How supply chain EDI optimises performance

The smooth running of supply chains is critical to how businesses develop and improve customer service. That’s never been more so than now as companies reframe their operations in the wake of the pandemic, Brexit, advances in technology, and ongoing market competition. Putting the right tools in place can help you adapt to shifting requirements and ensure efficiency.

This blog details how a specialist collectables manufacturer leveraged supply chain EDI to optimise the management of its distribution hubs and achieve revenue growth. When you are doing your best to develop international markets the last thing you want is to lose prospective sales because stock is either sent to the wrong distribution point or is stuck at Customs.

These were among the potential issues facing our client as it sought to grow its European market post-Brexit.

Part of our client’s strategy involved setting up satellite distribution hubs in different countries within the EU. To run these efficiently, there was a need for clear lines of communication with a complex trading network.

EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange, was identified as a vital tool to ensure the supply chain could operate with optimal lead times, low processing costs and a minimum error rate. EDI also had to generate effective, readily available analytics such as the clarification of inventory status information.

To create its supply chain EDI, the company turned to us, the digital supply chain technology provider Transalis.
We first made it our top priority to understand the challenges that needed to be resolved.

These included a highly manual pick-and-pack warehouse process that limited the ability to scale-up distribution in line with sales growth objectives.

There was also a need to onboard new retailers at speed and overcome cross-border shipping and potential delays due to Brexit that might necessitate sudden changes in optimum distribution points.

Our advice was that a strategic approach to supply chain EDI would help the company to better locate and monitor resources, reduce fuel and maintenance costs across 3PL (Third Party Logistics) distribution fleets and ultimately increase revenue for the business.

Together, we and the manufacturer agreed on an EDI solution that could be integrated directly into Microsoft Office 365. The aim was to provide much-needed automation and connectivity between the manufacturer’s warehouse and 3PL operation and the onward retail network.

The Transalis eDI™ online platform provided new retailers with immediate access to order stock while, behind the scenes, an approach based on narrow AI routed orders to the correct warehouse.

This mitigated the need for shipping orders across borders, reducing time and paperwork, whilst also strengthening mutually beneficial relationships with the retail partners.

It is a prime example of how leveraging supply chain EDI can help develop new channels to market by connecting new technology to existing infrastructure and deliver supply chain resilience.

By using inventory reports and a wider range of EDI message types, the company found it much easier to predict product demand relative to a satellite distribution hub early enough to ship stock from the UK warehouse as required.

And using Smart Message Routing from Transalis, managers ensured that retailers’ orders were always routed to the relevant hub, so reducing delays and additional administration.

We knew that EDI is broader than its traditional mainstays of order, invoices and ASNs. For our client, it proved to be the key that unlocked other essential data within the trading network and then shared to inform faster and better business decisions.

Here at Transalis we guide you through all stages of implementing effective supply chain EDI and make it quick and easy for your trading network to come aboard.

We offer a choice of fixed-price product bundles based on the number of trading connections you have and the support you and your partners need.

Our eDI Connect and eDI Connect+ products are used extensively by companies who need complete visibility across their supply chain to identify waste and create greater efficiencies.

They will typically connect with multiple trading partners, require unlimited message creation and seek integration with existing ERP systems.

And like the collectables manufacturer, they will want their supply chain EDI product choice to provide them with advanced analytics for performance management and financial planning.