What are EDI providers getting wrong?

This is one of the key findings from new research* by digital supply chain technology provider Transalis. The company spoke to directors and senior managers working in operations, IT and finance to gauge their insights and views on the current state of EDI provision in the UK.

The Transalis research revealed that many EDI providers are simply not keeping up with the needs of their customers and are therefore effectively restricting them from competing in an increasingly international trading environment.

Nearly all (99%) of respondents in the survey say they will be reviewing their current EDI solution ‘in the near future’, meaning five months on average. 34% cite dissatisfaction with their current supplier as the dominant reason why, 46% say they are unhappy with the time it takes for their provider to respond to issues, and 30% point to service outages. Four out of ten (41%) say their provider is not keeping up with requests to make rapid and regular updates to their EDI solution to reflect ‘on the ground’ changes in the trading network.

Further concerns centre on difficulties with integrating EDI with other systems, a lack of trading partner reach and insufficient knowledge of EDI standards. While most respondents are thinking about switching solutions, six out of ten believe they will struggle to find an EDI provider that meets their needs.

At Transalis, we don’t believe it should be like this.

We understand that any EDI solution provider must be effective in meeting their clients’ needs in a timely manner. We recognise that in today’s connected world, systems need to work together efficiently. The exchange of data and transparency of information needs to be frictionless. That is why you need to choose a provider with an excellent track record and deep knowledge of EDI, and who understands and cares about your business.

It was for those reasons that Transalis was approached for help with EDI by the UK subsidiary of SMEG, the domestic, industrial and laboratory appliance manufacturer. SMEG receives and processes hundreds of orders each week from across its UK distribution network, including from retailers, distributors and resellers.

Because of the extent of the network and the many different systems and protocols of trading partners, SMEG needed a fully functioning EDI solution to standardise the data being interpreted, extracted and presented to managers.

Cerie Paton, Head of Business Systems at SMEG, says: “We asked Transalis to find us a solution for automating, integrating and validating the data we were receiving. After we explained our issues and concerns, they built, tested and put live an API within ten days or so. They worked with us to understand where any issues were coming from, why any data was failing, and how mistakes could be resolved. They have the development and technical support skills to overcome data accuracy issues.”