Jake is one of the stakeholders in a business that's been successful and profitable for years. He understands the market for his product and has just signed a contract with a global retailer to expand his business. Sounds great, except for one problem. Jake needs to implement an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) solution in his Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management (D365 F&SCM) ERP, and he's not sure where to begin.
Jake's problem is not unique. Many companies struggle with the implementation and use of EDI services. Many others use EDI for their critical B2B transactions yet do not realize that EDI can do much more than that. They fail to understand the more significant automation benefits offered by integrated data management and EDI solutions.
What is Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)?
Electronic Data Interchange or EDI refers to the concept of exchanging business documents electronically. With EDI, information communicated on paper (e.g., purchase orders, invoices, etc.) is transformed into an electronic format, offering an efficient way of conducting business transactions.
For instance, when a retailer buys a product from a manufacturer, the former submits a purchase order, following which the latter sends an invoice and shipment notice. Finally, both entities exchange receipts of acknowledgment.
An EDI solution (like EDI Studio for D365 F&SCM) ensures that you have a seamless communication channel among all trading partners with data updated in real time. Organizations that do not implement EDI face higher expenses and increased error rates due to manual processing. The average cost to process a document manually is $45, and the cost to correct an error due to manual processing is about $172.
If you are just getting started with EDI, it would be best to utilize the service of an EDI solution provider like STAEDEAN which can offer EDI integration with Dynamics 365 F&SCM.
What are the Benefits of Implementing an Integrated EDI Solution?
EDI enables automated communication of information between two IT systems without human intervention. Some of its key benefits are:
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Cost reduction
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Workflow automation
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Faster document processing
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Minimized error rate
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Improved relationship with customers, suppliers, and other trading partners
Check out this blog for more information on the benefits of EDI integration: Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Integration in Dynamics 365: 10 Key Benefits
A Popular Approach to EDI Implementation
Now that we know what EDI is and its benefits, let's understand the approach to follow for EDI implementation. A popular approach to EDI implementation is an embedded EDI solution.
What is Embedded EDI?
In an embedded EDI solution, EDI is connected with an ERP and directly linked to all the data. In other words, it is in sync with your ERP, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&SCM. An embedded EDI solution enhances your data integration and governance capabilities and allows you to offer a better user experience.
An embedded EDI solution within Dynamics 365 can streamline and automate supply chain management, thereby improving business efficiency and reducing turnaround time on orders.
7 Reasons to Invest In An EDI Solution Embedded Within Dynamics 365
If you are in the process of selecting an ERP solution or a reseller to meet your ERP needs, now is the time to invest in an EDI solution as well. Your EDI solution partner should be able to help you identify the best way to go about an EDI implementation in Dynamics 365.
Some of the main reasons to invest in an EDI solution embedded in Dynamics 365 is that it offers:
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Integrated processes - Automates the end-to-end process and creates a seamless process flow
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Enhanced visibility - Provides real-time data of trading partners, contacts, order history and messages
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Efficient troubleshooting - Offers flexible features to find missing information or to correct data discrepancies
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Configuration ability - Minimizes the need for developers to extend existing data entities or add new data entities
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Improved performance - Enables queries for the right data directly from the ERP system and processes enormous volumes
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Better compliance - Includes an add-on extension based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&SCM to manage compliance efficiently
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Easy software updates - Supports future Microsoft software updates as it uses configurable queries
Next Steps
If you're still wondering whether you should invest in an integrated EDI solution and would like to evaluate EDI solution providers in Dynamics 365 F&SCM, we recommend downloading our EDI Buyer's Guide from the link shared below. This handy resource will help you plan your EDI implementation for D365 F&SCM and help you avoid the pitfalls of an EDI implementation.
Jerry Caous
