Processing orders, shipping goods, issuing invoices and getting paid - it’s all part of the order-to-cash (O2C) cycle. But for many businesses, this process is still slowed down by manual tasks, disconnected systems and back-and-forth emails. That’s where electronic data interchange (EDI) changes everything. With EDI, you can automate the entire order-to-cash cycle from end to end, reducing errors, speeding up turnaround times and freeing up your team to focus on growth, not admin. Here’s what a fully automated O2C process looks like when EDI is working behind the scenes.

Ordering

Purchase order is received automatically

Your customer sends a purchase order (PO) and it is sent straight from their system to yours. This means you don’t need to manually input data into your software. No emails, no PDFs, no manual data entry!

Order confirmation is sent with one click (or none)

Once the PO lands in your system, an order response can be created and sent automatically. Orders can also be checked against things like stock levels before being confirmed. If an order confirmation needs changes, suppliers can reject it or suggest updates, but all the information is pulled straight from the purchase order, reducing manual work.

Delivery and shipping

Goods are picked, packed and shipped with visibility

When it’s time to ship, your system generates an advanced shipping notice (ASN) from the order confirmation. The ASN tells your customer exactly what’s on the way, when it’s arriving and how it’s packaged (pallets, cartons, etc.). If you use SSCC barcodes, they’re included too. These codes make it easy for retailers to scan and load all goods into their systems.

Payment

Invoice is created

The invoice is created in the supplier’s software. Sometimes this can even be created using the order information: No copying, no pasting, no spreadsheets and no PDFs. For some retailers, you can include tax, freight and discounts - everything they need to process payment quickly.

Payment is received and reconciled faster

Invoices need less manual input, which reduces errors. Retailers can easily complete two or three way matching, meaning their system can approve and pay the invoice without needing to check things manually.Want to learn more about message compliance testing and avoiding common EDI errors? Get in touch with our experts.

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