DCS Helps Medical Devices Company Connect to Canada

The Business Need

AngioDynamics is a New York based company that manufactures medical devices. They wanted to enter the Canada market for their industry. However, rather than spending the time and money to create their own warehouse, they opted to work with a 3^rd party warehouse (UPS).

AngioDynamics uses Oracle ERP, which doesn’t support 3^rd Party Logistics (3PL) by design. For Oracle, all 3PL are out of scope and must be custom written. Additionally, AngioDynamics uses BizManager translation and mapping software for EDI conversion. Since this was their first 3PL experience, they had never implemented the 900 series warehouse documents. AngioDynamics turned to Data Communication Solutions (DCS) for help.

The EDI Challenge

DCS needed to design and develop a scalable 3PL warehouse solution for AngioDynamics. This encompassed the 940, 943, 944, 945, and 947 warehouse transactions. Because the transactions are not supported by Oracle, custom maps had to be created from scratch. All changes had to be handled on AngioDynamics’ end.

The DCS Solution

To accomplish AngioDynamic’s goals, DCS first customized the gateway process to include the 940, 943, 944, 945, and 947. EDI mapping and testing was completed after customization. Integration occurred jointly between DCS and AngioDynamics. The end result was an EDI process allowing for AngioDynamics to easily connect with the 3PL.

The first step in the new EDI process is for the AngioDynamics customer to generate an outbound order which is sent to AngioDynamics. This triggers the chain of events and documents which are passed back and forth between AngioDynamics and the 3PL. When the 3PL ships the order, they will send a 945 (warehouse shipping advice) to AngioDynamics. AngioDynamics then generates an 856 (advance ship notice) to reach the customer before the shipment arrives. Because AngioDynamics had never used any of the 900 series transactions, DCS designed and tested each step of the way.

The chart below shows how information is processed between the customer, AngioDynamics, and the 3PL:

The Result

Thanks to DCS’ work, AngioDynamics is selling in Canada. With this solution, they are looking to enter into newer markets. DCS will continue to help them with any tweaks to the standard Oracle/BizManager-3PL solution created for Canada.

“We have been live for a month and a half and things are starting to settle in,” AngioDynamics’ Oracle Systems administrator told DCS. “The programs that DCS worked with us on are working great.”

One of the many benefits to working with DCS is that we train the customer as we go to encourage self-sufficiency. At the same time, we’re always available to call for help.  Just as we AngioDynamics benefitted from our service, DCS can provide the best EDI solutions for your company’s challenges. Contact us today to discuss what we can do for you.