There are many benefits associated with implementing EDI. Of course, the biggest incentive for doing EDI quite often is that you have a potential customer, sometimes a big one, who is asking for it. But what many companies fail to see is that the benefits of EDI and beyond that, data integration, far exceed customer mandates and that EDI and data integration can greatly improve and streamline your business processes.
Compelling Reasons for EDI Implementation
- Customer service improvement by strengthening the link with your Trading Partner.
- Reduced errors, improved error detection, increased efficiency, and increased information integrity by reducing manual data-entry errors, discrepancies, and misinterpretations.
- Reduced clerical work by needing one-time only data entry (in most cases, no data entry!), and increased productivity with automatic reconciliation and faster management reporting.
- Faster response time by increasing speed of document transfer and thereby increasing response time.
- Increased competitiveness in the marketplace (some Trading Partners require faster response time or they will not do business with you).
- Decreased costs by reduced clerical effort and less paper usage.
- Improved delivery of goods and services as orders will be processed more quickly and accurately.
- Migration from paper to electronic transactions in order to realize savings and decrease lead times, fulfillment cycles, inventory levels, and paper use. One of the big benefits of EDI is that it's a “green” technology — good for the environment.
- Reduced inventory with more accurate and timely data that is critical for the implementation of “just-in-time” inventory and manufacturing.
- Better product planning and forecasting as your link with your Trading Partner is strengthened.
