Adding New Customers and Documents

DCS Experience Helps you Gain More Efficiencies with EDI

Many companies currently conducting EDI or Electronic Commerce can leverage their existing system to automate more customers, which caps head count. The cost of adding additional customers is a small fraction of the cost for launching the first group of customers. Hence, the ROI can easily exceed 200%.  Second, by adding new EDI documents you can realize more cost reductions whenever processes are automated.  There are two ways to add customers and documents: “Integrated” or “Rip-n-Read”.

Integrated

For high volume customers and documents, data flows directly into your ERP system.  Here’s how its done.

For each business document (Transaction Set), DCS writes a comprehensive map and configure the inbound/outbound EDI gateway and its intermediate “flat file” or table (generated and/or read by application system). While the EDI requirements for customers will differ, the flat-file definitions will not change.  In addition, less time is required to add new customers since any unique mapping requirements/issues that were encountered with the first set of maps, have been resolved. As a plus, for a new document, if a map for a similar transaction set is in place for a customer, then half the work is already done and significant cost savings are possible. For example, a PO Change Request map utilizes many of the same elements that the PO interface uses. As a result, a new map for a similar Transaction Set, can be created in a fraction of the time that the original map took.

Rip-N-Read

Print and Data Entry Templates exist for a considerable amount of low volume EDI Transaction Sets. Templates are preferred when the quantity of transactions is low (such as a Remittance Advice) or when a customer has a low volume (such as a seasonal customer). New Transaction Sets take a fraction of time to install, since the customer profile has already been created and tested in the EDI Translator.

Conclusion

The efficiencies gained from EDI, such as faster responses, reduction in errors, a wider fulfillment window, and decreased business cycles, more than justify the costs associated with adding additional customers and documents. The ROI (return on investment), which is dependent on the volume of transactions, typically ranges from a few months to less than a year for most business, thus exceeding a 100% ROI.

New transaction sets can be added in a day if maps or templates exist or within a few days to a few weeks if development is required. Our DCS GROW™ development service or NEXT LEVEL™ ERP conversion service distills the experience of many EDI specialists and thousands of successful EDI projects since 1991, to ensure your EDI implementation is flawless and that your key customers are satisfied. The first step is easy; just e-mail DCS for your FREE assessment.