I look forward to the day when suppliers and customers alike can pass orders and invoice data directly into each other’s systems with little effort.
With suppliers receiving email PDFs with lists of items they want, why do they have to be retyped into the suppliers’ system?
Surely with all this digital data stuff floating about it should be simple to get my order into your system, and then your invoice into mine?
EDI I hear some of you scream. Electronic Data Interchange (for those of you, like me, who have to know what those three letters together actually mean)!
Ahhh, yes the age old EDI – so if it’s so great, why is it only larger corporates that use it? Well, it’s simple, it’s expensive and it requires two or more business systems to talk to each about placing data into each other’s databases automatically. Sounds and bit Cyberdyne to me!
Whilst I’ve been a bit sarcastic of EDI, it has a real business benefit. I mean, it’s easier to pass data from one system to another if a person doesn’t get involved. However, what happens if the information’s wrong? Or we haven’t checked it?
All good questions, however, the real issue is having a supplier system providing accurate data to a whole host of customers’ systems and visa versa.
That’s where an outsourcing specialist can really help. By providing a simple interface between a whole host of systems, order and invoice data can be passed simply between the two. Discrepancies and unapproved transactions are flagged and immediately given to someone to deal with. With clean data moving from customer to supplier and back the other way, data entry issues are removed. Smoother data transfer means faster supply, faster payments and reduced administration.
Electronic data transfer is a reality today – be open minded and the rewards could be very dramatic indeed.
So, do we have to keep doing it the same way we’ve always done, tap, tap, tap on the keyboard?
If you would like to know more about EDI and Systems Integration, speak to us on 01285 810606 or email info@yourdms.net
Stewart Wright, Managing Director, YourDMS
Stewart Wright is Founder and Director of YourDMS Ltd, and has over 20 years in the Document Management industry offering extensive senior management experience, delivering high quality products and services.
Working with companies such as Invu, Abbyy, YourBPO, Microsoft, Draycir, and Fujitsu to deliver business critical software and solutions to organisations from 3 to 3000 users, YourDMS provides tailored, efficient document management solutions to companies seeking to reduce costs by improving their data capture, workflows, print reduction and email management.
