The tightening of the economy and the lower availability of loads means that shippers and consignees can be more demanding. Typical demands include an immediate pick-up message for every load sent to the consignee or a delivery message for every load sent to the shipper. Fortunately, the EDI Shipment Status (214) for this message is universally accepted by most shippers or consignees ERP systems. This means they will be continually assured of the status of their shipment and job.

Overview

The Shipment Status is the most important transportation document for your customers. Although the inbound Load Tender (204) and outbound Acceptance (990) provide cost saving efficiency to transporters, they are not used by the customer decision makers – material planners and customer service staff. These deciders have great influence upon the decision to change carriers, since a lack of knowledge regarding delays are a great worry and challenge to their processes and performance pay.

To provide an immediate and accurate Pick-up or Delivery message requires only one EDI interface. Also, it can be limited to the most basic information – name, address, SID, PRO, date/time, and status Reason Code. Second, because it is a standard, inter-line data exchange is straightforward too. This means that the setup is economical.

The primary impediment to Shipment Status EDI is incomplete information. A remedy includes widespread use of the Load Tender to load the complete and correct data into the dispatch system. A key challenge is sending the codes and reference numbers demanded by the shipper or consignee. Fortunately, after the first few are set, the number of new requests encountered falls sharply.

Finally, adding these messages has a training and motivation component. This is because too many dispatchers think their job is ended after the shipment is out the door. However, the delivery is not successful until both the shipment and the data promptly arrive.

DCS provides user reference pages that are highly detailed for smooth, efficient operations. Your existing EDI system and VAN should be used for the quickest and most economical launch. Since you have the tools, DCS can readily set the first few trading partners, then train and hand-over the process to you.

Conclusion

Let DCS help you add more process automation by building upon your EDI foundation. Since setting up pick-up or delivery EDI messages is straight forward but not trivial, we recommend DCS Next Level™ Conversion service. Your mapping will be thorough, quick, and economical due to our many years of transportation and public warehouse EDI and manufacturer’s ERP experience. Having DCS develop the first few Trading Partners and communication parameters lowers the cost of implementation and hastens payback.

• Most of the US companies requiring X12 or EDIFACT EDI specifications are well known to us.
• Popular EDI Transaction Sets such as Inbound Load Tender (204), Outbound Acceptance (990), Bills of Lading (211), Trailer Manifest (212), Shipment Status (214), Invoice (210), and e-payment Remittance Advice (820) have been implemented at many of our customers.
• You may also consider 3PL EDI (94x series) for your logistics service.
• Finally, connections using EDI INT AS2 or FTP over a VPN reduce cost by elimination of pricey Value Added Networks.

With experienced professionals, you can avoid common pitfalls and headaches when implementing EDI. Your first step is easy, email DCS for your free EDI assessment.