Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) refers to the electronic exchange of certain business documents in a standard electronic format. These include purchase orders, invoices, shipping documents, customs documents, and certain messages or confirmations. So it essentially replaces mail, email, and fax. Although emails are, of course, also electronic, they are still processed primarily by people rather than by computers, and that is where the difference with EDI lies. The food industry often plays a pioneering role in this regard, as food companies that wish to supply the major F1 chains are required to communicate via EDI.
Are you wondering if EDI can offer your company any other benefits besides retaining customers? A general rule of thumb is that EDI is an absolute must for companies with many business partners who purchase large quantities of products. From a financial perspective alone, implementing EDI offers impressive benefits. For one thing, you’ll naturally save a tremendous amount just on paper costs. But of course, there are other advantages as well. The workload is significantly reduced, and the risk of errors is minimized. Your employees can now spend the time they’ve freed up more productively. Another important argument in favor of EDI is the peace of mind that comes from exchanging messages with customers and suppliers in a standardized, electronic manner. No more ringing phones and fax machines, and no more paper documents that need to be manually entered into the ERP system.
What do I need to get started with EDI?
- Powerful ERP system with a vision for the future: For example, an ERP package such as Microsoft Dynamics NAV offers integration capabilities to streamline your EDI communications. Data mapping is necessary for this. Data mapping ensures that data is sent to a company’s ERP software database in the form of a standard EDI message.
- EDI standard (e.g., EANCOM®, EDIFACT, ANSI X12): To be agreed upon bilaterally with the trading partner. The trading partner determines how the EDI message is structured and which guidelines it must comply with.
- EDI translator and communication software: a tool for converting EDI messages to an ‘in-house’ format and vice versa. It also supports the appropriate communication channels (e.g., VAN, AS2, etc.). These services can be provided by an EDI solution provider.
However, it’s up to your software partner to guide you through this process so that you don’t have to lose sleep over the technical details and can focus primarily on your business. At Alistar, we already have EDI experience in various sectors, such as the food and building materials industries. We are convinced that EDI integration into ERP software will only continue to grow among Flemish companies in the coming years. So don’t hesitate to contact on this matter.
