The pandemic had a significant impact on the way companies conduct business. Over 3 years later, the post-pandemic economy continues to influence business processes including EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), MFT (Managed File Transfer), and API (Application Programming Interface) solutions with managed EDI services emerging as the most important.
The onset of the pandemic required an immediate shift to remote environments essentially overnight. Post-pandemic, this shift toward digital transformation has accelerated. PwC has written about how industries have reported that the pre-existing talent shortage has worsened post COVID-19. As a result, companies turned to outsourcing services to help fill the gap.
What Are Managed EDI Services?
Managed EDI services allow companies to outsource their EDI processes to a third-party service provider. Managed EDI services can include setup, administration, and maintenance.
The scope of managed EDI services includes converting business documents into industry-compliant EDI formats, which falls under the general umbrella of EDI mapping and translation. Managed EDI services typically include data integration, which ensures that EDI data is properly integrated with any number of required, in-house applications such as Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship Management systems. The services also take care of onboarding new trading partners.
Advantages of Managed EDI Services with Remedi
Remedi’s managed EDI services offer benefits over standard outsourced EDI. Remedi’s services are more cost effective and result in greater ROI because customers can keep their existing EDI solutions. Additionally, customers also have enhanced control over order-to-cash transaction documents.
With managed EDI services, customers benefit from reduced costs associated with licenses needed for EDI implementations, staff needed to execute and maintain EDI systems, and software updates needed for routine upgrades.
Digital Transformation and Managed EDI
EDI plays an integral role in digital transformation. It simplifies integrating technology into all business areas because it automates how information is exchanged between businesses. Multiple goals of digital transformation also happen to be benefits of EDI including greater efficiency and reduced errors.
EDI eliminates legacy, manual processes that rely on paper and replaces them with automated electronic transactions resulting in streamlined operations.
Gaining executive buy-in for digital transformation requires a company’s IT Director or CTO to successfully convey the benefits of digital transformation and oversee implementation of digital transformation projects despite potential opposition. Managed EDI services help to create the time needed to pursue these requirements.
Avoiding Common Mistakes in Managed EDI
Even though managed EDI services offer numerous benefits, it doesn’t mean outsourcing EDI services to a third-party is not without pitfalls. Recognizing potential drawbacks of outsourcing EDI services and implementing strategies to avoid these problems will ensure your organization fully benefits from all that managed EDI services have to offer.
It’s important to understand the pricing structure of your chosen managed EDI provider. This will ensure you’re not caught off guard and stay within your specified budget. Cutover to your new managed EDI services provider can be delayed or fraught with difficulties without a comprehensive change management plan that outlines a multi-tiered approach.
Comparing In-House vs Managed EDI Services
Whether your organization opts for managed EDI services or chooses to perform them in-house, there are specific pros and cons of each approach that you’ll need to consider. Keeping EDI in-house allows greater control and customization. The downside is that it’s costly in terms of the hardware and software required. The additional staff with specialized knowledge needed to execute and maintain this setup also adds to the cost. Plus, it’s also more expensive to scale in-house systems.
Managed EDI services provide a more cost-effective alternative because the initial investment required is lower, and there is predictability in anticipating ongoing costs. Organizations are better able to focus on their business by not having to devote resources to EDI management.
Companies will have less control over EDI processes when they outsource, though. Furthermore, they could encounter difficulties integrating managed EDI solutions with their existing business systems.
Remedi’s approach to managed EDI services provides a balance to help mitigate these challenges. Customized solutions allow Remedi to offer clients the benefits of an in-house system within the context of their convenient managed services.
Cost Considerations for Managed EDI Services
There are multiple factors that influence the cost of managed EDI services. The volume of EDI transactions your company executes will influence how much you pay. Most customized integrations will also increase the cost, so the price will depend on the type and number of business systems and databases with which the EDI system needs to be integrated. The number of trading partners a company has also influences cost.
Remedi solutions can be more cost effective because they allow customers to retain their existing EDI solutions. Remedi’s consultants have specialized expertise in EDI processes, and this leads to faster and effective solutions beyond what an in-house team can usually provide.
Selecting the Right Managed EDI Services Partner
There are multiple criteria to consider when choosing a managed EDI partner. It’s important to evaluate the provider’s experience and expertise, including their knowledge of the specific systems you need to integrate with. They should have extensive knowledge of both EDI standards and compliance standards and also knowledge of best practices for EDI implementation.
Also, it’s important to choose a provider that has an excellent track record of reliability. They should have multiple redundancies in place to guarantee uptime.
Real-World Use Cases of Remedi's Managed EDI Services
Remedi’s managed EDI services have provided a beneficial impact for customers across multiple industries. A global building products manufacturer utilized Remedi Framework Solution to accelerate onboarding and simplify user experience. Additionally, Remedi’s solutions have helped a logistics company remain competitive in their industry by allowing the company to keep their customers informed with updates about truck locations every 15 minutes.
Conclusion
The benefits of partnering with Remedi for EDI managed services are extensive. Outsourcing EDI services can help your organization advance digital transformation initiatives, cut costs, and improve relationships with your customers and trading partners.
Take the next steps toward benefitting from all that Remedi’s managed EDI services have to offer.
