Vendor EDI

What is the “killer” document that pays back your company the most?

Do your purchasing people complain about short-shipments, late-shipments, price surprises? These are common when the vendor does not confirm or acknowledge your orders promptly.

At other times the acknowledgment is not properly scrutinized.

An 855 that is automatically generated without being integrated or without proper inventory checking has little benefit over receiving a generic 997 document receipt acknowledgment.

You are not alone, most companies face this challenge.

The key is to get a P.O. Acknowledgement (855) within 24 hours. And, it should be integrated so that your purchasing system highlights the discrepancies. For example, a price difference generates an alert. No more time consuming line-by-line review. This speeds up the process so the service person can focus on finding a second resource or getting the right price negotiated. The first step is to call their I.T. department to learn if they support EDI. You will learn quickly and by calling I.T. you will not disturb a business relationship.

For more information, read about e-purchasing.