Vendor Central: are you ready for Amazon EDI integration?

There are two main camps that Amazon trading partners fall into; Amazon Vendor Central and Amazon Seller Central. This is where some confusion arises for businesses wanting to sell via Amazon. The main question being; what is the difference between Amazon Vendor Central and Amazon Seller Central?

Amazon Vendor Central is the B2B platform used by first-party sellers (manufacturers and distributers) who act as suppliers to Amazon. Utilising Vendor Central means selling product directly to Amazon in bulk. Amazon then lists these products on the marketplace to sell to consumers. Effectively, Amazon manage the full order process for Direct to Consumer (D2C) sales. However, access to Amazon Vendor Central is by invitation only and businesses need to pass a number of requirements to be approved. We cover these requirements in the following sections of this blog.

Whereas, Amazon Seller Central is the B2C platform used by third-party sellers to connect to the Amazon marketplace. Utilising Seller Central means selling product directly to Amazon consumers. Businesses using Seller Central also have a choice of how they deal with their Amazon customer orders. We have a helpful blog post which goes into more detail about running Amazon Seller Central.

We will be focusing on Amazon Vendor Central EDI for the purpose of this blog.

Transalis is a commended Amazon EDI provider

Before you even get to setting up Amazon Vendor EDI, you might be wondering “what is EDI?” or “how does it work?”

There are a few, totally unrelated, definitions of the EDI acronym. In this context, EDI stands for Electronic Data Interchange. This means that vital business data and documentation is exchanged between trading partners in an automated, standardised and digital way.

EDI integrations go a step further. With a standard EDI solution, your business will have access to an online platform to exchange EDI messages with your network. However, with EDI integrations, these messages are received and sent from your own business systems.

EDI solutions can be integrated with an ERP, accounting, ecommerce platform, inventory management system, or other application. Integrated EDI means that an organisation wouldn’t need to access their EDI via a separate platform. Instead, all of their supply chain data is available in one central location.

Implementing an EDI integration offers complete and immediate visibility over operations and performance, and therefore, leads to better business decisions. Businesses harnessing the benefits of EDI integration are able to make more informed decisions and maintain agility in reacting to market changes.

Amazon EDI integration makes perfect sense for any manufacturer regularly processing large amounts of orders through the eCommerce marketplace.

EDI integration with Vendor Central (automating POs, invoices and stock availability) saves time, money and resources. It can also significantly improve customer service levels.

Although, setting up an integration can be complicated, depending on the systems being used. So we advise you consult a provider with expertise and experience in implementing integrations.

Below are our four essential tips for successful integration:

Your organisation needs to define the type of EDI connection required before starting the process of integrating the EDI solution with Amazon. Establishing goals at the beginning will likely reduce expensive errors and chargebacks.

Ensure your fulfilment team is aware of the Amazon EDI connection requirements. They will need to know the type of Amazon connection (Seller or Vendor Central) and the markets covered (UK, EU, worldwide). Clarifying these points is essential, as it will directly impact how the EDI solution needs to be configured.

Read more: 6 reasons why every Amazon sellers should invest in EDI

Choosing the right EDI solution for the Amazon Vendor Central is critical to your success. Firstly, cloud-based EDI solutions are more preferable to an on-premise solution for a number of reasons.

Integrating the EDI solution with your Vendor Central account will also optimise your Amazon order processing.

For example, without an integration your team will be manually transferring order data from your systems to Vendor Central. This is an inefficient use of resources and is high-risk for data errors.

With an EDI integration for Amazon Vendor Central, there are a few options:

At one end of the spectrum, there’s Amazon integration for one transaction type. An example of this would be purchase orders or invoices. These transactions can be generated internally and sent to Amazon Vendor Central via EDI.

At the other end of the spectrum, you may have multiple sales channels within your Amazon trading network. Each of these sales channels are generating different data streams and processing different document types. Opting for a full integration is the best solution in this scenario. This efficiently routes your EDI transactions through your ERP or other systems.

Whatever your requirements, it pays to optimise your EDI connection with Amazon from the start.

There’s a varied range of Amazon EDI documentation file types. Your organisation will need to consider which documents are best routed through Amazon or kept within internal systems.

Examples of Amazon EDI documentation types:

Setting up EDI for Amazon can be a complex and time-consuming process when implementing a solution in-house. That’s why it’s beneficial to consult an EDI provider that is experienced in implementing Amazon EDI services. The EDI provider will correctly map, calibrate and test the Amazon message exchanges to ensure maximum ROI from the start.

Once up and running with your integrated Amazon Vendor EDI, your organisation will immediately experience some of the benefits. Firstly, there’s the elimination of manual data input between systems, as well as the associated errors. Then there’s the better compliance with Amazon terms, which means a reduction in Amazon chargebacks and other penalties. In addition, orders are processed quickly and efficiently, resulting in better customer service.

Transalis eDI solutions offer Amazon connectivity for businesses of all sizes. Our transparently priced suite of products vary in features and functions. This ensures you get the right Amazon EDI solution for your specific business need.

You can get a basic Amazon EDI connection today for £495 with eDI Instant. For an Amazon Vendor Central integration you can build your own solution with our eDI Freedom calculator. You are also able to compare this configuration with our other EDI bundles.

You may also be interested in:

• What to look out for when choosing a partner to connect to Amazon EDI
• Are you struggling with high-volume Amazon orders?
• What are the benefits of EDI?
• Getting started with EDI