Myth 1:
“Van charges are an inescapable cost of EDI”
From the EDI Mythbuster Report
EDI has been around since the 1970s, but there is a massive difference between the EDI offered then, and the new Cloud-based EDI available today. But a lot of the old myths still exist – a lot of EDI providers are still peddling their services and inflating their charges with overly complex set-ups and erroneous costs, no longer a factor with today’s advanced technologies.
EDI Mythbuster Report:
Revealing the truth behind the 9 biggest EDI myths
If you’re thinking of introducing EDI to your business, or you already use EDI but are wondering if you’re really getting the best value from your existing provider, you should read this.
The vast majority of EDI companies charge their customers to use a value-added network (VAN) to send messages and documents to trading partners. But not Transalis, we use an innovative Digital Delivery Network managed service which eliminates all VAN charges to our customers.
So, what’s so bad about value-added network charges? VAN charges can be expensive, they often make it very difficult to forecast how much an EDI solution will cost and companies are often penalised when they grow, and their VAN traffic increases. Legacy VAN technology can also be less secure than Transalis’ Digital Delivery Network, which is a much better way to automate your processes.
Companies are also often caught out by VAN charge small print, such as minimum record lengths, envelope costs, and more. Some providers specify a record length of 128 to 512 characters.
The result is that if you were to send 10 documents of 10 characters you would be charged for up to 5120 characters, even though you only sent 100. If you have a large volume of small transactions this can add a substantial amount to your EDI bill.
Some EDI companies try to simplify VAN charges by hiding them within the ongoing cost of their EDI solution or they offer different pricing options such as pay-as-you-go, monthly or annual subscription.
This approach may simplify VAN charges to a certain extent, but they are still a gamble as companies can easily find themselves locked in to an expensive contract when their circumstances change.
Transalis’ Digital Delivery Network, which totally eliminates VAN charges, means your costs remain consistent and fair, regardless of increasing trading volumes, making forecasting easier.
Find out about the next busted myth:
