Cleo is pleased to host a guest post from Reseller Partner, EDI Options. The article is written by founder Neil Abbruzzese and talks about the importance of taking time to understand the benefit of EDI to your business process rather than “getting it done” to meet a particular mandate. Thank you EDI Options for this insightful article.
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When I speak to company owners that are being asked to enter into an EDI relationship for the first time many times their attitude is to limit the EDI operation to provide simple compliance.
“Just tell me what I need for WalMart, Kmart, JC Penney or whoever to be satisfied so that I can get these initial EDI orders in house and start shipping”
This feeling is more than understandable when the EDI process is seen as hurdle that has to be passed in order to be approved as a vendor. Like some kind of final exam, if I answer all the questions carefully and fulfill enough of the requirements to get a passing grade I can advance to the status of preferred supplier. That level of EDI compliance will indeed satisfy your customer and solidify your relationship as a vendor but will it give YOU any value? Is it enough for you to just be compliant?
EDI compliance satisfies your customers because the EDI information that you exchange with them feeds their logistics process. EDI data is the life’s blood of modern retail logistics. Automated distribution centers scan and route your packages without any human handling. If your packages arrive without barcodes or associated shipping details those packages are forced to be manually handled or worse yet, rejected and returned. Like any operation that is automated, quickly the old manual methods are forgotten causing significant delay.
How automated are your shipping logistics? EDI information is tailor made for sharing with accounting, shipping, warehouse, and other logistics systems.
Companies that view the EDI process as an opportunity for their own business process improvement have the right idea by keeping in mind the fact that the EDI process in one that will be repeated time and again with new orders and shipments in increasing volume as the retailer relationship matures. Any manual handling in that process becomes a clog in the fulfillment pipeline keeping your goods from the shelves and keeping your operation from being as efficient as possible not to mention the inevitable manual errors that will occur.
As the volume of EDI orders and shipping goes up manual EDI processing brings more costs while automated EDI processing brings more value.
There is no secret formula for success since everyone’s fulfillment process is unique. Off the shelf EDI solutions can give you quick compliance with an inexpensive startup but what are the long term costs? At least 50% of our business is done with companies that are switching their EDI solutions because they are bogged down in manual EDI processing or have a competing EDI solution that is not efficient or automated. Sometimes a lot of money spent by companies without a lot of forethought results in a lot of time and money wasted. That same time and money spent with a little consultation and consideration beforehand can result in more highly automated, efficient fulfillment operations.
EDI Options is based in Garden City Park, NY part of the largest trading hub in the world and home to some of the most influential trading partners, manufacturers and retailers. The company’s technical focus and trade experience stem from the personal knowledge of its founders Neil Abbruzzese and Greg Wasserman. Both of these executives are deeply involved with our EDI clients and partner programs. Utilizing their background in the development of enterprise level systems and logistics, they developed their vision for a product and service based company into an organization nimble enough to meet the challenges in an ever-changing industry. Visit the EDI Options website at http://www.edioptions.com/
Cleo has a number of demonstration kiosks available at Xerox Knowledge Sharing Centers (KSC) for representatives and customers interested in the Streem solutions. The kiosks offer multi-media demonstrations of Cleo’s Streem Fax, Streem Alert, and Streem Connect solutions, as well as a live demonstration of the Streem Alert product via secure login. Cleo’s Streem Connect offers integration with Xerox multi-function printers for the Extensible Interface Platform (EIP). 
