1.  Designate an ‘EDI Person/Captain’ within your business as a go-to contact for your EDI provider – creating a single contact allows for quick resolution to issues that may arise.  This will ensure that your EDI is up and running promptly.

2.  If you are already dealing with a VAN – ensure that your provider has all the information they need to communicate and setup with your VAN. 

3.  Ensure that the translator/communication software is installed on the computer to be used for EDI.

4.  Give advanced notice to your EDI client or trading partner to allow them to respond quickly during the testing phase of the project.

5. Label software and label printer if required need to be installed for ASN’s.

6.  Expect a certain level of commitment on your part for the initial setup and implementation of the EDI process.

7.  Make sure the lines of communication are open - expect phone calls and emails from your EDI provider – delaying the response time can impact the project timeline.

If you would like to add to this list, please feel free to leave a comment.

Thanks,

Natalie.

EDI Buyers Guide, General EDI edi, EDI Solution, implementation, Support

ePortal is a online web-based eBusiness document transaction engine that offers subscribers many features.  The types of documents that can be transacted via ePortal are endless.  I am going to focus on EDI and XML for this blog post.

EDI Documents are eBusiness documents that often equate to an accounting document.  The receipt and transmission of EDI documents via ePortal provides our subscribers with the ability to conduct business via EDI with their Trading Partner on the Internet.

All EDI documents received at ePortal are displayed in three different views:

1. The Document In View displays the raw EDI that was received

2. The Document Out View displays the XML Data which is a transformation of the data from EDI to XML if the mapping is in place (stay tuned for a Blog Posting about this)

3. The “human readable” View

Document In View:

Document Out View:

Human Readable, User Friendly View:

The transmission of certain EDI Documents to your trading partners can be handled two ways, manual entry via our online Invoice (810) and Advanced Shipping Notice (856) forms, an XML upload from your business location via the eBridge Integration product or secure FTP data transmission in an agreed upon format.  I will discuss the data views once they are present on ePortal which is independent of how they arrived at ePortal.  If you are interested in establishing a relationship with your trading partners via ePortal please contact our Sales Team at 1-800-755-6921.

All XML Documents received at ePortal are displayed in three different views:

1.  The Document In View displays the XML data that we received

2.  The Document Out View displays the resulting data which is a transformation of the data and may be to EDI or another agreed upon format

3.  The ‘human readable’ View

Document In View:

Document Out View:

Human Readable, User Friendly View:

I hope find this blog posting informative – if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask or leave a comment.

Thanks,

Natalie.

The ePortal Web-based Transaction Engine, What is the ePortal? edi, ePortal, SaaS, software as a service

As per request here are the EDI guidelines for Winn-Dixie. For those of you how may not be familiar, Winn-Dixie is a grocery chain based out of Jacksonville, Florida. Winn-Dixie is a little different then most retailers and publish anything and everything that has to do with their EDI requirements. They post their implementation guides, testing process and all application forms on the vendor area of the Winn-Dixie site. Below is a listing of the documents that Winn-Dixie transacts via EDI.

EDI 210 Freight Invoice

EDI 810 Invoice

EDI 820 Remittance Advise

EDI 824 Application Advice

EDI 850 Purchase Order

EDI 852 Item Activity (Warehouse)

EDI 852 Item Activity (POS)

EDI 855 PO Acknowledgment

EDI 875 Purchase Order

EDI 880 Invoice

In order to be compliant with Winn-Dixie they do have a minimum requirement of the only the EDI 850 Purchase Order and the EDI 810 Invoice. The best place to start when investigating EDI for Winn-Dixie would be the Winn-Dixie EDI Policy document. This document explains everything you will need to know about transacting via EDI with Winn-Dixie even including at what times of the day they will be sending and receiving documents. For help integrating Winn-Dixie EDI or just becoming EDI complaint with Winn-Dixie head over to the EDI section of our site and learn how eBRIDGE Software can help you build a stronger relationship with Winn-Dixie and your other trading partners.

Thanks,
Jay

Account Manager – MS Dynamics GP and SL Integrations
1-800-775-6921 x269
jisaak@ebridgesoft.com
www.ebridgeconnections.com

EDI - Our Customers Trading Partner Series, General EDI, Integration, The ePortal Web-based Transaction Engine edi, electronic data integration, target, trading partner integration, trading partner series

Convergence 2009 - March 10 - 13, 2009 in New Orleans

Hello all,

I would like to let our readers know that eBridge Software will be attending the Microsoft Convergence 2009 tradeshow in New Orleans from March 10 – 13, 2009.  Be sure to stop by Booth #125 to speak with an eBridge representative to discuss your EDI, CRM, SCM or webstore integration needs. 

Click here for more information on Convergence 2009 in New Orleans

If you have any comments or questions regarding the Convergence Show, please feel free to leave a comment.

Thanks,

Dave Malda.

Events, Integration News and Events

One of the most common issues reported to the eBridge Help Desk, with respect to the web-based ePortal transaction engine, is the receipt of the Unacknowledged Documents Report.  ePortal clients want to know why they are receiving this report and how they can turn it off.

The first step is to understand the purpose of a Functional Acknowledgement (997) document.  The Functional Acknowledgement (997) is an EDI document that is typically auto generated by an EDI Translator upon receipt of an EDI Document.  The Functional Acknowledgement (997) is then transmitted back to the sender of the originating EDI Document, reconciled against the original document and provides confirmation to the sender that receipt of the original EDI Document has taken place.

The intention of the Unacknowledged Document Report is to advise ePortal clients that documents they have transmitted to their trading partners via ePortal have not been acknowledged via the receipt on ePortal of a Functional Acknowledgment (997).  The recommend steps to investigate this are:

• The ePortal client should contact their trading partner to verify if the documents were received by them.

• If the trading partner confirms receipt of the documents, ask if a Functional Acknowledgement (997) has been transmitted. If a Functional Acknowledgment (997) has been sent ask the trading partner and provide date and time of transmission which should be sent to the eBridge Help Desk in an email to support@ebridgesoft.com

• If the trading partner confirms receipt of the documents and advises that Functional Acknowledgements (997) have not been sent, ask if this will be the norm so that you can develop your business process for ePortal around this or request that they be sent

The next step to work on is stopping the report from being sent.  The easiest way to stop the transmission of the report is to Archive the documents that have not received a Functional Acknowledgment (997) as the report is generated from documents residing in your ePortal Outbox that do not have a status of Acknowledged.

If you are confident that your trading partner has received the documents and you do not require a Functional Acknowledgment as part of your business process, simply move the documents to the ePortal Archive.

If your business process requires the receipt of a Functional Acknowledgment (997) please follow the steps mentioned above to determine how and why the documents were not received on ePortal.

The most important element in all of this is to develop a business process that offers your organization the peace of mind to know that the transmission of your EDI Documents to your trading partners has been successful.  The Unacknowledged Document Report is one of the tools to be used in the development of this process.

If you have any comments regarding the Unacknowledged Documents report feel free to leave a comment on this post.
Thank you,

Natalie Beauchamp

I'm an existing user, The ePortal Web-based Transaction Engine Add new tag

For customers using Sage BusinessWorks or Sage BusinessVision, yes there is an integrated EDI solution available for you! And at a very low flat rate you will have have communication to your trading partners such as Wal-mart, Kroger, JC Penny, Bass Pro, etc etc as we have 1000’s of documents and 1000’s of implementations for EDI over the last 15 years.

You don’t need to be buying all sorts of software or getting charged VAN fees over and over again, with our Bridge installed and some set-up you will be up and running with an easy to use EDI solution that gives you the option to grow should you migrate over to the next Sage Software ERP such as MAS 90 or MAS 200.

If you have any questions about our eBridge Software EDI solutions please feel free to contact me.

Thank you,

Wayne

Wayne Thompson
Account Manager – Sage Software Products
Tel: 905-631-8333 ext. 247
Fax: 416-946-1805

wthompson@ebridgeconnections.com

eBRIDGE Blog EDI Solution, Sage Business Works EDI, Sage BusinessVision EDI, sage software

Home Depot is one of the largest building supply chains in the world and by the list below they also have some large EDI requirements. If you go to Home Depot’s Supplier Center they list out all the EDI specifications and implementation guides to match Home Depot’s EDI requirements. Below I have listed the documents you may come across when trading with Home Depot:

EDI 204 – Load Tender
EDI 210 – Freight Invoice
EDI 214 – Shipment Status Invoice
EDI 315 – Ocean Shipment
EDI 810 – Invoice
EDI 812 – Debit / Credit Memo
EDI 816 – Store Listing
EDI 820 – Remittance Advice
EDI 850 – Purchase Order
EDI 852 – Point of Sale
EDI 856 – Advance Ship Notice
EDI 860 – Purchase Order Update
EDI 864 – Text Message
EDI 870 – Order Status Report
EDI 990 – Load tender Response
EDI 997 – Functional Acknowledgment

Looking at the list of documents the only ones on the list you may not understand and that have not been covered previously are the first 4: EDI 204 – Load Tender, EDI 210 – Freight Invoice, EDI 214 – Shipment Status Invoice and EDI 315 – Ocean Shipment. Odds are that you will not have to worry about these documents. These documents provide various details of shipments and are only exchanged between Home Depot and their Logistics partners.

When you formally sign with Home Depot, they will dictate which documents they would like to trade with you and you will need to communicate that information to your EDI provider and make sure it is a transaction set they have and support. This is a good time to explain the added value of eBRIDGE Software’s ePortal EDI Solution. Our Trading Partner Kits for ePortal provide you with all the documents that are required by a given trading partner. In the case of Home Depot, if they ask for only an 810 (Invoice) and 850 (Purchase Order) or they ask you for 10 different documents, the Home Depot Trading Partner Kit for ePortal will include them all.

For more information on our Home Depot Trading Partner kit or any other Trading Partner kit, feel free to leave a message here or contact me directly.

Thanks,
Jay

Account Manager – MS Dynamics GP and SL Integrations
1-800-775-6921 x269
jisaak@ebridgesoft.com
www.ebridgeconnections.com

EDI - Our Customers Trading Partner Series, General EDI, Integration, The ePortal Web-based Transaction Engine edi, electronic data integration, target, trading partner integration, trading partner series

During these economic times, companies will be looking to reduce operating expenses in order to remain competitive in the market place. There are numerous ways a company can reduce expenses during the downturn of the economy, for purposes of this post something a simple as ongoing IT costs may be just the area to look at instead of reducing valuable people and other resources.

A company transacting via EDI may still be using some sort of solution that uses a VAN service (Value Added Network) that is geared towards charging per document or per click. Companies should not be paying really anything to move documents over the internet as the internet is free and now the most widely used piece of communication method for just about everything from email, advertising to personal finance.

If your company is currently paying an EDI service provider for sending Web forms or even through another Sage Software partner that more or less has some sort of level of integration. Chances are your paying far too much for a service that should be free as well as still doing some form of manual process. I have recently spoken to customers paying 3-4K per month in transaction charges using some sort of Van when really they shouldn’t be paying anything for that service or at least at a rate far less then that for just maintaining the set-up.

For anyone currently planning to evaluate a new solution to replace an existing one or are just being asked to get EDI enabled to trade with feel free to give me a call, I would be more then happy to assist you.

Thank you,

Wayne

Wayne Thompson
Account Manager – Sage Software Products
Direct: 905-635-3309
Tel: 905-631-8333 ext. 247
Fax: 416-946-1805

wthompson@ebridgesoft.com

General EDI edi, EDI Integration, sage software

EDI Buyers Guide

eBridge Mapper Software – The Mapper reformats electronic business documents between the trading partner format and the Sage Software ERP format (MAS, BV, BW, PFW etc). It features a highly-intuitive graphical interface for the creation and editing of the maps needed for the reformatting of data. The eBridge Mapper automatically determines the correct map to use based on the format, version and partner code in the input data, and executes the transformation based on the map instructions.
For long term growth or cost control, the eBridge Mapper is a GUI interface, through our optional training course the software can be used to create and map the companies own EDI requirements placing control in the users hands.

EDI Sage Mapper Interface

Robust, Scalable - The eBridge Integration Solution is capable of handling escalating integration requirements to grow with an organization’s needs. New customers can be added quickly and easily. eBridge provides Sage Software users with seamless, automated integration; the bridge allows businesses to eliminate the need for manual data entry and to quickly achieve (in the case of EDI) compliance with their business partners for maximum efficiency, with minimum costs incurred. eBridge for Sage Software is a ready to use solution that provides bi-directional integration of accounting information between your Sage Software ERP and the back-end system implemented by your trading partners, instantly synchronizing sales order and purchase information, payment data, and other business critical information between both systems. This is an Any-to-Any Mapper solution so this will cover all compliance possibilities a customer may be faced either in the EDI world or eCommerce such as Webstore Integration.

For the next segment of EDI Buyer’s Guide I’ll talk about the eBridge ePortal and what this means to customers looking for either a simple integration solution, something with a little more control or a combination of the two.

Thank you,

Wayne Thompson
Account Manager -Sage Software Products
Direct: 905-635-3309
Tel: 905-631-8333 ext. 247
Fax: 416-946-1805

EDI Buyers Guide edi, EDI Integration, General EDI

If you manufacture or distribute consumer goods, then chances are you either deal with Target or you want to. And just like another other retail giant, Target prefers to use EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) to purchase goods from their vendors. Target’s EDI requirements are available by visiting Target’s Partners Online portal. This portal is used to communicate with partners and provide valuable information about the business. If you are going to be selling to Target, this is where you will find all the information you need to begin the process of setting up EDI with Target. Below is a list of the documents that are used most often with Target. This link will provide you a complete list of Target’s EDI documents along with the Target’s EDI Implementation Guides.

EDI 810 – Invoice

EDI 850 – Purchase order

EDI 855 – Purchase order acknowledgement

EDI 856 – Advance ship notice (ASN)

EDI 864 – Text message

EDI 875 – Grocery purchase order

EDI 880 – Grocery invoice

These documents are fairly straight forward and we have covered them in previous installments of this series so I am going to focus on something new this week – EDI communication methods. Target’s EDI specifications allow you to communicate with them via a two methods. They allow you to either communicate via AS2 (direct internet connection) or you have to go through a VAN network. Given the choice most companies will go done the route of AS2 communication. Most AS2 solutions will eliminate the transaction fees that a VAN network will bring to the table. There are some AS2 solutions out there that will still charge per document, fortunately eBRIDGE Software’s ePortal EDI Solution will allow you to connect to Target via AS2 or VAN without the kilo-character charges or transaction fees that may be associated with these methods. For more information on Target’s EDI requirements and our EDI solution for Target feel free to contact me with the information below.

Thanks,

Jay
Jay Isaak
MS Dynamics GP and SL Integrations
1-800-775-6921 x269
jisaak@ebridgesoft.com

EDI - Our Customers Trading Partner Series, EDI Translation, General EDI, Integration, The ePortal Web-based Transaction Engine edi, electronic data integration, target, trading partner integration, trading partner series