What is Supply Chain Management (SCM)?

Would you like to understand the concept of supply chain management but don’t have the time to do so? The good news is that in some upcoming posts we will explain to you the key principles and terms of supply chain management (SCM) that you can read and learn in under 3 minutes!
In this post we will focus on introducing the term ‘supply chain management’ and how your organization may improve the competitiveness of your supply chain.

The term “supply chain management” arose in the late 1980’s and came into widespread use throughout the 1990’s. Prior to this, businesses used terms such as ‘logistics’ and/or ‘operations management’. In the late nineties individual authors undertook an attempt to express the essence of supply chain management in one definition. Its constituents are the subject of a management philosophy, target group, goals and numerous ways to achieve these goals.

The subject of supply chain management is, of course, a chain that represents a network of all the organizations that are involved, through links up and down the chain of different processes and activities creating value in the form of products and services for the end customer.

In broad terms the supply chain consists of two or more separate organizations legally connected with one another by the flow of materials, information and finance. These organizations may be companies that produce parts, components and finished products, logistics providers and even the final customer. Network connections do not usually focus on the flow inside a single chain, but consists of complex flows associated with a variety of customer orders, which must be operated in parallel.

In the narrower sense of the term supply chain, it is used for large companies with multiple locations, often located in different countries. Co-ordination of the flow of materials, information and finances in multi-national companies effectively is still a huge challenge. The objective of managing all links of the supply chain is to increase competitiveness. This is possible because individual organizational units are not responsible individually for the competitiveness of their products and services in the eyes of the end customer but the responsibility lies with the supply chain as a whole. Hence competitiveness shifted from individual companies in the supply chain.

There are two broad ways to improve the competitiveness of the supply chain. One is the integration (or co-operation) of the organizations involved, and the second is better co-ordination of the flow of materials, information and finances. Overcoming organizational barriers, adjusting strategy and accelerating flows along the supply chain are the main subjects in this context.

If you would like to see how B2BGateway can help improve your organization's supply chain processes, please email Sales@B2BGateway.Net today

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!

Modern EDI – It’s no longer just X12, EDIFACT or Tradacoms!

In today’s modern world of integrated data communication, the term EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) no longer represents just X12, EDIFACT or Tradacoms file exchanges, but rather has become a much more generic term for the exchange of all business data supported by an ‘Any to Any’ integration. In fact, in today’s terms modern EDI represents a completely integrated communication hub for all parties in the supply chain.

While the traditional EDI data formats of X12 et al are still supported, and indeed still widely used in retail, wholesale distribution, manufacturing and logistics industries, modern EDI will also support the majority of additional file formats such as XML, CSV and flat files. Modern EDI will also be built on SaaS/cloud based platforms allowing much more flexibility, scalability and value for money to the end user.

The modern EDI provider will also be able to support API integration in tandem with traditional EDI ports. Therefore, the modern EDI provider becomes a complete, integrated communication hub to support all the needs of the end user, be it the ordering of goods from a factory, selling those goods to traditional box-stores and the modern online marketplace, selling their own goods and services on their own shopping cart and integrating with a 3PL for the storage and shipping of the aforementioned goods. 

	Traditional EDI	Modern EDI
File Formats Supported	·         X12 ·         EDIFACT ·         Tradacoms	·         X12 ·         EDIFACT ·         Tradacom ·         PEPPOL ·         oioUBL ·         XML ·         CSV ·         Flat Files ·         And much more
Integration	·         Desktop ·         Limited Connectivity ·         SDK ·         ERP ·         WMS	·         Cloud Based ·         ‘Any to Any’ ·         SDK and API’s supported. ·         ERP ·         Accounting Software ·         WMS ·         OMS ·         Inventory Software
Pricing	·         High, used predominantly by very large organizations who could afford it.	·         Affordable and available all.
Industries Predominantly Serviced	·         Retail ·         Manufacturing ·         Automotive ·         Large Scale Wholesale Distribution	·         Retail ·         Online Market Places ·         Drop Shipping ·         eCommerce Shopping Carts ·         Manufacturing ·         Automotive ·         Wholesale Distribution ·         Healthcare ·         Insurance ·         Third Parfty Logistics (3PL) ·         Finance/Government

If you would like to know more about modern EDI and how it can support your business’ communication needs, please visit www.B2BGateway.Net or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net

B2BGateway EDI encourages the use of Pencil and Paper!

B2BGateway EDI encourages the use of Pencil and Paper. Read the FiftyThree Case study here http://bit.ly/28IxECR

Webinar: EDI for Xero users in the APAC region

Hello There! The sales team at B2BGateway would like to invite you to our "EDI for Xero" webinar.

During this webinar B2BGateway will take you through a brief explanation of what EDI is and how it fits into today's modern marketplace. We'll speak about Third Party Logistics (3PL), popular Box Stores, Online Retailers and eCommerce Shopping Carts powered by Magento, Shopify, 3dcart, Bicommerce, etc. We'll then jump into popular market verticals and explain how B2BGateway integrates with Xero and cover some aspects of the B2BGateway Client Portal and reporting features. Finally we'll review how much it costs and cover some basic fact finding information about B2BGateway. We'll close it out with a Q&A at the end.

B2BGateway, a GS1 Accredited solution provider, is a leading global EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) provider with offices in North America, Europe and Australia. B2BGateway is an official Xero Add-On, making sure that your organization can meet your trading partners requirements. B2BGateway offers 24/7 customer support with each client assigned a designated setup team.

Title: EDI for Xero Date: Tuesday, June 28, 2016 Time: 12-1pm Sydney / 10-11am Singapore

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. Space is limited! Register today! For registration and full details click here or the image below.

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.”  

There's an App for that - B2BGateway launches new EDI Connect App

Once users sign up for a B2BGateway EDI account, they can electronically exchange business documents such as purchase orders, invoices, shipping notices, etc., with trading partners without having to re-key any data. B2BGateway's EDI solutions are cloud based and fully integrate with the majority of ERP's as well as Warehouse and Inventory Management systems.

While the existing B2BGateway platform allows businesses 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 their support engineers 24/7. 

B2BGateway is doing business without barriers, running regardless of geographical location, thanks to Internet connectivity, which allows for monitoring of processes in real time and keeping clients in touch with support engineers 24/7. For over 16 years B2BGateway focused on dynamic solutions in modernizing and transforming business processes. Today we manage the largest community of users in the EDI market, including over 4600 trading partners.

Download Androd App here

Download iOS App here

For further information on B2BGateway's EDI solutions please visit www.B2BGateway.Net or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net