Drop Shipping and EDI

Drop shipping is a supply chain management technique in which the retailer does not stock or take possession of the goods, but instead transfers customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer or wholesaler direct. It is the manufacturer or wholesaler who then ships the goods directly to the customer.

Some drop shipping retailers may have example ‘not for resale’ items in store, so that customers can inspect an item similar to those that they can purchase. Other retailers may provide only a catalogue or online listing of their products e.g. Amazon.

Drop shipping reduces inventory, warehousing, packaging, labor and shipping costs for retailers by enabling them to pass orders and ship to information along to the manufacturer or wholesaler direct. EDI can help drop ship trading partners, by not alone providing integrated order, invoicing  and shipping solutions, but by also providing the EDI 846 transaction set otherwise known as the Inventory Inquiry/Advice (INVRPT in EDIFACT). The EDI 846 is used by manufacturers and wholesalers to notify retailers and trading partners of stock and inventory levels so that the retailer doesn’t commit to sales where not enough stock is available.

For further information on how you can use B2BGateway’s EDI solutions to further automate your drop shipping requirements please call (401) 491 9595 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net

What is an ASN?

An ASN (Advance Ship Notice) is an electronic document that provides a detailed notification of a pending delivery. It is a commonly used EDI transaction set known as the EDI 856 under the ANSI X12 standards or the DESADV (Despatch Advice) under EDIFACT standards. The purpose of an ASN is to notify the customer when shipping occurs and provide physical characteristics about the shipment so the customer can be prepared to accept delivery to their warehouse or store.  

The ASN which ties back to the original Purchase Order (PO) sent can be used to list the contents of a shipment of goods as well as additional information such as when an order will be shipped, which items are being shipped, how many of each item is being shipped and physical characteristics about the shipment such as the shipment’s weight, the number of boxes and a description of how the shipment units are packaged. An ASN also tells the customer which mode of transportation is being used for shipping and provides carrier information.

Retailers have found that having an ASN requirement as part of their overall EDI compliance structure leads to greater accuracy, greater flexibility and an overall reduction in costs.

If you would like to know more about the ASN and how B2BGateway can help you implement this EDI transaction set please call (401) 491 9595 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net

Integrate eCommerce with ERP

 

 

Integrate your eCommerce site with your back end ERP or accounting software solution http://bit.ly/16Zp24w

EDI 846 - Inventory Updates

An EDI 846 transaction set (EDIFACT: INVRPT) is an inventory inquiry/advice or an electronic version of inventory update. It is used by trading partners to communicate inventory levels and whether there is enough stock of goods on hand to be sold electronically. It has become particularly important for online retailers such as Amazon to have this information at hand, particularly when drop shipping. Online retailers cannot reliably offer goods to consumers without having up to date information regarding a supplier’s inventory of goods.

 

EDI can help solve this problem through the EDI 846 transaction set and most large online retailers now insist that their suppliers are capable of sending them the EDI 846 transaction set. The EDI 846 can be sent multiple times a day or a few times a week depending on the needs of the trading partners. Typically an EDI 846 transaction set includes:

·         Inventory Amount

·         Committed Inventory

·         Quantity On Order

·         Backorder quantity

·         Inventory in transit

·         Returns

 

The EDI 846 transaction set can be used in the following ways:

(1) The seller of goods and services can provide inventory information to a prospective purchaser, with no obligation to the purchaser to acquire these goods.

(2) A representative of a seller of goods can supply inventory information to that seller

(3) For one location to supply another location with up to date inventory information

(4) An inquiry as to the availability of inventory or stock with no obligation on the seller of the goods to reserve that inventory.

For further information on how B2BGateway can help your organization set up and handle the EDI 846 inventory update with your trading partners please call our sales team today on (401) 491 9595 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net  

Louisa Gooding is Director of Sales & Marketing at B2BGateway.Net

Have a Safe and Happy 4th of July!

Wishing everyone a very safe and happy 4th of July from all at B2BGateway.Net http://bit.ly/19QJypV

Sage moves into the cloud with Sage 200 Online

 

Sage UK and Ireland has gone into the cloud, launching the first online version of its Sage 200 ERP suite on Microsoft's Azure platform.

The ERP software, named Sage 200 Online, is aimed at small to mid-sized businesses with 20 to 200 employees, and will give customers access to the same financial management features as the existing on-premise Sage 200 ERP. Users will also be able to add additional modules to the suite as part of a pay-for-use model.

Sage 200 Online will be available on a 'pay as you go' basis, with customers able to choose modules that are relevant to them, not paying for what they don't use, and to add and remove users to respond to fluctuations in demand. Customers who prefer to continue using the existing on-premise solution can continue to do so and will not be forced by Sage to switch to the new Sage 200 Online product.

B2BGateway will continue to provide industry leading cloud-based, fully integrated solutions for all Sage products. For further information on B2BGateway’s fully integrated EDI solutions for the Sage 200 ERP suite of products please visit B2BGateway Sage 200 EDI or call +353 61 708533.

EDI - Get In the Game!

Did you know?

 

·         The majority of the world’s leading retailers Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Carrefour, Tesco, Boots, CVS and thousands more will not offer your organization a supplier contract until your business is EDI enabled.

·         Fully integrated EDI solutions remove the need to re-key data, thus saving your organization time, money and greatly reducing costly errors and chargebacks.

·         You can use EDI to communicate effectively and efficiently with your Third Party Logistics Provider (3PL) or outsourced warehouse. Leading 3PL providers such as Kuehne+Nagel, Motivational Fulfillment & Logistics Services, Team Logistics, Kamino and many, many more use EDI to connect directly with your organization and your trading partners.

·         EDI is rapidly becoming best business practice in eCommerce and online retail (Amazon, Buy.com). Your organization can also use EDI to connect your shopping cart platform (3dcart, Magento, Volusion) to your back end business software.

·         By automating your organizations business document flow thru EDI you can speed up payment and greatly reduce your organizations ‘order to payment’ cash cycle.

·         Cloud based EDI solutions are extremely cost efficient and do not require your organization to invest in additional hardware, software or personnel. 

Be prepared to grow your business – Get In the Game with EDI! For further details on B2BGateway.Net’s cloud based, fully integrated EDI solutions please visit www.B2BGateway.Net, email Sales@B2BGateway.Net or call +1 (401) 491 9595.