EDI workflows: Build frictionless business relationships
Leverage the benefits of EDI workflows to build frictionless business relationships with your trading network.
Why do businesses switch EDI provider?
Businesses most often switch EDI provider to escape rising or unfair charges, particularly legacy pricing models that charge per message character or transmission and penalise growth. A well managed switch, handled by a dedicated implementation team, can also fix restrictive legacy technology, speed up onboarding of trading partners and make it easier to integrate EDI data directly with existing ERP systems.
With a secure cloud-based EDI platform, you can use EDI workflows to digitally and frictionlessly exchange documents with all the trading partners in your digital trading network.
Frictionless EDI workflows for faster processing
EDI workflows digitally exchange essential documents such as invoices, orders, despatch notices, advanced shipping notices and customs declaration forms to ensure the smooth and fast running of a company’s global supply chain.
It effectively removes the need for manual intervention and reduces all the problems arising from human errors such as speed, accuracy and costs.
Efficient transactions, smart decisions, rapid action
By harnessing the benefits of EDI workflows, you have complete visibility over all of your hundreds or even thousands of transactions and trading partners.
Ultimately EDI workflows give you the control you need to make smarter decisions and provide fast, accurate responses to your trading network.
EDI workflows:
- eliminate manual processes, enabling you to reallocate costly resource to higher-value tasks
- give you end-to-end process visibility of your transaction stages, so you can spot delays and bottleneck
- deliver more efficient and more accurate transaction processing, enabling the business to realise greater efficiencies
- reduce the overall cost of processing invoices, orders, shipping notices and other critical documentation
Quick start your EDI workflows
If you need to exchange digital documents with one or two trading partners, you can purchase a cloud-based EDI solution online today and be set up in 24 hours!
eDI Essential is an easy to buy option for businesses to exchange digital documents using EDI with up to two trading partners. If your supply chain is more complex, you can choose another of our EDI bundles suited to your business needs.
Our bundles cover a range of additional EDI capabilities
- Outbound & inbound document digitisation and automation
- Frictionless integration with other systems
- Processing of custom formats and unstructured data
- Efficient digital document exchange with a large trading partner network
Our transparent pricing model provides a complete solution without VAN charges (Value Added Network). In other words, no per-transaction fees and no penalty for breaching a data limit in a set period.
Large retailers are increasingly mandating suppliers to digitally exchange order & invoice data via EDI.
Read more about Ocado’s EDI invoice mandate.
Set up and onboarding
Research, commissioned by Transalis, found that on average EDI providers take two months to onboard a trading partner in the UK, and three months for partners outside the UK.*
All Transalis customers undergo a fully managed set-up and onboarding programme, with a dedicated project manager to oversee the entire process. This approach has resulted in a 50% reduction in the time it takes to establish contact with all of your trading partners, map data using the correct EDI standards and fully test EDI workflows before going live.*
Transalis has reduced the average onboarding time by 50%*
Accessible anywhere
Cloud-based EDI solutions, such as Transalis eDI™, allow you to access your information online, anytime, anywhere. Unlike on-premise solutions, a cloud EDI application has none of the internal running costs or associated overheads.
Everyone has complete visibility of the status of transactions and can centrally manage the frictionless exchange of digital documents, whether they are a large multi-national or an SME, and whether they are spread across multiple locations or are working from home.
Smooth integration
Integration with existing in-house and 3rd party applications is vital for the frictionless flow of trading information to efficiently manage a global supply chain.
Integration is critical for companies processing high volumes of transactions with multiple trading partners, allowing data from EDI workflows to be instantly accessible across all business systems simultaneously
43% of businesses stated that their EDI provider needed to improve integration with other in-house systems, and a further 41% saying they wanted more transparent pricing.*
Transalis offer fixed-price integrations with over 40 widely used enterprise, accounting, order management and other supply chain critical software solutions. These include SAP, Oracle, Microsoft 365, and Sage.
*Taken from a Vanson Bourne report commissioned by Transalis.
Frequently asked questions
- Is it risky to switch EDI provider?
Switching EDI provider carries far less risk than many businesses assume, provided the move is properly planned. A good provider will set up your web portal, onboard your trading network, integrate with existing systems where needed, manage all required message types and take over hardware and software upgrades, so day to day trading continues without disruption.
- How much can a business save by switching EDI provider?
Savings vary by business, but one retailer saved £60,000 a year after switching to Transalis for just a single US trading partner, having previously been charged per message character and per transmission under a legacy pricing model. The bigger the trading network affected by an outdated charging structure, the larger the potential saving.
- How long does it take to onboard a new trading partner after switching EDI provider?
Onboarding speed depends on the provider, but in one case a business onboarded its first trading partner within a week of switching, with the remaining partners brought on soon after. A dedicated project manager and a clear transition plan are what typically make this kind of fast, low disruption onboarding possible.
- Which EDI bundle suits a business with a complex trading network?
A business with a complex or growing trading network is typically better suited to a flexible bundle that can be customised for message types, reporting, integration level and onboarding support, rather than an entry level option built for one or two partners. Larger organisations needing a full view across their network, unlimited message creation and seamless ERP integration usually need the most comprehensive tier available.
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