“Value-added networks provide competitive advantage.”

On the surface, this statement seems to make sense of the eternal value-added network (VAN) claim that the advantage of their network is their network. While stated as fact, “the advantage of the network is the network” is only relatively true, depending on who you’re connecting with and whether the network is where you can find your trading partners (or at least some of them). What does that mean for the rest of your trading partners?

This argument for the VAN being a competitive advantage begins to unravel when you look more closely at trade among trading partners. You’ll arrive at the conclusion that a single network or VAN can’t possibly serve all of a company’s needs.

Read more: VAN independence: So, how does a trading partner break from their VAN?

Begin at the end

The advantage of EDI technologies is connecting with your trading partners… and not just some of them. The ability to connect to most or all of them offers the greatest ROI.

However, the complexity of EDI and related technologies presents compatibility challenges. There are many EDI standards, formats, and transactions. There’s X12, UN/EDIFACT, and GS1 XML trade messages. There are also non-EDI formats like JSON, flat files, text files, and proprietary XML message formats. Let’s not forget about the myriad of communication methodologies such as AS2, MFTP, FTP, SFTP and APIs, or the number of transactions and variants.

Clearly, not everyone you need to connect with will be on the same network or VAN. That’s why a VAN must have an interconnect.

What’s an interconnect?

An interconnect is a tool that VANs use to communicate with other VANs. It aids in the exchange of EDI transaction documents belonging to individual clients. All VANs use interconnects to ensure delivery of transaction documents among the participants within various VANs. This begins to demonstrate the point of a VAN: connecting with more networks provides a bigger advantage.

Why haven’t I heard about interconnects before?

The real value of interconnects to VANs was that they help keep new VANs out of the market. Discussing interconnects dispels the notion that belonging to a VAN is an advantage. That’s why VANs don’t like to talk about them. If they did, they’d also have to talk about the characteristics of EDI, which reduces VAN confusion within the consumer.

The three-part harmony

For EDI to be effective, it needs three layers: transportation, transformation, and integration. In the marketplace, these layers are typically seen bundled together as what has come to be known as the “VAN solution”. However, they should be viewed as separate solutions that work together in harmony to produce the desired results.

A classic example of this harmony can be found in your pocket: your mobile phone. One company produces your device, another delivers your cellular service, and a third provides the local and long-distance lines that you connect to when speaking with someone on a landline.

The three essential components of EDI are:

1.    Transportation

The transportation layer allows partners to talk to one another. While VANs are dominant in this space, several successful methodologies like AS2, MFTP, FTP, SFTP and APIs also exist; most have been in use for over 20 years. In fact, your VAN may use FTP to connect to your VAN mailbox; I encourage you to ask your EDI representative.

2.    Transformation

The second component is the transformation layer. This is where the translation between EDI formats takes place. X12, UN/EDIFACT, GS1 XML trade messages, JSON, flat files, text files, or proprietary XML messages are transformed into a format that your ERP system can consume.

3.    Integration

Lastly there’s the integration layer: the path into the enterprise system where the transformed message is consumed. It can be a connector (like ODBC or ODATA) or an API. The primary focus is a path for the order to take without manual intervention.

So more connections are better?

Yes! If belonging to a network is a strategic advantage, then access to multiple networks is even more of a strategic advantage. It’s actually not so much about the number of networks as it is about the availability of connections to your trading partner and choice of those connection methods. VANs typically involve monthly subscription costs and transaction fees (or kilo-character fees), whereas in most cases, methodologies like AS2, MFTP, FTP, SFTP, and APIs have no monthly costs directly associated with them.

What’s AS2?

Applicability Statement 2 (AS2) is a protocol used to transport data securely and reliably over the Internet. It provides document receipt and tracking without the need for a VAN or interconnect. In short, AS2 provides a direct connection with a trading partner.

AS2 makes use of the Internet as a payload-agnostic mechanism for delivery of EDI transaction documents, reducing potential points of failure. More importantly, it eliminates transaction-based charges that occur with the exchange of EDI transaction documents through a VAN connection.

PartnerLink and AS2

Visionet’s PartnerLink solution is different. PartnerLink isn’t a VAN; it’s a highly scalable, reliable, and configurable EDI and B2B interchange solution that integrates natively with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations. It also supports integration with most other ERP systems. PartnerLink includes an AS2 solution and connects to all of the major VANs, making it the perfect tool for B2B communication with both EDI and non-EDI trading partners.

What about APIs?

PartnerLink also provides built-in support for API based eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, and many others, allowing companies to shift seamlessly between EDI and API-based integrations. This makes PartnerLink a complete EDI, B2B, and API solution for frictionless partner communication.

…and nonstandard transactions?

PartnerLink enables communication with non-EDI organizations, too. It supports a wide range of EDI formats like X12, UN/EDIFACT, GS1 XML trade messages, non-EDI formats like XML and JSON, and custom formats to ensure reliable and secure communication with any trading partner organization.

What’s the lesson here?

“VANs provide competitive advantage” is only true when there’s no advantage found in access to multiple networks.

• EDI solutions should provide more than one communication channel for exchanging documents with trading partners, including VAN, AS2, SFTP, FTP, and MFT.
• EDI solutions should provide a transformation component – a mechanism for handling a range of EDI formats.
• EDI solutions should provide a clear integration path into your enterprise system that doesn’t require manual intervention or ongoing maintenance.

Improving your supply chain efficiency with ERP-integrated EDI

In an environment of ever-changing consumer demand, your retail or manufacturing business needs to leverage every competitive advantage it has at its disposal. Modern global businesses rely on electronic data interchange (EDI) solutions to maximize operational efficiency and maintain market competitiveness.

Businesses use EDI technology to innovate on operational strategy, enhance supply chain management, and improve operational performance. Most large manufacturers and retailers coordinate their operations via EDI, from sending and receiving purchase orders and invoices to advance ship notices (ASNs) and product transfer reports.

So becoming an EDI-capable organization signals to potential trading partners that you are a trustworthy party that uses standards-based supply chain practices, and helps you unlock the door to global trade. However, EDI’s primary advantage lies in the vast improvements in operational efficiency it offers over paper-based processes.

Even though EDI promotes uniformity through the use of communication standards, not all EDI solutions are created equal. Many older EDI systems only use one EDI format and don’t support any modern, non-EDI communication standards. Many of these legacy systems (and even some newer “web EDI” solutions) require users to manually key in information, and may even require them to manually initiate and end the EDI transfer!

Advantages of EDI ERP Integration on a Modern Supply Chain Connectivity Solution

These methods, while better than using paper documents and a courier service, are ancient relics from the 20th century. If your organization still uses this kind of software, you should make it a priority to have it replaced with a supply chain connectivity solution that integrates directly with your ERP software. Here are three ways that an ERP-integrated EDI solution significantly improves efficiency:

Minimal Manual Entry

Direct EDI ERP integration means that you’ll hardly ever need to manually type information to send it to a vendor (or type received information back into your ERP system).

Since all information on your products, pricing, inventory, sales transactions, customers, and deliveries are already stored in your ERP system, you’ll usually be able to select the information you want to send with a few clicks. Then, depending on your operating procedures, you can either transmit that information to the appropriate trading partner right away or add it to a scheduled batch transfer.

More advanced EDI solutions will also confirm that the ERP information that you’re about to send complies with your trading partners’ internal policies for those specific document types. This is definitely much quicker and more convenient than consulting a separate compliance checklist for each vendor every time you transmit information.

By reducing its dependence on manual entry, your organization will spend less time managing information transfers, correcting transcription errors, and running damage control due to the errors you failed to catch in time. You’ll also improve supplier relationships and save a surprising amount of money on EDI chargebacks caused by noncompliant information transfers.

Rapid Partner Onboarding

A well-designed supply chain connectivity solution also improves efficiency by speeding up the onboarding of new trading partners. Instead of requiring days of configuration, modern EDI systems use intelligent field-mapping techniques to automatically reconcile your partners’ data and document formats with your own. The sooner you complete the onboarding process, the sooner you experience the benefits of a digital supply chain connectivity solution.

Agile Decision-Making

A seamless EDI ERP integration also allows you to start using advanced, ERP-integrated analytics tools to gain a better understanding of your trading partners. In the same way that your ERP system’s dynamic dashboards and advanced reporting capabilities provide actionable insights about your organization’s internal processes, they will also begin providing clear, easy-to-understand intelligence on how each of your vendors is performing.

Now you can anticipate and adapt to supply-side changes more quickly. Decision-makers will have access to the information they need to respond to emerging opportunities and challenges in real time.

Industry-leading EDI solution providers like PartnerLinQ provide end-to-end ERP-integrated solutions that drive efficiency by minimizing manual entry, expediting partner onboarding, and enhancing decision-making agility. Contact Us to request a demo.

PartnerLinQ is an innovative, process-centric B2B integration solution that enables progressive organizations to build their digital partner extensible platform leveraging APIs and robust EDI capabilities.

With PartnerlinQ, organizations in most industries including fulfillment (3PL), retail, Ecommerce, wholesale, and distribution can achieve operational efficiencies through streamlined B2B communication and real-time visibility. PartnerlinQ brings management of all forms of B2B interchange including EDI, real time APIs, and file based/proprietary formats into a cohesive solution which is easy to use and manage.

PartnerlinQ requires zero customization to Dynamics 365 for Operations and Dynamics AX 2012 to make your ERP EDI ready.

PartnerLinQ Features and Benefits:

• Designed for ease of use in managing EDI
• Rapid partner on boarding based on hundreds of preconfigured EDI transaction and partner mappings
• Powerful and configurable business rule engine for automating document exchange
• Driven by business processes, beyond traditional point-to-point EDI interchange
• Supports APIs for Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, Jet, Amazon, DHL, UPS, and others.
• Unified management and workflow of all B2B communication channels
• Centralized B2B communication through a scalable and reliable solution
• Supports small package shipment and tracking
• Responsive solution that identifies and reports issues before they put business relationships at risk
• Highly scalable – Cutting edge, server-class architecture on Azure platform that scales to handle extreme seasonal spikes
• Browser based access, built-in reporting and notification capabilities

The PartnerLinQ solution is a fully managed cloud solution with complete EDI/B2B management professional services. PartnerLinQ is also available as licensed solution managed entirely by the customer. For more information please contact PartnerLinQ.