Home Depot has launched a new connection hub called Home Depot Special Order Program which will require its own new ePortal connection. Customers currently trading HD special products using Home Depot EDI will need to add a new trading partner. This is because it requires new mapping which may involve additional implementation costs. The cost will be different for every customer and is dependent on how may maps are necessary.

Home Depot sent eBridge three different implementation PDF’s with information outlining the changes that need to be made. If anyone would like a copy of the Home Depot Special Order Program EDI information, please contact your eBridge representative or email me pvanasseldonk@ebridgeconnections.com and I’ll be sure to forward the information to you. Below are the introductory paragraphs to the EDI maps that need to be changed:

856 Ship Notice/Manifest:
This Draft Standard for Trial Use contains the format and establishes the data contents of the Ship Notice/Manifest Transaction Set (856) for use within the context of an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) environment. The transaction set can be used to list the contents of a shipment of goods as well as additional information relating to the shipment, such as order information, product description, physical characteristics, type of packaging, marking, carrier information, and configuration of goods within the transportation equipment. The transaction set enables the sender to describe the contents and configuration of a shipment in various levels of detail and provides an ordered flexibility to convey information. The sender of this transaction is the organization responsible for detailing and communicating the contents of a shipment, or shipments, to one or more receivers of the transaction set. The receiver of this transaction set can be any organization having an interest in the contents of a shipment or information about the contents of a shipment.
810 Invoice:
This Draft Standard for Trial Use contains the format and establishes the data contents of the Invoice Transaction Set (810) for use within the context of an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) environment. The transaction set can be used to provide for customary and established business and industry practice relative to the billing for goods and services provided.
855 Purchase Order Acknowledgement:
This Draft Standard for Trial Use contains the format and establishes the data contents of the Purchase Order Acknowledgment Transaction Set (855) for use within the context of an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) environment. The transaction set can be used to provide for customary and established business and industry practice relative to a seller’s acknowledgment of a buyer’s purchase order. This transaction set can also be used as notification of a vendor generated order. This usage advises a buyer that a vendor has or will ship merchandise as prearranged in their partnership.

EDI - Our Customers Trading Partner Series, EDI Buyers Guide, EDI Integration, EDI Tips and Tricks, EDI Translation, General EDI, Integration, Integration as a Service, eBRIDGE Blog EDI Integration, Home Depot, Home Depot EDI, Home Depot Special Order Program, Special Order Program

A ‘congrats’ and ‘thank you’ are in order for eBridge employee and teammate  Ivan Siarik who helped us become SAP Certified as a Development Associate with SAP Business One Release 8.8! This certificate will not only strengthen the partnership eBridge has built with SAP but serve as evidence to our clients and potential clients that eBridge has an effective and up-to-date SAP adapter.  This achievement demonstrates that eBridge software developers are well versed in knowing how to develop and implement the SAP adapter successfully into an ERP integration solution.

To add to this achievement, last December  eBridge Connections also successfully passed the certification process by certifying their adapter and integration solution with SAP Business One. The solution proved to successfully integrate with SAP Business One, providing  data integration with e-commerce sites, EDI trading partners and CRM solutions. More than 1,000 data endpoints are supported on the eBridge Connections platform, including Magento, Bigcommerce, Amazon.com, and Salesforce.com.

Integration, Integration as a Service, Uncategorized, eBRIDGE Blog accounting integration, Certification, data integration adapters, SAP, SAP Business One

Integrating your ERP/accounting software with your webstore, EDI trading partners or CRM system may seem like the perfect rectification method to save your company time and money! Along with eliminating data entry, integration can greatly minimize chargebacks and allow you to power a faster order-payment delivery cycle. But before you get too caught up in the benefits of integrating your software, here are some helpful tips you should know before you start your integration project research:

1. Have a list of your ‘pain’ points ready! are going to ask you why you are looking into integration and which aspects of an integration project would help your company. If you have reasons already noted than discussing your needs and requirements for an integration project will be much easier for both ends. You’ll be able to discuss a more detailed plan for your specific integration project in terms of which aspects of integration will really help your companies’ business processes.
2. What platforms are you planning to integrate in your project? It’s important to know which ERP or accounting software you are using as well as what version it is. If you’re looking to integrate with trading partners, eCommerce webstores or CRM packages, have that information ready as well. The more prepared you are the quicker your integration project can be deployed.
   • Note to reader: A lot of times people are pro-active when deciding if integration is right for them or not and haven’t chosen an ERP platform, accounting software, eCommerce webstore or CRM package yet. It’s totally fine to call without this information if you’re doing some preliminary research but even if you have platforms in mind, the Account Manager can inform you if the integration is possible or not.
3. If you have any customizations to your ERP/accounting software, make sure to have that knowledge available. Most adapters are built to a softwares ‘vanilla’ version, so if you have any customizations done to your ERP/accounting software, you will likely need to carry over those customizations to your integration project.
4. Have an ideal ‘Go Live’ date ready. That will give Account Managers an idea of how quickly the integration project needs to be completed so they can build out your project accordingly.
5. It is important to let your Account Manager know if you have had an integration project done in the past, what was integrated during that project and if that project has gone live or not. This allows the Account Manager to understand why you have come looking for a new integration project and helps explain where the last integration provider may have lacked in feature set or functionality.

Bonus Point:

1. Have a budget in mind for your integration project. Different types of projects are available with a wide range of costs so having a budget in mind will help one not get ‘sticker shocked’ once you start discussing your integration needs. Think of it like going car shopping, everyone would buy a souped-up luxury vehicle if we had the budget but the truth of the matter is we often are not awarded with an unlimited budget. You should set a preliminary budget based on your needs and how much you’re willing to pay for an integration project so projects don’t end up being more of an expense than you had hoped for.

If integrating your ERP/accounting software is something that you’re interested in pursuing than you should contact the Integration Specialists at eBridge Connections. We make ERP integration easy with over 20 years of experience in the integration industry and our partner certified adapters. We integrate over 40+ ERP/accounting softwares including Microsoft Dynamics, Sage, SAP, Netsuite, Epicor and many more. We contact to more than 20 popular eCommerce webstores, thousands of EDI trading partners and leading CRM platforms, making eBridge Connections the integration platform of choice for mid-sized businesses. Check if eBridge Connections supports your system on our Integration Blueprint Builder. If you are interested in integration please comment below or contact me via email pvanasseldonk@ebridgeconnections.com.

CRM Integration, EDI Tips and Tricks, Education, Integration, Integration as a Service, Webstore Integration, eBRIDGE Blog, eCommerce accounting integration, eBridge Integration, Preparation

Just recently I came across an interesting article on B2B.com which reported that a universal integration system is the top strategy for businesses challenging with internal and supplier communication. Aberdeen Group, a research firm in Boston,  surveyed the chief supply chain officers at 158 enterprises last April and 78% of the respondents said the top business strategy for dealing with supply chain issues is improving internal cross-departmental visibility and integration.

“In short, today’s supply chain management professional is being asked to move products further and faster than ever before through all these various channels while striving to decrease logistics costs and increase profitability,” Aberdeen reports.

B2B Companies today are being asked to have exact inventory levels available at all times to ensure the retailers they are working with have access to their up to date product information. Implementing processes and technologies, like eBridge’s EDI integration, that automate the tedious day-to-day work that keeps your business running will allow you and your employees to focus on higher-level strategic tasks. An EDI integration system for B2B companies ensures an integrated flow of data that eliminates data entry. EDI is used in all major industries, such as health, retail, automotive, finance etc. and can be implemented almost immediately, depending on the type of EDI solution chosen.

This type of seamless integration is also becoming increasingly valuable and often necessary for eCommerce companies. With the eBridge eCommerce integration, customer and sales order information is automatically entered into the back-office financial system from the Ecommerce storefront. In turn, product information and order status updates are automatically entered into the Ecommerce storefront to provide customers with essential and up-to-date information. The eCommerce solution greatly increases the speed of information exchange, resulting in improved customer service efficiency and customer satisfaction.

If you believe your company would benefit from eBridge’s universal integration platform, please comment below or contact me today: pvanasseldonk@ebridgeconnections.com

Also, if you wish to view the report “Supply Chain Visibility and Collaborative Execution in Consumer Markets: Addressing Omni-channel Logistics” it is normally available for Aberdeen clients at a price of $399, but is available as a free download for a limited time only.

CRM Integration, EDI - Our Customers Trading Partner Series, EDI Buyers Guide, EDI Integration, EDI Tips and Tricks, Education, General EDI, Integration, Integration as a Service, Uncategorized, Webstore Integration, eBRIDGE Blog, eCommerce eCommerce

With Convergence 2013 only a month away, eBridge Connections is completing some finishing touches to ensure we’re fully prepared for the big week! This year the event will be held in New Orleans at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center from March 18th-21st. eBridge Connections will be sending two of our Microsoft Dynamics Integration Specialists, as well as our Sales and Marketing Manager, who are all hoping to make some valuable connections and meet some interesting people throughout the week. The eBridge Connections team has planned some special promotional items for our booth so be sure to look out for us during the event!

eBridge’s booth will be located in Hall E close to the Service desk and Exhibitor Lounge. Our booth number is 857 which is only steps away from the Microsoft Dynamics GP and CRM Solution exhibits. We are also happy to announce our newly designed trade show booth, so come over and let us know what you think!

Our Microsoft Dynamics Integration Specialists will also have some very exciting cloud related news to share with you at the event so be sure to ask them about that! eBridge Connections is a Certified Microsoft Dynamics Gold Partner and we have been working with Microsoft Dynamics products for over 20 years.

If this blog post hasn’t got you excited for Convergence yet then listen here for ‘the-cherry-on-top’ announcement for Convergence attendees. We will be bringing along some major eBridge swag. The highly anticipated swag items include  Stylus Pens for your smartphones and eBridge Sunglasses to help with the New Orleans sunshine. You’ll also have the chance to win an Apple iPad! Just be sure to bring a business card to our booth #857 to enter in the draw.

eBridge Connections looks forward to seeing everyone at #CONV13! Be sure to tweet us (@ebridgeconnects) or comment  about your booth number/location and we will stop by and say hello!

Education, Events, Integration, Integration as a Service, Uncategorized, eBRIDGE Blog #CONV13, integration solutions, Microsoft, Microsoft Convergence, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics Nav, Microsoft Dynamics SL, solution

Similar to the saying ‘Call Before You Dig’ we would like to remind all of our customers to ‘Call Before You Upgrade’. A lot of companies are upgrading their ERP systems or adjusting their eCommerce, EDI or CRM applications so that their company can be using the best and most intuitive software available. eBridge Connections is a firm believer in staying on top of innovative technology but when it comes to making upgrades that may affect your integration, you should always call your eBridge Integration Specialist before making any changes. This will ensure that the upgrade does not interfere with your solution because that ends up creating headaches for both us and you.

The aftermath of upgrading without letting your Integration Specialist know beforehand can vary. Sometimes nothing changes and it’s business as usual, but unfortunately, it usually ends with your integration needing some work done so that it can run properly again.

Here are the most common issues eBridge runs into when you make upgrades without letting us know:

• The integration adapters often have a version check, so while there may not be changes at the database level from version to version, upgrading can cause the solution to fail based on this alone
• An old version of Windows or SQL server may not be compatible with the adapter, however, if the ERP officially supports a particular version of Windows or SQL, this shouldn’t be an issue
• If the customer updates and we haven’t released that version of the adapter, they can be production down for several days…or weeks
• If the customer forgets or isn’t aware they have customized their ERP database in a way that required a customized adapter, this could compound the delays
• It’s possible that the integration will appear to work but some of the data fields will not map to the correct location anymore

If you have any questions about your current solution or are planning an upgrade during the new year I advise you to call your eBridge Connections representative right away. This is because if any changes need to be made to your solution, it can be scheduled ahead of time to avoid any down-time or problems with your integration. If you are not sure which representative you should contact about your integration, please email me at pvanasseldonk@ebridgeconnections.com and I will forward your inquiry to your proper specialist.

CRM Integration, EDI - Our Customers Trading Partner Series, EDI Buyers Guide, EDI Integration, EDI Tips and Tricks, Education, General EDI, Integration, Support, Webstore Integration, eBRIDGE Blog, eCommerce eBridge Support, Support, update

As a small business starts to grow, organization and business management become major factors when making everyday business decisions. Resource management quickly turns into insight into new business opportunities but sometimes developing small businesses don’t have the resources to catch-up with their growth. Microsoft Dynamics is currently running a Business Challenge where they looking for three worthy businesses who are trying to gain more control over their growing companies with a giveaway of $45,000 toward new ERP software and implementation services.

In order to be considered for this giveaway you need to make a short video explaining how Microsoft Dynamics ERP could positively transform your business operations and increase your potential for future success. Once your video is complete, upload your video to the “Win To Grow” website and share it with as many friends and colleagues as possible to help you receive the most votes. There are currently only 4 videos uploaded so odds are in your favor! Three companies will then be awarded $45,000 toward their ERP systems. This money will be put toward licenses for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, or Microsoft Dynamics SL 2013 and implementation services from a Microsoft Dynamics Partner. If this is something that interests you please read the full Terms & Conditions and upload your video today! This contest closes February 15^th 2013. Be sure to post your video entry in our comments so we can vote for your business!

CRM Integration, EDI Integration, Events, Integration, Uncategorized, Webstore Integration, eBRIDGE Blog Business Challenge, contest, Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV, Dynamics SL, eBRIDGE Blog, ERP, erp integration, Grow To Win, Integration, Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics Nav, Microsoft Dynamics SL

One of the most common questions we get asked from customers when building them an integration solution between their ERP system and their eCommerce sites is, “How are you going to be able to match data between our platforms?” When matching data between the two platforms, there is no golden rule or single solution. The answer to this question usually varies from integration to integration because it often depends on which ERP system you are using and which eCommerce site you are running. When eBridge Connections deploys an integration, they have to decipher between customer and product information before deciding which data matching approach is the most appropriate.

Since this question of matching data has come up so often, eBridge connections decided to run a webinar which was hosted by our Technical Sales Engineer, Mike Catalfamo. The webinar Best Practices For Matching Data Between Your eCommerce And ERP Systems was presented on December 12^th 2012 and it talked about the best practices and considerations customers need to contemplate when matching data between their systems. Mike explained different product (item) and customer complexities that potential customers have to overcome before an integration project starts. He also went through a few examples on how eBridge Connections rectifies these data matching issues.

Here are some approaches Mike discussed during the webinar and some potential caveats eBridge encounters when using these approaches:

If you follow this link ->Best Practices For Matching Data Between Your eCommerce And ERP Systems you will be able to view the full 20 minute presentation plus a 10 minute question and answer period at the end. If you have any questions about data matching or if you have any other questions regarding an integration project please feel free to email me at pvanasseldonk@ebridgeconnections.com and I would be happy to discuss these questions with you.

Education, Integration, Press Releases, Support, Technology Corner, Webstore Integration, eBRIDGE Blog, eCommerce Data Matching, eCommerce Tips, erp integration, Webinar

As promised, this week we wanted to follow up with the eBridge attendees to the Sage Summit 2012 to get some on-the-ground insight on the Summit and what it means for Sage accounting stakeholders moving forward!

Representing eBridge Connections at the Summit were two of our Account Managers, Neha Dar and Kevin Moffat.

We will start with Neha:

Neha, as a first-time Sage Summit attendee, how would you weigh the value of these types of conventions?

As a first time attendee I was not sure what to expect. I had heard the stories and read the manual. Needless to say, it was much more than advertised. These events are a phenomenal opportunity to meet like-minded people who are aiming to service the needs of customers thru technology.  Some of the main highlights were most definitely the commitment of the Sage team to educate their Business Partners and end customers alike. In addition to this, Sage has a lot of emphasis on networking and the benefits of that. The atmosphere is relaxed and extremely social.

What were some of the highlights of the summit for you?

One thing that struck me the most is that we are primarily viewed as an EDI Integration company.  This time we focused our attention on the eCommerce integration. With more and more people moving parts or all of their business into this space, this type of integration is essential

How do you see integration solutions from eBridge fitting in with the strategic vision of Sage over the coming months and years?

Our commitment to continue to service a large line of Sage products leaves us in a unique position as we are able to offer eCommerce integration with 20+ platforms, 100s of EDI trading partners and CRMs to a large customer base. Our Cloud based solution makes deploying the solution faster and a smoother process.

Thank you, Neha. Your input has been very informative.

Now we will speak with Kevin Moffat:

Kevin, as a veteran Sage Summit attendee, what was unique about this summit as compared to previous years?

Aside from being in Nashville TN this year VS the previous year in Washington DC, all show dates had a mixture of End Users and Re-sellers.

I also noticed there was better scheduling of the breakout sessions so that they ultimately would not interfere with the tradeshow hours. That alone was a huge positive for both attendees and vendors.

Is there anything that jumps out as a general theme for this particular Sage Summit?

What really stuck out for me while attending the conference this year was the strong emphasis on the use of eCommerce. I’ve been noticing as each year goes on, there are more customers and vendors interested in attending the information sessions surrounding eCommerce related topics. Myself, working for a company that specializes in Sage Integration to 20+ eCommerce Shopping carts; this excites me to see and to be a part of.

What were some of the highlights for you, and what did you take away from the Summit which will leave you better equipped to accommodate Sage users in need of an integration solution?

One of the biggest changes this year for Sage was their re-branding of all of their product lines. Having been a vendor at this year’s show allowed me to fully understand Sage’s desired direction with their products and where they’re envisioning the company being in 5-10 years down the road. Coming back to eBridge equipped with this knowledge will allow me to provide my clients with more insight to the Sage product. As well as demonstrating to them how our integration solutions are able to compliment and grow with their Sage ERP.

Thank you, Kevin.

If you have attended a Sage Summit, or plan on attending in the future, drop us a comment and let us know your thoughts!

We hope everyone has a great weekend!

Cheers,

The eBridge Team

Events, Integration, Webstore Integration, eCommerce e-commerce, e-commerce integration, eBRIDGE Blog, Sage, sage accounting integration, sage mas 90

Over the past weekend, the eBridge Connections ePortal suffered from a serious disruption of service. The outage lasted approximately 30 hours from July 1st to July 2^nd and it meant that some of our customers faced delays in transacting documents.

We are very sorry about what happened. Our customers expect and deserve a perfect uptime from their data integration platform. Many of our clients have questions about what caused this outage and we would like to be as transparent as possible with this information.

How did this happen?

This weekend, one of our EDI communications partners was performing maintenance on their servers. This maintenance took longer than expected. Once their servers were returned to operation, eBridge became overloaded with backlogged EDI transmissions from our communications partner. This meant that significant delays occurred in the transmission of documents through ePortal, as our servers processed the backlog. Some clients may not have received any documents at all while ePortal managed the overflow of documents. We have an alert system in place that would have notified our team about the delays and ensured that the backlog was buffered appropriately. This alert system failed, for reasons that we are still investigating.

Were any documents lost?

No. At this time, we do not believe that any documents were lost. The entire backlog of documents has now been processed, and the service disruption ended as of Tuesday morning EST.

What is eBridge Connections going to do to ensure that this does not happen again?

Within the next 10 days, our development team will be implementing an improved buffering mechanism with built-in redundancies. This system will be better at identifying and managing spikes in document traffic than our previous system. We also plan to add an independently-hosted system status page, which will provide our customers with information on the status of the network. Our core development team continues to research the outage and we will take any additional steps necessary to avoid future delays in document transmissions.

I have more questions about what happened.

Some elements of this outage are still under investigation. We know that many of our customers have questions about what happened, and we are here to answer them as best we can.  Please feel free to give us a call at 1-800-755-6921 or send us an email at support@ebridgeconnections.com. You can also contact me personally at cbrown@ebridgeconnections.com.

Again, we sincerely apologize to all of our clients for the delay in transactions over the weekend. We understand that our platform is critical for your business and we are grateful for your patience as we worked through this outage.

Colin Brown
President/CEO
eBridge Connections

Integration, eBRIDGE Blog