Black Friday: How to create greater business efficiency with EDI

On top of this, during this time many businesses have been forced to diversify their channels, incorporating ecommerce in what may have been typically a high-street-only business. SMEs have particularly been challenged here as they are unlikely to have the infrastructure to implement an independent online store and instead have turned to online marketplaces.

Businesses that now list their products on ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon will already be familiar with EDI, as the key message types such as orders and invoices are mandated by the retailer. However, businesses who have only complied with these requirements without exploring the full scope that EDI can offer will be missing out on additional functionalities and integrations with other software/programmes. This is a missed opportunity to create greater business efficiency, as well as inform their future business strategy and remain agile in spite of the recent turbulence across many business industries.

Supply chains are likely to come under further strain during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as well as the lead up to Christmas, as they are still navigating the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the new regulations mandated by Brexit.

The chokehold caused by the COVID-19 pandemic for businesses over the last 18+ months has limited the resourcing of new staff and business budgets have had to have been scrutinized even more so than previous financial years. Many have been forced into “survival mode” with new investments being put on hold, whilst they wait for everything to blow over. The implication for these businesses is stagnancy, where business growth has been practically impossible.

Brexit has been another thorn in the side for many businesses, with the phasing in of new rules and regulations since 2019. As international supply chains become more difficult to manage, businesses have been looking at technology in order to future-proof, remain agile and compliant to new regulations.

With these limitations, the fast approach of the busiest period of the year, including Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas can be increasingly daunting without having the right processes and manpower in place.

What many businesses are unaware of is if they broadened their EDI capabilities by incorporating more message types and integrating with their other business systems, they could significantly enhance their business efficiency throughout Q4 as well as collect vital data in order to implement a robust business strategy for the year ahead.

This is exactly what one of our clients discovered as they devised a new strategy to enter the market in Europe.

As opposed to a commonly held belief, EDI can be much more than just automating the exchange of orders and invoices. Transalis is able to create greater business efficiency for its clients by offering a range of additional message types and integrations into business systems. 

Especially with the busy periods of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the lead up to Christmas, many businesses will need to harness their order data to inform their future strategy. By having complete visibility over sales during the final Q of 2021, businesses will be able to assess which channels and strategies proved most successful, as well as help plan marketing budgets for the following financial year. Transalis eDI™ can help with this, by offering further message types such as stock reports, giving businesses complete visibility over their data.

One of our clients, a well known manufacturer of pop collectibles, had been exploring ways in which it could manage the new regulations mandated by Brexit as they entered the market in Europe. It was decided the best strategy would be to set up satellite distribution hubs in mainland Europe, with Transalis eDI™ implementing an integration into the client’s Microsoft 365 system, as well as setting up AI smart message routing. This meant the client could use inventory reports and other EDI messages to better predict demand relative to a satellite distribution hub sufficiently, early enough to ship stock from the UK warehouse. Using Smart Message Routing from Transalis ensured that retailers’ orders were always routed to the relevant distribution hub, reducing delays and additional admin.

eDI Freedom is one solution in a suite of EDI software bundles offered by Transalis. Each bundle has been specially put together to suit differing business needs and supply chain complexities. All are transparently priced, with absolutely no VAN (Value Added Network) fees, including the entirely bespoke solution, Transalis eDI™ Freedom.

eDI Freedom allows businesses to select the exact number of connections, reports, integrations and additional functionalities they require in order to meet their unique business needs.