A full-service approach to SAP EDI integration

by | May 7, 2019 | Finance/IT, Retailers, Suppliers

There comes a time in a business’s growth where automation becomes a necessity. One of the easiest ways to automate processes is through Electronic Data Interchange. EDI can help facilitate fast, efficient and accurate communication with trading partners, as well as ­­­­­­­various systems within an organization.

SAP EDI Integration

ERP systems such as SAP are a great business tool on their own, but integrating your ERP with EDI is particularly beneficial to your business processes. When SAP is optimally integrated with EDI, orders, invoices, delivery notes, inventory updates and more, exchanging this information electronically simplifies communication both within a company and with its trading partners. Forget warehouse robots or drones – integrating EDI with SAP is one of the easiest, fastest ways to automate a variety of processes across a business. Benefits of SAP EDI Integration include:

  • Enhanced data integrity and accuracy – When information is automatically transmitted directly from system-to-system and trading partner-to-trading partner, the need for re-keying data can be eliminated, which prevents data entry errors. Where errors do occur, EDI automation helps identify issues so they can be fixed sooner rather than later.
  • Lowered costs– When SAP is automated with EDI, there is a reduced need for data entry and auditing personnel. EDI integration ensures that the data is transferred seamlessly into and out of your SAP system, decreasing the cost and manual processes.
  • Streamlined processes– With fewer manual interventions, transactions can occur more quickly and efficiently. When SAP is automated with EDI, the turnaround time and speed for orders, invoices and other documents are drastically improved, making your business more competitive.

But not all EDI providers are created equal. SAP is complex and often highly customized for each business. Far too many EDI systems fall short of an end-to-end solution – there are often complications that arise and gaps that you’re expected to fill on your own.

For example, SAP IDOCS must be “translated” before EDI can send the message (and EDI documents need to be turned into IDOCS before SAP can understand them). This is where other EDI solutions can fall short. EDI providers that are unfamiliar with the intricacies and nuances of SAP can end up dragging out poorly planned and poorly managed integrations for months or even years, leading to wasted resources, lost opportunities and a whole lot of frustration.

Even if the SAP EDI integration project is completed, depending on the “solution,” you may need to hire additional staffing with specialized EDI training to keep it all running. If your SAP solution is highly customized, the wrong EDI system could trip you up and cost you money when trading partner requirements and EDI maps change.

When EDI integration with SAP is done right, documents and communications flow from system to system and trading partner to trading partner smoothly and automatically.

Full-Service EDI Integration for SAP

SPS Commerce offers a complete end-to-end EDI solution for SAP, including the ability to support SAP IDOC formats and apply your company’s unique business rules, all within a seamless integration. We bring the proven technology and SAP experts to manage the process from implementation through ongoing, day-to-day operations.

SPS full-service EDI solutions are flexible, scalable, and customizable to suit your systems, your support needs, your goals for system and communication automation within your organization.

SPS Fulfillment automates inbound and outbound communications to keep you connected with your suppliers, vendors, and third-party logistics companies. That includes communications about purchase orders, invoices, inventory updates, shipments and more. SAP EDI integration through SPS can also help you break down silos across vital departments, streamlining and improving your current business workflows for faster, more accurate transactions.

When you or your trading partners make changes to document or transaction requirements, SPS is there for you. Changes in the rules can cause interruptions and result in lost sales opportunities or angry customers. SPS will apply updates to EDI maps for you, often before you even know your trading partners have changed their requirements.

The SPS Difference

The SPS Fulfillment EDI solution offers a level of visibility, automation and process orchestration to your operations that are unlike any other EDI solution out in the market.

  • Process Orchestration: With SPS EDI, many of your existing processes can be automated, using and applying business rules unique to your organization. Instead of spending time extracting, translating and loading data, automate the process and gain new capabilities of validating and enriching the information.
  • Human Workflow: Stop searching for and chasing down errors – get notified about issues with automated communications and alerts. In addition to capturing errors and bringing them to your attention, our SAP EDI solution empowers you to monitor transactions via dashboards that give you a real-time view of what’s happening across your business.
  • Visibility: Empower staff with the information they need to do their best work with role-based access. For example, our solution enables IT personnel to see every IDOC, every EDI transaction and how documents are flowing through the system. At the same time, it gives customer service just the information they need to answer questions about orders and transactions.

When you need to improve business processes and efficiency, trust SPS Commerce to help. The SPS SAP EDI solution offers support for any business document and any trading partner. Additionally, SPS Commerce is a member of the SAP PartnerEdge program and has the expertise to extend the value of your SAP investment.

Join hundreds of other companies that have ditched manual processes with the industry’s most complete SAP EDI solution. Contact an SPS representative today for a 10-minute consultation or a brief, personalized demo.

Emily Curran
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