Challenge
A well known manufacturer of cleaning products serving large retailers and wholesalers, was struggling with persistent EDI issues that undermined the benefits of automation. Despite using SPS Commerce as their EDI platform, problems with order types, freight charge defaults, and ASN label generation forced their team into time-consuming manual workarounds. The EDI document flow from SPS Commerce’s Mapadoc platform into the manufacturer’s Sage ERP system was inefficient and plagued by errors.
The errors caused dissatisfaction and delays in the order to cash (OTC) process with major customers leading the manufacturer to question whether EDI automation was worth the investment.
Solution
Rather than abandon EDI altogether, the cleaning product manufacturer brought DCS in to provide project management and technical support for their relationship with SPS Commerce. Our team worked directly with the manufacturer and SPS Commerce to resolve configuration errors, coordinate between stakeholders, and ensure the EDI system worked as intended, eliminating the need for manual intervention.
SPS Commerce provides a powerful and widely adopted EDI platform, but their team lacked the business-specific insight needed to grasp the nuances of the manufacturer’s data requirements. Meanwhile, the manufacturer’s internal team faced limitations in both capacity and specialized EDI expertise, making it difficult to effectively guide SPS Commerce through those requirements. This disconnect led to confusion, misaligned configurations, and recurring errors.
DCS was able to provide the necessary expertise to bridge the gap. Our team applied deep EDI knowledge alongside hands-on process and data analysis to develop a clear understanding of SPS’s technical capabilities and the manufacturer’s operational needs. Serving as an intermediary, we facilitated mutual understanding between the two parties, aligning their constraints and objectives. As a result, collaboration improved, miscommunication was eliminated, errors were reduced, and automation finally performs as originally intended.
Issues that DCS Resolved
Order Type Misclassification
A configuration update in December 2024 inadvertently caused all orders from a key customer to be incorrectly marked as drop ship. As a result, the manufacturer’s customer service had to re-enter each order manually, a time-consuming and unproductive process.
- DCS coordinated a solution with the SPS Commerce Mapadoc team to correct ship-to cross references, using the 850 order type code to determine the customer.
- Orders now flow correctly into the manufacturer’s Sage system, eliminating the manual re-entry process.
Freight Charge Errors
Freight charges were defaulting to “Prepaid” regardless of the shipment method. As a result, the manufacturer’s team had to manually adjust every order.
- DCS helped implement logic to use the transportation type sent in the 875 document to determine freight charges.
- This corrected automation eliminates the need for customer service to review the freight charge on every order.
ASN Labeling Issues
Since implementing EDI with a new customer in early 2025, the manufacturer was unable to print labels correctly. The system misclassified the ASN type, blocking label generation and forcing manual processing, resulting in shipment delays and unnecessary work.
- DCS reconfigured the ASN settings to distinguish between palletized and carton shipments appropriately.
- With the corrected setup, label printing is now automated and reliable.
The Results
By addressing these persistent issues, DCS helped the manufacturer restore trust in their EDI automation and improve operational efficiency:
- Hundreds of hours of manual work eliminated
- Improved data accuracy and partner communication
- Increased confidence in future EDI scaling
- Reduced manual workload, empowering the team to focus on core responsibilities
Conclusion
DCS’s expertise in managing SPS Commerce relationships made a decisive difference for the manufacturer. With our guidance, EDI became a functional and dependable tool—not a burden. Their internal teams saw a significant reduction in manual workload, allowing them to focus on more strategic, value-added tasks. The manufacturer’s experience underscores the value of having an independent EDI consultant who ensures that automation works as promised, systems are aligned, and trading partner relationships are maintained seamlessly.
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