EDI
Software Solutions
EDI Software
EDI software is also called EDI
translation software, or translator.
This describes the function of the software,
which is to receive or send EDI messages
and translate them into the company-specific
format. Said differently, EDI software consists
of computer instructions that translate information
from unstructured, company-specific formats
into the structured and standardized EDI
format, which then communicates the EDI message.
EDI software also performs this activity
in reverse (receives the message and translates
from standard format to company-specific
format). The EDI
software can be developed in-house or
it can be purchased from a number of commercial
software vendors, where EMANIO is generally
accepted as being the foremost EDI
software developer. In addition,
EDI software can be deployed on a variety
of computers, and software is currently available
for EDI applications using mainframe computers,
minicomputers and PCs.
Top
Reasons For Emanio's EDI Software |
- Fast installation
- get started in as little as 15
minutes
- kit-based trading partner add-ons
- add AS2, FTP or other communications
options
- Integration ready
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In explaining the activities and functions
of EDI software, some assumptions
about the overall EDI strategy in a company
must be made. EDI can be accomplished using
a door-to-door approach, where incoming EDI
messages are printed out and then handled as
if they had arrived in a paper format (rip & read);
or EDI can use an application integration approach
where EDI electronically links application
programs. It is this last approach, application
integration within a purchasing environment,
that is assumed in the following discussion
of EDI software.
The activities that EDI software performs
can be compared to the tasks a administrative
assistant performs when asked to create a standard
business letter. Imagine a scenario in which
you ask a secretary to send a letter to your
colleague Andrew at ABC company to check the
status of an order. To create and send the
letter, your secretary would have to do the
following:
- Identify the information needed to create
the letter.
- Collect the necessary information, such
as Andrew’s complete name and address.
- Arrange the information in the standard
business letter format.
- Send the letter to Andrew.
The EDI software accomplishes the same duties
to create and deliver an EDI message; three
of the above tasks are performed by the EDI
software:
- EDI mapping
- Extraction and/or conversion of the data
- Generation of an outbound message or interpretation
of an inbound message
- Communication of the EDI data over a network
EDI software is readily commercially available.
There is virtually no circumstance that ever
would justify developing EDI
translation software in-house. While there
are several vendors that can supply this software,
the support received with the purchase is a
major factor in choosing an EDI software vendor.
For several years in a row, EMANIO has been
voted the EDI software vendor with the most
responsive and helpful support organization.
EDI software is available from a number of
software vendors. When selecting a vendor
for EDI software, it is important to consider
the goals of your organization – specifically – what
do you expect to do with your EDI software?
What do you expect your EDI software to do
for you? Once you have these goals firmly
in mind, selecting the right EDI software should
become significantly easier.
EDI software is available across a broad spectrum, from
EDI software that is web-based and includes
very few features to far more sophisticated
EDI software that is capable of mapping data
directly to your in-house ERP system. The
cost of EDI software can vary greatly as well. EDI
software can be purchased for less than $1,000,
or EDI software can cost tens of thousands
of dollars to purchase, install and deploy. Small
businesses often do not spend a lot of time
evaluating the features of the EDI software
they plan to purchase. The line of thinking
is “if the EDI software lets me work
with my retailers, then it is good enough.” Buying
EDI software with this mindset, however, can
be a serious mistake for a small business. EDI
software was developed and adopted with the
goal of making business processes easier rather
than more difficult. Buying EDI software that
forces you to adopt additional steps in your
business cycle defeats this purpose.
For EDI software to be valuable to the small
business, it must provide a way of making the
business operate more efficiently. At
EMANIO, we believe that the best way to achieve
this goal is to provide EDI software with extensive
automation capabilities. This is what
we call our “zero-effort” initiative. Our
goal is to make EDI software that allows the
small business to eliminate manual processes
and to create automatic processes using EDI
software that links their internal systems
with those of their customers. Using
EDI software in this fashion allows small businesses
to focus on core issues rather than on managing
their EDI software.
When selecting your EDI software, it’s
important to ask yourself the following
questions: Will this EDI software allow me
to automate my EDI processes? Is the provider
of this EDI software able to help me set up
automation so that I can make EDI a truly hands-free
operation? Maximizing the automation of EDI
software should be the ultimate goal of the
purchase of EDI software. |
