Choosing between supplier portals and EDI platforms

by | Sep 17, 2019 | Solutions, Suppliers

Your business’s lifeblood relies on a steady flow of retailer orders through your supplier portals but managing them all can be a nightmare.

Vendors we work with here at SPS often share just how difficult it can be to manage multiple supplier portals (also called vendor portals or retailer portals) in addition to their other order sources.

Supplier portals are messy and can be a hassle to manage

The reality is that every retailer’s portal is different, and it takes time to learn the nuances of each one. Logins are often unintuitive, and most don’t even proactively alert you when there is an order for you.

Logging into multiple portals several times a day eats away at your productivity and puts your fulfillment time at risk –– in addition to the risk of chargebacks for late shipments –– for instance if an order arrives in-between the time you last checked your portals.

There is a better way: EDI portals

Instead of running between multiple portals on a varying basis, an EDI portal offers a single platform destination into all retailer or fulfillment model orders.

For instance, if you work with Target, Home Depot, and Wayfair, instead of going to three sites to find your orders, just one system solution replaces all of your supplier portals and will automatically alert you when an order arrives or may miss its delivery window.

Here’s a relatable example: Food delivery. Say you’re hungry for some take out sushi.

You could take the time to explore multiple restaurants website’s menus and delivery zones, or you could go to one consolidated online destination, like BiteSquad or GrubHub to see menus from dozens of sushi restaurants and place your order in one place, saving time and headaches. Most of us would prefer the one-and-done approach. An EDI portal works in a similar way, consolidation of information, married with the automation of tasks.

One portal equals time back in your day

The same opportunity exists with how you delegate your vendor portal choices. Think of EDI portals as a one-stop-shop. Everything your retailer needs can be done within a single EDI portal solution and most retailers prefer suppliers to use EDI versus their retailer’s portal. (Hint: It’s less work for them.)

Ready to log out of your retailers’ portals for good and take back the time you’ve been losing in managing them to focus on growing your business versus task managing it?

Learn how SPS Commerce Fulfillment can provide a single solution that replaces all supplier portals.

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