21/03/2023

Setting your business up for eInvoicing

The benefits of eInvoicing are becoming more and more enticing to businesses in these tricky times. Understanding the benefits is one thing but taking the next steps to getting started is a different story, at least that’s what businesses may believe. Here are steps, in straightforward terms, to set your business up for eInvoicing.

Look at your business

Define your objectives

There are a few things to do when getting started. The first is to define your objectives for implementing eInvoicing. These could be reducing manual processes, complying with partners’ eInvoicing requests, increasing cash flow or something else. Knowing these from the get-go will help keep your business on track.

Review your business processes

The next thing is to look at your business processes. Think about:
  • How many invoices are you processing?
  • Do you plan to send invoices, receive them, or both?
  • Do you exchange invoices with suppliers or customers who are overseas?
  • What are your current processes for receiving invoices, approving them, making payments, reporting and reconciling?
You can then use this information to tailor your eInvoicing solution to best suit you.

Get relevant internal departments involved

One internal department taking control over your eInvoicing project is not ideal. One, it prioritises the needs of one team over others, that’s not very collaborative. Two, there’s no transparency and understanding across the organisation about the project. There are three main departments that are generally involved in an eInvoicing project: Finance
  • They’ll be working directly with eInvoicing by switching from receiving paper or PDF invoices. They’ll be acting on the eInvoices that end up in your software so it’s important for them to have a say and understand how it works.
IT
  • eInvoicing works through your software so your IT team needs to be part of the process. They can help with a lot of the technical stuff working directly with your eInvoicing provider.
Management
  • Those involved in compliance and reporting or the handling of master data can benefit from eInvoicing. It gives these decision makers visibility of procurement and payment information.

Getting your software ready

Have a look at your software to see if they already provide Peppol eInvoicing as an option. If so, find out whether it would require and update or an additional cost. If your software isn’t ready, that’s not a problem, you can work with an eInvoicing service provider and Access Point like MessageXchange. They’ll be able to help you with all the file and connection protocol requirements to get you connected. All you generally need is the ability to import and/or export some sort of invoice file.

Testing messages

For businesses implementing e-invoicing there is some testing required before you can send and receive e-invoices. This is where help from your IT team will come in handy. One requirement is connectivity testing with your Access Point to ensure you can both exchange messages correctly. Testing is also performed on your file to ensure it is correctly structured.Need more help getting ready for eInvoicing? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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E-invoicingRetailersSuppliers

28/02/2023

EDI adoption barriers and how to overcome them

EDI is pretty enticing when you look at its host of benefits:
  • cost savings
  • shortened procure-to-pay cycle
  • better data accuracy
  • less manual handling
  • better visibility into your supply chain
  • better customer service.
But as with any innovation, there are barriers that can get in the way of a business choosing to implement EDI. Here are some of those and how to overcome them.

Not understanding EDI and how it works

Simply put, EDI (electronic data interchange) is the exchange of business information directly between business software. Think of a purchase order being created in one company’s accounting package, and it ‘magically’ appears in the supplier’s software; no email, no PDF, no manual data entry. Well, it’s not magic, it’s EDI! Check out our whitepaper to learn all the basics. EDI can be pretty technical so this often makes it a little daunting for businesses. There’s also a sense of if you don’t have expertise you’ll have trouble implementing. The fact is, EDI providers, like MessageXchange, will always be there to clarify a lot about how it works and work with the relevant internal teams to make the process seamless.

Having unrealistic expectations

EDI requires clear expectations in terms of costs, timelines, internal operations and of suppliers. Rome wasn’t built in a day! When it comes to EDI, planning at the beginning is everything. This will give a clear direction for implementation and help assess how things are tracking compared to your targets. Keep these clear with your provider and hold them to it. The planning stage should also set clear expectations of who is responsible for what when EDI is implementation. Something else you can do is to get a clear understanding of price from your provider. All providers have different pricing models, make sure you find the one that suits your business most.

The capability of your supply chain

Your supply chain is critical to any EDI project. It can often make or break a project. So it can seem like a big barrier if you have difficulty getting suppliers onboard. But there are definitely ways around this. The number one thing to do when looking at onboarding suppliers is to segment them into groups and use this to stage your onboarding process. There’s no right or wrong way to segment your suppliers. It can be according to their readiness for EDI, maybe their size, whatever you like. As you’re onboard each segment it will give you an understanding of your progress. Another great way to get around suppliers not onboarding is by giving them options. If they’re already using EDI they can just integrate with your EDI solution. If they’re not using EDI, you can offer them a web portal solution, like Colladium. It makes it easier for suppliers, particularly smaller ones, to send and receive EDI messages all from a web browser.

Lack of resources

EDI is often linked with being costly and time intensive to set up but that’s changed a lot. These days businesses with no previous EDI experience are getting set up easily and quickly. EDI providers, like MessageXchange often step businesses through the whole process and even take care of critical parts. MessageXchange can create automated compliance testing solutions that test the EDI messages of suppliers on a portal to make sure it adheres to all EDI requirements. This saves you time and also saves your staff from having to contact suppliers one by one to organise testing. Need more help getting ready for EDI? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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EDIRetailersSuppliers

24/02/2023

Five automated checks in MessageXchange to get the invoices you need the first time around

Many large organisations have processes setup in their accounts payables systems to review invoices and approve them for payment. Often the rules are quite complex and can rely on certain information being present on the invoice for the process to run effectively. Introducing eInvoicing can appear to throw a spanner in the works here, but with MessageXchange, it can make it even easier in automating the presence and validity of the data. Have a look at these tips to help you get the invoice you need the first time around.

1. Ensure a purchase order number is present

If your invoice matching requires a purchase order number to be present, MessageXchange can check that it’s there before sending the invoice onto your software. If it’s not, MessageXchange can automatically reject the invoice and send feedback to the supplier with information as to why it was rejected. Another alternative is to still receive the eInvoice in your software but send a notification to the supplier to ask them to include the order number on their future eInvoices.

2. Ensure the purchase order number is correct

This can be done in a couple of ways – you can check that the order number has the same format of those you issue, like always 10 digits, or starting with certain numbers, or you can even share (automatically, of course) a list of your order numbers from your software, and MessageXchange will check that it matches, before sending the invoice onto you. We can even go one step further and check that the purchase order number and ABN combination are correct.

3. Only receive eInvoices from ABNs you know

Our customers can provide a list of their suppliers’ ABNs. When an eInvoice for the customer comes in, MessageXchange can check the sender ABN against this list. Again, if it matches, we’ll send it onto you. And if not, we can reject it and notify the supplier, or continue to send it onto you while notifying the supplier.

4. Check the BSB and account number

Some invoice approval processes check the BSB and account numbers on the invoice. You can check for correct formatting, or even ensure they match those you have on file. When an eInvoice comes through, MessageXchange can check for these to make sure you get only the eInvoices that you’ll be able to process.

5. Mandate attachments from certain suppliers

If you use an outsourced HR company, for example, and expect timesheets with your invoices, MessageXchange can check that eInvoices from certain ABNs always have an attachment. We can even go one further to specify that the attachment must always be an Excel sheet, for example.All of these checks, and more, can be implemented in your eInvoicing Gateway. These are just some examples, but the only real limitation is your imagination. Have a chat to our team today about how to make sure you get the invoices you want the first time around.

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E-invoicingRetailersSuppliers

30/01/2023

eInvoicing with MessageXchange in a nutshell

If you’re just starting out with eInvoicing, or looking for an eInvoicing provider, the process can be pretty daunting and confusing. The good news is, this blog is just for you. Keep reading to find out the A to Z of eInvoicing with MessageXchange.

What is eInvoicing?

For those really new to eInvoicing, have a look at this whitepaper that explains in layman’s terms what eInvoicing is, how it’s used, its benefits and more.Ok, now you’re all up to speed with the basics…

It doesn’t matter what software you use for invoicing

The good news with our eInvoicing service is that it doesn’t matter what invoicing software you use. Our service is software-agnostic, which means we can connect to any software. In the diagram above, your software will be corners 1 or 4. We’ll handle all the nitty gritty between corners 1 and 3 (for sending invoices) and corners 4 and 2 (for receiving invoices) so you don’t have to worry about any added stress of finding new software. After all, we all know what a process and investment changing software can be.

Your software doesn’t support UBL files? No worries

Now that you’re all up-to-date with eInvoicing, you’ll know that UBL is the file format used between Access Points (corners 2 and 3) to exchange eInvoices. In reality, many software packages don’t support this file format. And this is something we’ve catered for. We can take your software’s native file format and translate, or map, this to and from the eInvoicing UBL file. For those non-technical people reading this – usually a software package exports an imports one specific file format, like XML or JSON.

MessageXchange provides both Access Point and SMP services

The introduction to eInvoicing whitepaper describes how the eInvoicing process works. When an eInvoice is received at the sender’s Access Point, it looks up where to send the eInvoice to. This lookup is done in an SMP, or service metadata publisher. So, when you register to receive eInvoices, you’ll need to register your ABN, NZBN or whatever identifier you use, in an SMP. MessageXchange provides this service for free for all its eInvoicing customers so it’s one less thing you need to worry about.

Options to suit every business

We offer a couple of different eInvoicing options, which should suit most, if not all businesses out there.

eInvoicing Connect

This is the perfect option if you want to get up and running quickly and cost-effectively. This product can be used for sending and receiving eInvoices, or just one or the other. It also caters for business response messages, which is sent from a recipient of an eInvoice to a sender to update them on the status of the eInvoice, for example, whether it’s been accepted, rejected, paid and more. We’ve got an existing integration with TechnologyOne CiAnywhere, but if you’re not using that software, you can connect to MessageXchange via SFTP or our AS2 to exchange UBL, XML or CSV files. We have a message implementation guide for our XML and CSV files so you can familiarise yourself with the structure. When it comes to pricing, get setup for as little as $950, which includes registration of one ABN or NZBN. Then it’s just $50 per annum (this covers the subscription to our Access Point) and $50 for a pack of 1,000 credits. One credit covers 1MB of data or part thereof of a single message, including attachments. eInvoicing Connect users get access to a portal, which allows you to view a log of the invoices you’ve sent and received and you can see your credit balance too. Find out more about eInvoicing Connect here.

eInvoicing Gateway

If you’re going to be an eInvoicing power user, or are looking at eInvoicing more strategically, our eInvoicing Gateway is for you. It’s got much more flexibility in that we can connect to any software using any secure connection protocol to exchange any file format (MessageXchange configures maps to translate your format to/from the UBL format). Plus, it’s got additional functionality. Our Gateways allow you to implement business rule validation, which can do things like reject an invoice if it doesn’t have the data you need. It can also enrich invoice data, like adding an internal vendor number based on the ABN it’s sent from, to make sure the invoice data your software receives is what you need. The data enrichment can also cater for outgoing invoices. This helps if your software doesn’t populate all the mandatory eInvoicing information, or the information that your customers require from you. Another benefit of our eInvoicing Gateways is it’s reporting and analytics functionality. Get access to custom reports based on any data in the invoices and even call on data from other sources. One case we’ve seen is top-level reporting on multiple business units. The functionality is all there, but how you use it is really up to your imagination and your business’ needs. Find out more about our eInvoicing Gateways here.

Onboarding suppliers

Yes, getting setup for eInvoicing is the thing we think about first, but onboarding your trading partners is what you’ll turn your attention to once that’s done. With our 20+ years in supply chain trading, we’ve got a few tips at the ready. We’ve developed a guide to help you engage and onboard your supply chain. Plus, we’ve got no- and low-cost solutions for your trading partners to send and receive eInvoices. Just ask us more.

Security is a top priority

We know invoice data is commercially sensitive and that’s why we do everything within our power to keep it secure. We’re ISO27001 accredited, we use encryption in transit and encryption at rest plus a range of other security, DR and BCP processes. Have a look here for more info.Ready to find out more? Have a chat with one of our eInvoicing experts.

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E-invoicingRetailersSuppliers

19/01/2023

EDI best practices

EDI can be a big commitment, and following best practice from the get-go can save you time, money and hassles down the line. We’re pretty experienced helping customers implement EDI, so here are some pointers on how to get things right the first time.

Establish clear procedures

It’s important to have clear contact point for your trading partners to get in touch with you about EDI-related issues they may have. The last thing you want is a colleague who knows little or nothing about EDI being asked EDI questions and not knowing where to direct the question. Work out who will take care of EDI questions from suppliers and educate your team so they understand where to direct these enquiries. Another thing to think about having is a contingency plan if something goes wrong with your EDI. You need processes in place to be able to keep operating in the unlikely scenario of an issue.

Test, test, test

There’s nothing worse than sending EDI messages to your suppliers only for them to not receive it. Or even having suppliers sending you messages incorrectly. This can lead to stock not being on shelves and invoices not getting paid. Testing before going live can make the transition to EDI much more seamless. Organise a time to send and receive test EDI messages to and from your suppliers to ensure that you don’t run into any issues when you go live. If this sounds a bit too manual, you can use our message compliance testing (MCT) service on Colladium to automatically ensure the EDI messages you’ll receive follow the correct syntax and use the right fields.

Automate as many processes as possible

Before getting started with EDI, think about all the things you want automated – an EDI automation wish list so to speak. Think about all the areas that take up too much manual processing or add significant costs, for example not knowing if an order can be fulfilled, or not knowing when it’s going to be delivered. You can even look at the invoice payment process, which is often time consuming for your accounts team. EDI can automate matching purchase orders and other EDI documents with your invoices to ensure they are accurate and legitimate.

Be picky when choosing an EDI provider

It’ll come as no surprise that it’s important to have a list of things you expect from your ideal EDI provider. Have a think with your team about what you want in your provider. Think about:
  • if they meet your technical requirements
  • if their business aligns with yours
  • if they have the right experience
  • if their support model works for your business
  • if their pricing model suits you.
Need more help getting ready for EDI? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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EDIRetailersSuppliers

22/11/2022

Using EDI to improve supply chain efficiency

Improving efficiency is one way for businesses to help battle rising costs and inflation. One efficiency improvement businesses are turning to is EDI.

Reduce costs and errors

The big efficiency with EDI is there’s no need for emailing or paper, which has some obvious benefits. As your number of orders grow, so does manual processing and hence, the need for more hands on deck. EDI does a lot of the heavy lifting for you through automating a lot of your processes. Studies have shown EDI can reduce the cost of a financial transaction by up to 90% and exchanging an invoice through EDI can even cost less than a cent. Automation from EDI can stop those awkward moments where your customer asks why your invoice numbers are wrong or if a supplier delivers the wrong products. EDI can result in a reduction in transactions errors by up to 40%.

Faster delivery times from suppliers

For any businesses, one of their biggest nightmares is not receiving goods when they need it. Any way to make the procure-to-pay cycle shorter is always a benefit. EDI sends trade documents directly between your software and your partners’. No more emails and manual inputting. EDI automation can speed up business cycles by 61%.

Better supply chain visibility

The best way keep track of all processes in the supply chain is through data. Businesses using EDI can find out whether a supplier can complete a purchase order. If you use advanced shipping notices (ASNs) with your suppliers, you can find out what a supplier is sending you and how they’re sending it. This can help your warehouse teams plan ahead for deliveries, so you can save time and resources. In fact, using ASNs can reduce receiving costs by up to 40%. Have more questions? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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17/11/2022

Could mandatory eInvoicing be on the cards? Business eInvoicing Right (BER) explained

The Government’s roll-out of eInvoicing started with a mandate for Federal Government agencies to adopt eInvoicing by July 1, 2022. Several State Governments have also taken the initiative to adopt eInvoicing, with one driving force being to support the Federal Government’s initiative and to help boost adoption among businesses – after all, what business wouldn’t want their invoices paid in 5 days? This has been a good step in eInvoicing adoption. In late 2021, around 10,000 businesses were registered for eInvoicing, but with over 2.4 million businesses in Australia, there’s still a long way to go.If we rewind to November 2020, Treasury released consultation paper that looked at a possible mandate for businesses to adopt eInvoicing, suggesting three different options:
  1. A phased mandate for all businesses
  2. A mandate for only large businesses
  3. No mandate.
34 companies made a submission on this paper, with all of them acknowledging the benefits of eInvoicing but many of them suggesting a well-considered approach, given costs can be incurred to implement eInvoicing and the time that may be required to both implement eInvoicing and change processes around it. Fast forward to December 2021, The Treasury released another consultation paper to the public, explaining the widespread benefits of eInvoicing if it was adopted at large. It mentioned the Budget’s inclusion of $15.3 million to help accelerate adoption of eInvoicing among Australian businesses. They sought feedback from stakeholders in the industry as to how to support business to adopt eInvoicing and to give businesses certainty that when they adopted eInvoicing, they’d be able to use it with their trading partners. This would be done through Business eInvoicing Right, or BER. Another 39 submissions were made, many of which included the same rhetoric as the previous ones – eInvoicing has huge benefits, but the Government must support businesses and make it easier, rather than force a mandate. Now back in late 2022, what’s happened? Well, a lot politically. We’ve had a change in Government, to start with. While eInvoicing is supported by both parties, we’ve not heard anything definitive on BER or an eInvoicing mandate for businesses. We’ve seen software companies like Xero, MYOB and Reckon all include eInvoicing in their products, which takes eInvoicing a long way – they represent a large majority of small to medium businesses, which make up a big portion of all businesses. There is a lot still happening in this space. So stay tuned.Interested in learning more about eInvoicing? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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E-invoicing

27/10/2022

Accounts receivable automation using eInvoicing

Getting bogged down in manual processes can really hurt an accounts receivables team. After all, invoices that take a long time to process cost a business and make for an underperforming team. Thankfully there’s technology out there to deal with this. eInvoicing automates the exchange of invoices directly from your software to your customers’. eInvoicing works like this:
  1. You find your customer’s purchase order (PO) in your software and create an invoice from it. Your team then sends the invoice electronically from your software. The invoice is sent, almost magically, through the Peppol network directly to your customer’s software. They don’t need to scan it, type it in or anything.
  2. Your customer’s software may then be able to match the received invoice against the PO for payment authorisation.
Here are some of the benefits of using eInvoicing in your accounts receivable team.

Get paid faster

If you’re in accounts receivables, you want to send out invoices and get paid as quickly as possible. That’s where eInvoicing comes in. Studies have shown eInvoicing can reduce processing cycle time by up to 65%. Some government agencies even promise to pay their suppliers’ eInvoices in just five days.

Reduce disputes

The automation of eInvoicing also makes it very unlikely for any errors to show up on invoices when your customers get them into their software. This reduces the chance of your customers ringing you up asking about invoices with the wrong quantities or costs… yikes!

Get more visibility

Typically when you email an invoice, you only know it's approved once you receive the payment into your bank account. Or sometimes your customers might be nice enough to send you a remittance advice. The eInvoicing model supports eInvoice responses, which can tell you when an invoice is acknowledged, approved, paid, rejected and more. It can even tell you why it's been rejected.

Reduce invoice processing costs

eInvoicing digitises the whole invoicing process so it’s one less thing you need a printer for. Plus, an added bonus of eInvoicing is less need for archiving invoices, which reduces costs by up to 32%. Overall, studies have shown it costs $30.87 to process a paper invoice, $27.67 a PDF invoice, and only $9.18 to process an eInvoice.Interested in learning more about eInvoicing for your accounts receivable team? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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E-invoicing

21/10/2022

What rules the roost – EDI process or business- and software-process?

We often get companies come to us when they want to implement EDI. And one of the points of confusion is often around where EDI fits in with their business processes and software. They ask what comes first – is EDI the cart or the horse, the chicken or the egg?As a general rule, we say EDI should support your business processes, not rule them. We suggest companies map out their process, whether it be existing or what they want them to be, then insert EDI at points that it can help. For example, if you want to scan inventory in when it arrives, you’ll probably choose to use an advanced shipping notice to get the data into your software ahead of time and have your suppliers attach scannable SSCC labels to their shipments. If your software conducts two-, three- or four-way matching, you’ll need to make sure you exchange the relevant messages that are used in those checks. The other thing is, you don’t want to make your project bigger than Ben Hur – it’s ok to phase in different stages. Start with where it’s simple to bring EDI into the process. Then if there are other pain points down the track that can be resolved with EDI, then add them into the mix. A key reason for why projects can go awry is biting off more than one can chew. Different industries, and even different businesses or different software all operate in their own ways. And there’s good reason for that. It’s important that you get your processes in a place that suit your business needs. EDI should ideally be used to bring in automation and to reduce your team’s workload. Here at MessageXchange, our software can help with the EDI portion, but our powerful business process management layer can help fill gaps between EDI and your processes and software. MessageXchange is flexible enough, and smart enough, to cater to processes regardless of their complexity. For example, two-way matching can be conducted within MessageXchange itself by taking the EDI order and invoice and reconciling them against each other, then sending the result on. It can do the same with three-way matching by including the shipping notice too. It can even enhance the data in your message. For example, if you find it’s difficult for you or your suppliers to include a supplier number or GLN, MessageXchange can insert that into messages for you. Looking for more information on this topic? Get in touch with us below.

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EDIRetailers

28/09/2022

What’s next for eInvoicing?

eInvoicing continues to grow in popularity and it’s expected to expand further. There’s a lot coming to eInvoicing in the future so we thought we’d look at some of the developments.

More message types on the Peppol network, not just eInvoices

Studies have shown that 72.5% of invoices globally are paid late . In 2016, Australian companies were an average of 26.4 days overdue on their invoice payments. With the help of eInvoicing, we’re seeing sellers being paid in less time. This improves cash flow and allows businesses to use their funds more strategically.

Could there be a business mandate for eInvoicing?

In 2020, the Commonwealth government’s Treasury sent out a request for feedback from businesses on options to accelerate the adoption of eInvoicing an. One option involves requiring all businesses to have the capability to send and receive Peppol eInvoices, with large businesses being the first. Another option would be to require only large businesses to have the ability to send and receive Peppol eInvoices. The last option is a non-regulatory option that offers more flexibility for businesses to choose their own pathway to adoption. This is by no means a mandate for eInvoicing at the moment, but some of the options, if implemented, could bring a mandate. We’ve also seen the Government push the Business eInvoicing Right (BER) initiative to encourage the adoption of B2B eInvoicing. The BER allows companies to request their trading partners to send them eInvoices in the Peppol format. The objective of the BER initiative is to gradually introduce the obligatory use of eInvoicing among Australian companies, based on their size.

Push by government to get suppliers onboard to eInvoicing

With government agencies and departments going through mandatory implementation of eInvoicing, it’s only a matter of time before their suppliers follow suit. There’s already been talk about government agencies mandating their suppliers to implement eInvoicing. The ATO is currently focusing on a push to large businesses, particularly in the utilities and telecommunications sectors, to support eInvoicing.Have more questions? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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E-invoicing

14/09/2022

Things to keep in mind when onboarding large amounts of suppliers

Onboarding suppliers to EDI can be costly and time consuming. A typical onboarding process will involve these steps:
  1. Engaging suppliers Letting them know you’ll be onboarding them to EDI.
  2. Getting them familiar with requirements (MIGs) All requirements are normally shared via a message implementation guide (MIG)
  3. Schedule in testing Set up a time and deadline for testing of messages to start
  4. Test Send and receive EDI messages from your suppliers to ensure they are sending the correct data.
  5. Go live!
If you’re onboarding large amounts of suppliers it’s important to keep things efficient. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Testing is the most time-consuming process

Testing is time consuming because it requires a lot of back and forth checking and communication with your suppliers. This takes time and puts more pressure on you to keep things moving along. A more efficient solution is to use a message compliance testing tool (MCT), like Colladium. It allows suppliers to test their EDI files, often through an online portal, without your team needing to check them. This means you don't have to wait for your EDI team to match up availability with theirs. In fact, your resources don’t need to be involved at all. This also allows the supplier to fix up any issues with their mapping or EDI file generation so that when they go live, you're not scrambling to resolve issues.

Make templates for your communications

This makes it easy for anyone in your team to communicate with suppliers consistently and accurately. The templates should include who your suppliers should contact, the expectations and requirements to onboard and their scheduled time for testing. Just be aware it is pretty normal for these templates to evolve over time as you and your suppliers learn. These templates can also be tailored to the supplier’s knowledge and readiness for EDI.

Communicate internally

It’s key that everyone within your business is on the same page when it comes to onboarding. A step by step process should be finalised and communicated to your EDI team. This process should establish the roles for each part of the process and who to contact. Have more questions? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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EDIRetailers

26/08/2022

EDI for 3PLs and logistics service providers

EDI has been prominent in the retail industry for decades and one area of the supply chain that benefits the most is third party logistics providers, or 3PLs. Let’s have a look.EDI replaces postal mail, fax and email, and eliminates manual inputting of data. It allows trading documents, like orders, shipping notices and more, to be exchanged electronically between businesses. EDI can help streamline and automate logistics processes, such as:
  • receiving and stocking goods
  • managing inventory
  • managing of warehouse movements
  • expediting shipments
  • refund processing
  • repackaging processes (co-packing).

An improved experience for your customers

We’ve seen 3PLs roll out EDI solutions, including portal solutions, for their customers. It makes the whole information flow between you, your customer and their customer easier. When your customer receives an order, they can accept it and at the same time, their EDI service can send a copy of it onto you so you know what to despatch, when and where. You can pick and pack the goods as usual, then when you create the shipping notice, you can send this via EDI to the recipient. Again, a copy can be sent to your customer for visibility. All of this ensures you’re not relying on PDFs and emails, and data is being exchanged in the quickest way possible.

Benefits of EDI

Cost savings

With supply chain costs going up, now is the time for logistics companies to find ways to cut costs. During busy periods instead of receiving an email or phone call every time a customer needs stock shipped, you can get the request via EDI, straight into your software for processing. You won't have to worry about missing an email, or having staff on-hand to enter the PDF into your software and you won't need to 'scan' PDFs into your software and deal with potential scanning errors.

Speed and accuracy

As your orders increase, your time to process them will only increase, unless you automate. EDI allows documents your customers need to be processed and sent faster. By reducing manual inputting, EDI also reduces the risk of inaccuracies in documents you send to your customers. Here are some stats that back the benefits:
  • can speed up your business cycles by 61%. Get documents directly into your software from your customers’ within minutes.
  • It delivers at least a 30—40% reduction in errors.

Reduced manual processing

With staff shortages a big issue around the world right now, logistics companies need to find ways to make process more efficient. With EDI, not only does your speed improve, but the pressure on your staff is reduced. EDI makes it easier for you to process more shipments with fewer people which allows you to take on more customers and more of their orders.

Compliance with retailers

If your customers supply to retailers, they’ll require documents via EDI. Send advanced shipping notices (ASNs) to the stock recipient, and even have a copy go to your customer for their visibility. Have more questions? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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