COVID-19, among other issues, caused delays in supply chains that disrupted business operations globally. At the same time, the pandemic highlighted the need for digital technology both on a Business-to-Consumer and a Business-to-Business level. Now, EDI is called to pave the way for a strong comeback for retailers, helping them become even more competitive.
EDI simplifies the exchange of information and goods, eliminating costly errors and minimizing the time and cost of transactions. According to relevant surveys, EDI can reduce the cost of a financial transaction up to 90%.
Retailers spend both time and money on daily activities, such as submitting purchase orders, monitoring the supply chain and inventory, and managing invoices and payments. Without automations, all these activities are time-consuming and add to the cost of supply.
Non automated processing usually leads to errors in purchase orders and payments, which in turn leads to delays in restocking or potential penalties for delayed payment. Furthermore, retailers and suppliers end up spending more in terms of processing cost and management time.
EDI provides the solution to such challenges, helping retailers and suppliers optimize the “supply-to-payment” process. With EDI, files such as purchase orders, advanced delivery notifications and invoices, are directly exchanged between the retailer’s and the supplier’s software, enabling almost real-time interaction.
The most successful retailers view EDI as a strategic tool that is a critical part of their business. EDI has a significant positive impact on business profitability, which can be a truly important advantage in the post-pandemic era.
In most cases, organizations turn to EDI to reduce the errors that usually come with non-automated import of PDF files or OCR, accelerate the supply processes, and reduce costs. EDI also provides visibility into the supply chain, as well as saving time and resources, and thus enabling employees to focus on other more important tasks.
Having a clearly defined outcome in mind from the beginning, and understanding what they’re trying to achieve with EDI, organizations can ensure they’re always on track. The desired outcome may be eliminating manual processes, increasing supply transparency, or improving inventory management. In any case, it is crucial that this is clearly understood so that EDI is properly utilized.
Understanding where your business stands at the moment and where you want it to go, will help ensure a smoother transition, minimizing unexpected issues that may adversely impact your budget and your team’s morale.
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