Resistance to change and fear of the unknown are the biggest reasons why companies often don't grow their bottom lines. EDI has consistently been shown to increase profits by reducing costs, yet unless a company is complying with an EDI mandate, few will actually take it on. Typically, the top three EDI misconceptions I hear about are one, EDI is too expensive, two, you must have an EDI staff and three, it takes too long to implement. Even though EDI has permeated almost every industry in some form, from supply chain to health insurance to finance, these misconceptions continue to persist. Let's discredit them, one by one.
EDI Misconceptions
EDI Expense
Is it expensive to implement EDI? The answer is sometimes, depending on your requirements, but EDI providers have recognized the need for simple solutions for the small to medium business. They have answered this need with outsourced managed EDI solutions. These solutions are typically integrated with an ERP system like NetSuite, D365 or Acumatica. They require no software to install and you can often go live in a matter of weeks. In many cases, such solutions are no more than the monthly cost of the average cell phone bill!
EDI Staff
The second misconception is that you need an EDI staff or a dedicated IT department. Managed Services and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) have exploded in recent years. EDI solution providers have realized that many companies no longer want to preside over their EDI. They want a behind the scenes, hands off solution and any EDI provider with a diverse portfolio of offerings can provide such a solution. Such solutions do not require any technical staff whatsoever. And quite often, these solutions are scalable, allowing you to grow your business over time.
Time-to-Production
Lastly, the rumor that is takes too much time to implement EDI has also been greatly exaggerated. If you are looking to implement hundreds of partners and maps with an integrated EDI solution, then yes, then yes - you could be looking at 3-6 months. But for the small business looking at a 30 day deadline from Walmart, it is entirely possible to be in production in as little as 2-3 weeks. More often than not, any delays usually come from the retailer during the testing phase.
Regardless of your particular objection to doing EDI, there is usually a solution that will mitigate your reluctance. In my opinion, discrediting some of the misconceptions surrounding EDI is the responsibility of all EDI professionals. EDI technology offers many benefits and the less scary we make it, the more we will all see our bottom lines increase.
GraceBlood LLC specializes in EDI implementation and data integration solutions. For more information, please contact Shandra Locken, at slocken@graceblood.com.
