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EDI in the Supply Chain: Exploring the Challenges Faced by Food and Drink Brands When Supplying Large Retailers
Businesses that supply supermarkets and other large retailers will likely have to meet strict compliance requirements in order to trade. One of these will be the process of transferring documents and data – such as orders, confirmations, shipping notes and invoices – between supplier and customer using the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) protocol.
Following last week’s post from our Supply Chain expert, Nathan, in this blog, our Sales Manager, Matt, looks at the particular challenges faced by food and drinks manufacturers that supply large retailers and how selecting the right EDI partner will ensure smooth and efficient Supply Chain operations.
The symbiotic circle of the Supply Chain
Large retailers’ Supply Chain management systems are developed to maximise shelf space availability and minimise stock room capacity. Precision-optimised technology tracks consumer purchases, maintains stock counts, analyses trends and supplier production schedules to automatically re-order when necessary and plans supplier logistics. This process aims to achieve total supply chain efficiency, ensuring products always arrive at stores just in time.
With all aspects interconnected, a miscommunication at any stage of the Supply Chain can cause time-consuming and costly consequences at other stages in the chain.
Non-receipt of order:
An unreceived order will result in non or late deliveries, potentially leaving stock rooms and shelves empty and forcing retailers into contingency planning.Missed delivery slots:
With just-in-time stock control and tight delivery schedules, a missed delivery slot is likely to lead to extended waiting periods at stores, disrupting retailer’s schedules for hours or even days.Stock discrepancies:
Re-sending an order creates a duplicate that will render stock records re-order plans inaccurate.Delayed payments:
If invoices aren’t delivered or are not correctly formatted, cash flow is impacted—an existential issue for small businesses.
In addition, food and drink brands face further challenges.
Perishable goods:
Products may have a limited shelf life, with delays possibly causing the retailer to reject the delivery.Temperature controlled:
The costly logistics of transporting at chilled or frozen temperatures will increase considerably when vehicles are waiting in queues having missed their delivery slots.
For food and drinks suppliers, all of these issues can cause reputational damage to large retailers that may often be among their most valuable customers.
Selecting the EDI partner that's right for your food and drinks brand
The EDI platform will integrate your internal systems and the retailers’ network to enable documents and data exchange. These include all important orders sent to you from the retailer, along with the confirmations, shipping notes and invoices that you send to them.
However, EDI platforms differ markedly, with some being ‘black boxes’ that simply exchange data and provide little or no ability for you to interact or interrogate. For example, with platforms such as these, you will not know whether an invoice has been successfully received by the retailer until you contact them about the unpaid invoice!
It is, therefore, essential that your EDI solution provides Status Visualisations of the data and documents that are being exchanged.
The Importance of Data Visualisations in food and drinks Supply Chains
Data visualisations within your EDI Dashboard take the guesswork out of supply chain operations by providing real-time insights into every stage of your data exchanges. Instead of operating ‘in the dark’, food and drinks brands can monitor their supply chain activity and quickly address potential problems.
With data visualisation, you can:
Track data exchanges in real time:
Instantly verify whether your orders, confirmations and invoices have been successfully sent and received.Identify and resolve issues early:
If data isn’t delivered, visualisation tools pinpoint where the issue occurred, saving you time and reducing disruptions.Ensure operational efficiency:
By catching problems early, you can maintain seamless operations and meet your delivery commitments.
Addressing common data exchange failures
Inaccurate data:
Errors in data formatting, such as incorrect characters in a numerical field, can cause exchanges to fail.
System handshakes:
As data passes between different systems, compatibility issues can lead to transfer failures.
Server issues:
Unresponsive EDI servers mean no data can be transferred. Data visualisation tools highlight this issue, enabling resolutions or redundancies to be deployed.
How Transalis DataTrack supports food and drinks brands
Transalis DataTrack is a platform designed to provide end-to-end visibility of your supply chain data. For food and drinks suppliers, it offers the tools needed to stay ahead of potential problems and maintain strong relationships with retailers.
With DataTrack, you can:
Monitor document status:
Instantly see whether your orders, confirmations, or shipping notes are delivered, pending, or failed.Identify root causes:
If data isn’t received, DataTrack’s expert team helps identify whether the issue occurred at the point of sending, during system handshakes, or elsewhere.Streamline integration:
DataTrack works seamlessly with your existing systems, so there’s no need for a costly overhaul.Real-world impact on food and drink suppliers:
Imagine this scenario: You’re an artisanal Street Food brand with a just-in-time delivery to a national supermarket. An order confirmation you’ve sent is rejected due to a minor formatting error in the data. Without a tool like DataTrack, you might not discover the issue until it’s too late, causing you to miss your delivery slot and possibly face having your delivery entirely rejected.
With DataTrack, you’d be alerted to the problem immediately, allowing you to resolve it and avoid disruption.
Build Resilience with Data Visualisation
For food and drinks businesses, the stakes are high when supplying major retailers. Delivery slots are non-negotiable, and even small errors can have big consequences. By investing in data visualisation tools like Transalis DataTrack, you will:
Avoid missed deliveries:
Gain real-time insights to prevent supply chain disruptions.Resolve issues faster:
Quickly identify and fix data errors to minimise delays.Reduce costs:
Automate data tracking to save time and reduce manual effort.Strengthen retailer relationships:
Consistently meet delivery expectations to build trust and loyalty with your retail partners.
Take Control of Your Supply Chain
In a competitive market, supply chain efficiency can make or break your business. Don’t let data blind spots hold you back. Discover how Transalis DataTrack can transform your operations and help you scale with confidence.
Here are some case studies for food and drink brands whose systems we have smoothly integrated with major retailers and supported to optimise their supply chain operations.
Matt Todd, Sales Manager
eDI Software
eDI Freedom
Build your own bespoke EDI solution according to your supply chain & integration needs
eDI Connect
Ideal for companies with many trading network, high order volumes, requiring enhanced stock & sales reporting
eDI Connect+
Perfect for larger organisations requiring complete visibility across their supply chain to improve efficiencies