The COVID-19 outbreak had a profound near-instantaneous impact on business operations globally. Within the weeks that followed, enterprises came to the painful truth that their supply chains were not as reliable as they thought. As a result, buzz words like "just-in-time" and "make-to-order" were quickly thrown off the wagon, with many businesses struggling to stay afloat and some suspending operations altogether.
As the war against the pandemic rages on, companies have realized that old processes are too rigid to support the workflows required in today's overly dynamic markets. Consequently, digital solutions have exploded across numerous industries, with even the traditionally tech-inept enterprises beginning to invest in products that automate processes and improve B2B integration. According to a McKinsey & Company study, 66% of all organizations are currently piloting solutions to automate business processes.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is among the technologies facilitating the recovery efforts of many businesses. While EDI has been around for decades, its modernization has made it a must-have for every organization.
Read on to uncover how modern EDI 101.2 solutions can streamline your supply chain operations.
The Importance of Integrating EDI in Supply Chains
EDI is the system-to-system exchange of enterprise documents between trading partners. It allows one business to send and receive data to and from another organization instantaneously and in a standardized format that does not require translation to be understood by disparate systems.
EDI is the top business language for many industries. In supply chains, EDI integration unites all participants to form an ecosystem within which data can be accessed and shared freely and conveniently. As a result, supply chain partners can collaborate and respond to disruptions more effectively.
How Can an EDI Upgrade Help You Build a Resilient Supply Chain?
Robust B2B integration is as critical as ever, thanks to ongoing supply chain upsets. With a modern EDI solution, you can unlock critical opportunities to minimize the effects of a disrupted business environment. Below are six compelling ways modern EDI solutions can optimize your supply chain.
- Instant Data Exchange
Integrating EDI enables you to share and receive documentation that is formatted according to universal industry standards. Therefore, you can exchange data and execute transactions with your supply chain partners in real-time, without costly, redundant, time-consuming, and error-prone document processing.
- Automated Data Handling
Document standardization with EDI eliminates the need for manual translation and diminishes the risk of errors, some of which can be devastating in an already volatile supply chain. With EDI, you can automate data exchange processes, uphold transaction accuracy, and avoid the adverse impacts of data handling errors.
- Cash Flow Optimization
Understandably, many companies have experienced cash constraints during the pandemic. If you are struggling to keep your business running, you can get some reprieve by adopting more agile and adaptable processes. An EDI upgrade can help you protect your margins by shortening the time it takes to process invoices and make payments. That way, you can worry less about unpaid bills and focus on delivering your product.
- Effective Stock Management
Inventory decisions typically depend on early warning systems, which are based on indicators like stock position and shipment status. To respond accordingly, you need to maintain a good understanding of the upper and lower limits of your stock. With supply chains severely disrupted, indicators and stock limits must be frequently calculated to drive proper responses. The stock and sales data shared instantaneously by trading partners through EDI can help you readjust your business early to cope with disruptions.
- Robust Partner Relations
EDI streamlines not only documents and transactions but all types of communications between supply chain partners. Instantaneous interaction with modern EDI solutions minimizes the space between you and your partners and enables you to respond to disruption as a unit.
- Diverse Suppliers and Customers
A diverse supply network can help make your enterprise more resilient to shake-ups. However, the more partners you have, the more difficult it is to manage them. The situation can get even more complicated if the partners use different documentation formats, and data must be translated before it can be shared. With EDI, you can standardize all partner interactions and ensure systems are speaking one language.
Implement a modern EDI solution with Remedi
As supply chains gradually recover from COVID-19 upheavals, your enterprise must be ready to evolve from legacy systems and implement a next-generation EDI solution. EDI 101.2 provides greater scope to automate supply network processes and validate trading data. It unlocks opportunities for your supply network to share, record, and secure documentation, giving you and your partners complete peace of mind regarding trust and traceability.
Proper EDI deployment can be challenging, but you can shorten your roadmap significantly with a trusted partner. Remedi is the market leader in next-generation EDI solutions and resources. We offer everything your enterprise needs to successfully implement EDI, from independent and integrated software to staff and consulting services.
Contact us today and learn how Remedi can help you fully utilize EDI 101.2 for a robust, future-ready supply chain.
