A rapidly growing distribution company for recreational aftermarket parts and accessories, saw that distribution through Amazon would attract far more customers. The hurdle was keeping cost down while exceeding the stringent requirements of Amazon.com and Amazon.ca (Canada).

Amazon strongly depends for their online success upon a timely and accurate daily Inventory Available Report (transaction 846). The required EDI processes from Amazon are:

  1. Amazon sends the Purchase Order (850) to a company.
  2. The company is required to have a process that runs regularly (triggered by received EDI and non-EDI orders) to verify inventory of the items ordered. After the process runs, it generates the Inventory Available Report to Amazon so that the quantities of items are known when Amazon places the next Purchase Order.
  3. The company returns a O. Acknowledgement (Confirmation, 855) to Amazon.
  4. At the time of shipment:
    1. The company sends a Shipment Notice (856) to Amazon.
    2. An Invoice (810) is sent.
  5. A Remittance Advice (820) from Amazon tells the Invoices paid.

In order for the distributor to achieve and meet the above processes, they reached out to Data Communication Solutions (DCS). Our extensive knowledge of Amazon.com ensured them sound EDI capabilities for accurate and real-time inventory management with the Inventory Available Report, while keeping costs low.

DCS worked with the distributor to ensure that the alignment of Purchase Orders received from Amazon were correct against their list of Purchase Orders they had claimed to have sent. Minor modifications to the P.O., P.O. Acknowledgement, Shipment Notice, and Invoice processes were also done.

What are the benefits that were achieved by implementing a strong Inventory Available Report?

  1. Elimination of chargebacks saved several thousand dollars.
  2. “Real-time” inventory saved time, effort, and expedited shipments. (This amount is believed to be about $25,000 or one-half a full-time equivalent annually.)
  3. Advanced scheduling of lead time for adding to inventory.
  4. Back orders become the exception or rarity.
  5. Elimination of the previous EDI network’s pricey per document cost (about $250 monthly).
  6. Exceeding Amazon’s requirements provides a competitive advantage.

With the assistance of DCS’ EDI Specialist, the distributor  now has sound EDI capabilities set-up to do business with the dot.com world. It has become more self-reliant as new requirements and customer demands arise. And, the new processes take fewer people to process and monitor.

Open Text’s BizManager™ with Transformation Carries the Load

The distributor knew the load would be heavy during the Black Friday to Christmas seasonal peak. They needed a B2B system that could both carry the load and make quick corrections so that orders could be shipped on-time. This meant choosing a time proven system.

Dot.com merchants’ requirements are rightfully high. The distributor also owed its success to exemplary service. To keep these levels the company chose to fully automate the process for customer orders-confirmations-shipment notices-invoices. This eliminated time delays and gave customer service more time to help customers.

DCS helped the  distributor integrate Open Text BizManager™ with Infor’s Distribution A+ for an effective and reliable set of automated processes. The cost was less than $50,000 due to DCS’ many years experience with BizLink. As a big plus, connections are direct so pricey EDI network fees were stricken. Now order levels exceed 10,000 daily causes no worries.

Infor Distribution A+ – Warehouse Management System with Through-put for Very High Order Volumes

Built specifically for the needs of the evolving distribution industry, Infor Distribution A+ is a “comprehensive solution that integrates relevant new technologies with unmatched flexibility to better serve customers, expand profitability, and sell to the next generation.”

Being able to use their existing Warehouse Management System (WMS) to meet the Dot.Com standards meant big savings and no disruption to this distributor.

With DCS’ integration of BizManager, the highest volume, most demanding Dot.Com merchants’ standards were exceeded. The distributor could readily optimize many facets of their inventory and warehouse management to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

Being able to use their existing WMS to meet the Dot.Com standards meant big savings and no disruption to users.

To learn more on how your company can achieve the benefits of improved inventory management or if you are looking to expand into the dot.com market, contact DCS. We’ll provide you with a FREE Assessment to determine the best, most cost effective way to improve your EDI processes.