regardless of their new name. To learn more about B2BGateway's EDI solutions for the entire Sage suite please log onto www.B2BGateway.Net or visit our booth at the Sage Summit in Nashville, TN, August 14-17, 2012.