EDI Monitoring Tool SUMMARY Providing unique applications that help you monitor your EDI exchange, Focused E-Commerce is committed to helping you streamline your operations. Our EDI Monitoring Tool provides unmatched features and flexibility all designed to help you monitor throughput and failed transactions. CONTACT Focused E-Commerce 1733 West Irving Park Road Suite 317 Chicago, IL 60613 USA Phone: (303) 859-1716 Email: Info@Focused-EC.com Web: Focused-EC.com THIS WHITEPAPER CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT IS PROPRIETARY TO FOCUSED E-COMMERCE. NO PART OF THIS WHITEPAPER MAY BE DUPLICATED OR USED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES WITHOUT THE PRIOR CONSENT OF FOCUSED E-COMMERCE.
How to Sharpen Your Supply Chain Visibility Ask any company who has recently implemented EDI and they will tell you it consists of two distinct phases: Implementing and Managing. Whether you are new to EDI or have been working with it for years, you want to reap the operational and financial benefits of that investment. But many get a false sense of security thinking the supply chain will run itself. While process automation is the paramount goal, exceptions and failed transactions must be dealt with. Visibility into each point of your supply chain enables your departments to investigate, resolve and correct transaction issues on their own. Our quality EDI Monitoring application can provide just this type of visibility and empowers staff with the tools they need to keep your supply chain running efficiently. Analysis of an EDI Transaction By breaking down the touch-points of an EDI transaction, you can see how a monitoring tool can be of value in providing visibility at each of these points. Although there are many types of documents and numerous formats, the basic inbound EDI transaction follows these steps: TP s outbound system submits the transaction to be transmitted. Document is received and translation application determines source. Acknowledgement of receipt sent to source. Document translation process completes. Receiving system determines the type of transaction and forwards to the appropriate process. Processing logic consumes the transaction and applies any transformation logic. Transformed data is sent to ERP system which triggers post-transaction processes including EDI, alerts, emails or other notifications. Focused-EC.com 2
As you can see, there are many decision points along this path. A truly global supply chain is infinitely more complex than this for many reasons: Dozens of transaction and document types Large number of formats Hundreds of elements in each document Multiple entry points, including inbound and outbound directional Various technologies from a host of suppliers Automated triggers and other processes that could key from one data element Any transaction can produce a failure or warning. Quality EDI Monitoring applications, such as the one offered by Focused E-Commerce, provide easy access and visibility to all of your EDI data, including exceptions. Processing these exceptions quickly is the key and having a monitoring application that assists in efficient resolution can pay for itself many times over. What to look for in an EDI Monitoring Application Partnering with an experienced EDI integration company can help provide valuable expertise when building your EDI mappings and transformations. While there are a number of large EDI firms, look for one that has proven experience with a number of large-scale, global businesses. For example, Focused E-Commerce is one particular company that stands out because of their in depth level of ERP integration experience. They bring with them an entire EDI mapping library that you can leverage. Having this experience allows you to create mappings and processes that account for a number of data scenarios. They even offer a phenomenal EDI Monitoring Application that can help you manage each segment of your supply chain. Even with prudent planning, there will still be failed transactions and other scenarios that your departments will have to handle. Visibility on where these occur 3
When looking for an EDI Monitoring application for your organization, here are some of the more important features to look for: Layered Visibility Allows you view supply chain transactions from both summary and detailed levels. Viewing transactions based on a specific document type or supplier stream is also a must. Sorting Transactions can produce specific errors, warnings or just informational chatter. Having the ability to sort based on this criteria provides quick access to each specific type. Error Reporting Transactions can fail for a number of reasons. Filtering by translation, communication, data or routing errors can be very important in assigning severity and priority. Mapping A quality monitoring application should give you the ability to view the actual mapping logic along with the raw data being processed. Historical Views Data and transaction log persistence is another must have when looking for a world-class EDI monitoring application. Regulatory and audit requirements alone dictate that you maintain a specific amount of EDI transaction history. Alerts Automated and scheduled alerting capabilities is another great feature. Notifications when transactions fail or threshold levels are exceeded can be of great value to your departments. Mobile alerting technology is another recent feature that makes this type of application a great value. Monitor SLA s Advanced reporting features can help you monitor throughput, volume, capacity, response times and other critical metrics. Being able to track failure rates gives you leverage in negotiating contracts and identifying trends. 4
Cost Savings from an EDI Monitoring Tool Given the speed of EDI data exchanges today, transactions in an automated environment complete in the blink of an eye. Failed EDI transactions that linger have the potential to incur thousands of dollars in lost revenue and even more in soft costs due to expired quotes, missed deliveries and overdue invoices. Being alerted to any transaction issues that result from communication or data errors can be a big step forward in quick resolution for any business. The greatest benefit comes from having the same vendor assist with your EDI implementation and supply an EDI monitoring application. In the case of Focused E-Commerce, they have set themselves apart from other EDI integration vendors because their expertise spans all areas of your operations: installation, configuration, mapping, ERP configuration and processes, EDI Monitoring, EDI Hosting and world-class support. Having this type of vendor tied into your supply chain pays immense dividends on the back-end of any EDI project. Knowing what alerts, triggers and other monitoring points to setup in your monitoring application will enable you to have sharp visibility into your operations. Supplier ratings play an important role in a supply chain. Vendors looking for reliable, costeffective shippers use these ratings to contract with dependable carriers who can deliver ontime. Higher on-time percentages translate into better customer service and having a dependable supply chain. A quality monitoring tool gives you a distinct advantage in keeping tabs on your throughout, data quality and volume. This type of application is your eyes and ears, allowing you to monitor the pulse of your supply chain. Providing valuable metrics on transaction volume, error rates, supplier performance and other operational and financial metrics, can prove to be a valuable commodity to executive management. Empower your departments by giving them the tools and visibility to support your supply chain operations. Identifying and correcting issues in an efficient manner keeps your products, inventory and orders processing smoothly through the system. Focused E-Commerce understands the challenges that a complex, global supply chain bring to any business. They have created some of the best tools and applications designed to help you implement and manage your EDI exchange. Their staff have years of experience helping some of the biggest companies in the world implement successful EDI supply chains. Let them share that experience with you on your next EDI project. 5