Getting started with retailer EDI requirements can be a daunting task. This month, we sat down with Ellen Tjahjana, our EDI specialist who’s worked with many of our EDI customers, to get her insights on starting out with onboarding to EDI.

Q: What are the first things to do when a retailer asks suppliers to comply with their EDI requirements?

Firstly, don't panic. It can seem overwhelming, especially if it's the first time you've been asked, and knowing it's something technical. Our team deal with this all the time and are used to helping suppliers through the process, so we can explain it to you in simple terms, and look after the technical parts for you. I would decide which EDI option is best for you - either a web portal or a fully integrated solution. In short, a web portal is good if you don't receive many orders or if your software can't handle all the EDI messages. For example, MYOB Business and Xero don't support advanced shipping notices. The other option is an EDI Gateway, or EDI that is integrated with your software - typically your ERP software. This means orders will land straight into your software and you action everything from there. The messages you generate in your ERP software, like a response to an order, a shipping notice and an invoice, will go via your EDI provider, to your customer. We've got some good resources on helping you choose an EDI option here. We actually even have some suppliers using a hybrid solution of webforms and integration with their ERP software. So if you think just one solution alone won't help, have a chat to your EDI provider to see if they have a solution for your unique setup. Another things we do fairly often is bring the supplier's 3PL into the process. We can send them a pick request when an order comes in so they can despatch the goods, and even get the ASN from the 3PL to pass back to the retailer. We've implemented a number of different setups, because we know not all businesses operate in the same way. Once you've decided on the right option for you, do some research on the providers and get in touch. Lean on your provider to help you through the process, especially if this is new for you.

Q: Who should suppliers get involved in their EDI project?

This somewhat depends on the option you've chosen. If you're going down the path of EDI webforms, make sure you get the people who will action the orders involved. This could be your accounts receivables team, your warehouse team - anyone who needs to do something in the process. Make sure they understand how to use the product so when you start receiving real orders, they're not slowed down by any learning curve. If you've chosen an integrated EDI solution, you'll often need to get your IT team involved. Sometimes this might be a consultant. And also get those who will action the orders involved. Their processes may not change all that much, but it's good for them to have some background on what happens behind the scenes, in case anything happens.

Q: What should suppliers look for in an EDI solution?

This somewhat depends on the option you've chosen. If you're going down the path of EDI webforms, make sure you get the people who will action the orders involved. This could be your accounts receivables team, your warehouse team - anyone who needs to do something in the process. Make sure they understand how to use the product so when you start receiving real orders, they're not slowed down by any learning curve. Experience is obviously a big factor too. It can help to choose an EDI provider who has connected to your retailer(s) before and are familiar with that retailer's EDI processes. If you're brand new to EDI or don't have much confidence, I'd definitely recommend choose and EDI provider that is willing to help you through the process and 'translate' any technical speak into plain English. Finally, obviously price is a factor, as well as the support they can offer you once your solution goes live.

Q: What are some places to get more information and to learn more about EDI?

We've got some good resources available on our website. For those who are new to EDI, this whitepaper explains, in simple terms, what it is. For those trying to choose which option is best for them, this blog can really help. And finally, we're always happy to speak to suppliers who are just starting out, or even those who aren't new to EDI. So feel free to pick up the phone to us or send us an email.

Q: What other advice would you give suppliers who need to comply with retailer EDI requirements?

I'm going to sound like a bit of a broken record, but I really do suggest you lean on your EDI provider. They're likely to have been through this process many times before and I know we're very happy to explain things and help our customers through the process. Don't be afraid to ask them questions, regardless of how silly you think they might be.Want to go through your EDI requirements with an experts? Getting in touch with us below.

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Here at MessageXchange, we’ve been in the EDI game for a while now. We recently sat down with Kieren James, one of our resident EDI experts who’s worked with many of our EDI customers, to get some insights into why businesses implement EDI, what to think about when doing so, some of the challenges businesses face when implementing and his top tips for success.

Q: Why do companies implement EDI?

Kieren: I used to see companies use EDI to reduce their costs and manual processes, or to comply with their retailers’ EDI requirements. But now I’m seeing the balance shift to be more about seeking efficiency in processes. Businesses with more efficient process can get a better competitive advantage and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Q: What advice do you have for businesses implementing EDI?

Kieren: Internal planning is more important than ever. It’s key to remember that not all software is the same, especially when it comes to the fields, or data, your software supports. Doing a gap analysis before you start your implementation is super important. Your consultant, if you’re using one, can sometimes miss fields that are required. For example, you might run into problems if your software can’t send certain information like the unit of measure. As a supplier, it’s a good idea to check out your customers' message integration Guides (MIGs) to make sure your software can handle all the required fields.

Q: What do you see as customers’ biggest challenge when implementing EDI?

Kieren: There are a few key challenges customer face when implementing EDI. Some that come to mind are:

• Not providing enough resources to allocate to the EDI project
• Not checking message requirements and seeing if you’re current setup can populate the required fields.
• Lack of EDI knowledge and understanding. A great way around this is to look at resources on EDI, like some of our whitepapers and blogs. Also, getting people who know about EDI in your EDI project team can be a real benefit. Another thing is to make sure you use the experience and knowledge of your EDI provider to get the most out of your EDI solution.

Q: How do businesses usually chose an EDI service provider?

Kieren: We get a lot of customers coming to us through recommendations – word of mouth between customers and their suppliers is a big one. Customers also want a provider that are familiar with the requirements of their trading partners. They also want an EDI provider that has the experience in the field that can provide support to them.

Cost is another important factor, particularly in the long term. Customers want transparency in terms of pricing, so we will clearly show how we have calculated any estimated costs and make sure we easily explain our pricing structure.

Q: What benefits have you seen from customers using EDI?

Kieren: Automation is the key benefit when implementing EDI. We’ve had customers with a haphazard approach to their processes and now they have more structure and visibility of their supply chain. With EDI, customers have more data to be able to review their ordering processes with specific partners and find possible improvements. We had a customer implement invoices and it has significantly improved payment visibility on outgoings, outstandings, and been much easier for suppliers to onboard compared to email based processes.Want to go through your EDI requirements with an experts? Getting in touch with us below.

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In this efficiency-driven world, reducing manual processing in business can pose significant benefits. Many areas within business require manual processing and, as is the case when doing any manual data entry, it produces errors. On top of this, as orders increase, so does the amount of data entry, increasing your labour costs. EDI can help improve various business processing requirements. Here’s how.

Automating order processes

Entering and responding to orders can be time consuming. EDI integration with your ERP system can streamline and automate this process. It allows you to exchange EDI messages directly between yours and your partners’ software. This means no need for sending emails with purchase orders, entering them manually or emailing responses back to customers. Overall, it creates a significantly more streamlined procure-to-pay cycle.

Integration may not be right for all customers though, so MessageXchange also has a service for businesses using MYOB or Xero. Our FormXchange solution allows businesses to receive orders directly into their MYOB software. Then action everything in FormXchange and have the invoice go into MYOB or Xero. No double handling necessary.

Simplifying processes with 3PLs

Sending orders onto your logistics provider can add to your manual processing. EDI integration is a great way to automate this part of order fulfillment. Suppliers can receive orders from customers and have a copy of that information sent directly to their 3PLs. This can all be managed in your MessageXchange Gateway, so there’s no need for emails or separate portals to send information on.
For Colladium customers, we offer the ability for you to send pick requests directly to your 3PL and they can then fulfill the order and send the corresponding advanced shipping notice to your customer. This saves you the back and forth needed to send logistics details to your customer, while making it easy for your 3PLs to prepare the required messages. Find out more about Colladium’s 3PL integration here.

Reduce manual processing of invoices

Another critical stage in the order-to-cash and procure-to-cycles pay that creates a lot of manual processing is invoicing. EDI integration can help improve this for both buyers and sellers. Sellers can send invoices electronically straight from software and receive responses back from buyers to confirm receipt and even payment.

Buyers can get invoices straight into their software and can process them in a moment. With MessageXchange, you can set up business rules to check invoices as they come in, to automate invoice approval before payment.Want to learn more about our implementation process? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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Putting some effort in before embarking on your EDI journey will put you in good stead. Think about your processes and what you’re trying to achieve up-front, and it’ll help you navigate through the stages of implementation with ease. Here are our suggestions of things to consider.

Get your relevant teams involved

When you’re going through the implementation stages of EDI, it’s important to have a core team that includes a representative from all relevant departments of the business. Having all teams involved in the EDI process ensures communication and transparency of the EDI project. It also ensures understanding and consistency of the objectives and goals of the project.

Be clear on your requirements

Clearly defining your requirements as well as your trading partners’ requirements is key. Some things to think about are:

• How you’ll connect to your VAN, whether that’s by sFTP, an API, AS2 or something else.
• What file format your software exports and imports
• What file format you’ll exchange with your trading partners
• If you require any business rules, validations or data enrichment.

Have a plan for onboarding

Planning ahead for the onboarding stage of implementation is important to ensure success. If you’re onboarding your suppliers, make sure you segment them according to the goals you’ve set. This might turn out to be segmenting by capability, or order volumes. Each segment needs to have tailored communications that relates to them. If you’re a supplier onboarding to EDI, think about how you will comply with your partners’ requirements. If you’re not using EDI, you’ll need to look at either a web portal solution or an integrated solution. We go over what might be best for you in our blog here.

Testing with your EDI provider and trading partners can take time

During testing, the best thing you can do is be as prepared as possible. This means having a team that is set to do the testing. They will send and receive messages back and forth, but the faster they can respond, the quicker testing will be completed. To relieve pressure on retailers who are onboarding suppliers, MessageXchange provides a message compliance testing (MCT) tool. This automates the testing process for you so suppliers can login to a portal and go through the testing process themselves. This reduces the need for retailer teams to be following up with suppliers. The tool allows suppliers to:

• generate realistic POs in the format they would receive in production, complete with their GLN, vendor number and products.
• upload messages they would send to you in production, like shipping notices, invoices, control messages and even SSCC labels for you to check.

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Remember the days of paper invoices piling up on your desk? Thankfully, times have changed, and electronic data interchange (EDI) has revolutionised business-to-business (B2B) communication in Australia and around the world. But EDI formats themselves haven't been static – they’ve evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of modern commerce. So, let's explore the world of EDI file formats, from their humble beginnings to where they're headed next.

EDIFACT: The start of EDI formats

Back in the days of dial-up modems and chunky desktops, EDIFACT (electronic data interchange for administration, commerce and transport) emerged as the global standard. As the first file format in Australia in the EDI space, it got a head start on other file formats. This format uses tags and codes to structure data (some tags include BGM (Beginning of message) and IMD (Item description)), ensuring everyone involved could understand the information being exchanged. EDIFACT offers stability and reliability, becoming the go-to format for many industries, especially retail.

XML: A breath of fresh air

As technology moved forward, more file formats began to emerge. Enter XML (extensible markup language), a format based on human-readable tags and values, like labelling your tools in plain English. Tags in XML can be anything, but more commonly they can be human readable like or or . This offered a range of benefits:

• Flexibility: XML could easily adapt to new data types and business processes.
• Interoperability: It wasn't tied to specific industries, making it easy for diverse businesses to connect.
• Human-readability: Understanding the data is simple.

JSON: The lightweight contender

Think of JSON as the text messages of the data world: simple, quick, and perfect for short bursts of information. It's a lightweight format often used in web-based APIs, where real-time data exchange is crucial. While not a traditional EDI format, JSON can play a role in specific EDI scenarios, such as:

• API integrations: Businesses can use JSON to exchange data with other systems, their EDI provider and applications through APIs, streamlining data flow.
• Complementary to other formats: JSON can be used alongside XML or UBL to transmit specific data elements within an EDI message.

ANSI X12: A widely adopted standard

ANSI X12, or the American National Standards Institute's Accredited Standards Committee X12, is a another file format used in electronic data interchange (EDI). This standard, as you can see in the name, is commonly used in North America. It sets guidelines and rules for structuring and formatting electronic business documents. ANSI X12 has a similar hierarchical structure to EDIFACT/EANCOM but segment names are very different, and how the content is structured is different too. This standard plays a crucial role in enhancing operational efficiency, reducing costs, and minimizing errors in electronic transactions, ultimately fostering smoother and more reliable business relationships.

Remember, choosing the right format depends on your specific needs, industry, and trading partners. So, keep your ear to the ground, stay up-to-date on the latest EDI trends, and ensure your business stays ahead of the curve!Want to learn more about how MessageXchange can help with your data integration needs? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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