Chargebacks is an ugly 11 letter word

Join B2BGateway and DSI on February 16^th for a webinar to learn how your organization can be better prepared to avoid the dreaded chargeback!

In the 1970’s there was a huge rise in the large retail chain marketplace. Retailers like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others recognized that their future success would depend largely on moving large volumes of inventory through their supply chains with maximum efficiency. So, these box-store groups began to invest heavily in automated warehouse and sophisticated systems that allowed the product flow from supplier to store to consumer with minimal human intervention.

When a non-compliant shipment comes in from a supplier, let’s say boxes with labels that cannot be scanned correctly, it becomes an exception that requires the manual intervention of the retailers staff and naturally added cost to the retailer to sort out.

Chargebacks became the retailers answer to controlling these exceptions and keeping their supply chains running as efficiently and smoothly as possible. When a supplier does not meet the terms of a retailer’s contract and the correct procedures are not followed, retailers can issue a charge back to cover the cost of the inefficiencies caused by an out-of-compliance-shipment. These chargebacks can be as much as 15% to 20% of an invoice.

To learn how you can put best business practice in place and avoid costly chargebacks which could be detrimental to your business join B2BGateway and DSI for a webinar on February 16^th at 1pm EST. Full details and registration here

Top 5 Advantages of EDI

Can you work with…………? Yes, all we require is import and export functionality, oh and an internet connection!

As a global pioneer in cloud based and fully integrated EDI and automated supply chain technology solutions we are often asked: ‘Can your EDI solutions work with this accounting package, that ERP system, this WMS, that OMS and so on, so forth?’ The list is endless and as paper never refuses ink, or in this case Microsoft Word doesn’t refuse Calibri font, I thought I would spare you from ultimate boredom by trying not to list them all!

 
The simple, if not somewhat cocky answer, is yes. B2BGateway can usually work with any business software application, subject to 2 provisos (a) has your organizations business application both import and export functionality? and (b) has your organization internet connectivity? If the answer to both (a) and (b) is yes, B2BGateway can provide you with a cloud based, integrated EDI solution!
 
If you are struggling to find a suitable EDI solution and would like the added benefits that cloud based technology and integration bring, call the B2BGateway sales team today on +1 401 491 9595 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net to see how we can further help you improve your overall supply chain processes.

Why use EDI to integrate your eCommerce shopping platform with your ERP/Accounting Software System?

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 fulfillment, where it is manually entered again into the warehouse’s WMS.
5. The warehouse fulfills 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.
5Product 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

Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and EDI

A warehouse management system (WMS) is a software application that supports the day-to-day operations in a warehouse and is a key part of the modern supply chain process. WMS programs enable centralized management of tasks such as tracking inventory levels, receiving, picking, put-away and identifying stock locations.

 
A WMS monitors the progress of products through the warehouse. It involves the physical warehouse infrastructure, tracking systems, and communication between product stations. More precisely, warehouse management involves the receipt, storage and movement of goods to distribution centers or to a final customer. In today’s modern world, organizations may use multiple levels of warehouses. These may include a central warehouse, regional warehouses (serviced by the central warehouse) and potentially retail warehouses (serviced by the regional warehouses).
 
Early warehouse management systems could only provide simple storage location functionality. Current WMS applications can be so complex and data intensive that they require a dedicated staff to run them. High-end systems may include tracking and routing technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and voice recognition.
 
No matter how simple or complex the application is, the goal of a warehouse management system remains the same -- to provide management with the information it needs to efficiently control the movement of materials within a warehouse.
 
WMS systems may be standalone applications or modules of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.  B2BGateway offers clients fully integrated, cloud based EDI solutions to link their WMS with their ERP or Accounting Software solution. This automates the flow of data between systems and removes the need to re-key data.  This in turn gives the client greater accuracy, reduces charge backs and saves both time and money.
 
To learn more about B2BGateways fully integrated EDI solutions for WMS call +1-401-491-9595 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net 

3PL's: Automate, Automate, Automate.....

 

In Real Estate we are always told the key to success is all about Location, Location, Location! I would like to try and bring this maxim to the world of Third Party Logistics (3PL), where I believe the key to success should be Automate, Automate, Automate! Having a smooth, successful supply chain operation can be achieved by automating as many tasks as possible. At B2BGateway we can help 3PL's achieve this by automating the entire business document flow between the 3PL, their clients and their trading partners. By introducing B2BGateway’s cloud-based EDI solutions, 3PL's can eliminate the need to re-key data into their ERP/WMS systems, giving seamless communication between all trading parties. Eliminating the need to re-key data will increase efficiencies, dramatically decrease errors and help contribute to a greater overall bottom line.

 

B2BGateway has been providing cloud-based, fully integrated EDI solutions since 1999 and we are highly proficient in the EDI X12 200 and 900 transaction sets. As a global organization we can also handle all international recognized data standards (X12, EDIFACT, Tradacoms, Eancom, Odette, XML, etc.) and all communication protocols (VAN, FTP, FTPs, AS2, etc.). For further details on B2BGateway's EDI solutions and services for 3PL’s please visit http://www.b2bgateway.net/flipbook/3pl/3pl_prospectus.html