The Future of B2B Leaders: The Transition from Operations to Business Value Drivers

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) was originally adopted to drive out the latency and errors associated with the management of manual/paper based-interactions in the transportation industry. The efficiencies achieved quickly drove adoption in other vertical markets. As an electronic replacement of paper-based communication between two business entities, EDI provides effective, standards-based communications to automate business processes.This white paper provides an overview of the growing opportunities for EDI managers and coordinators. It highlights how their role can change from being responsible for implementation of technologies for operational activities to being infrastructure leaders. It shows how they can deliver increased efficiencies and velocity for value chain automation, which increases visibility, control and agility for a business. This paper will address the emerging trends in EDI and the future opportunities for EDI managers and coordinators. This white paper takes a holistic view of the current status and future of EDI through an independent survey conducted by Canvas Group of over 351 EDI stakeholders (EDI Coordinators/Manager/Directors).The topics included in this white paper are:i. An introduction to EDIii. Key implementation challengesiii. ROI from EDIiv. What are the trends in EDI?v. Future of EDIvi. Skills required for an EDI Manager/Coordinatorvii. Role of an EDI Manager/Coordinator?viii. Scope of career development as an EDI Manager/Coordinatorix. Top three takeaways from this white paperx. How Inovis solutions can helpWhy do companies implement EDI?Initially, business implemented EDI to gain speed over the traditional methods of recording transactions. This had the added benefits of improving order accuracy and subsequently accelerating the order-to-payment lifecycle.Suppliers, however, have often had to be mandated to use EDI. This was done in order to make the hub see a future potential in EDI. However, over time the concentration of EDI's value proposition has changed from solely benefiting the hub to providing better support to the trading partners.Some other reasons why companies implement EDI:- Competitive differentiationEDI improves speed and accuracy of the entire order-to-payment lifecycle. It aids better management of claims, invoice generation and processing. This not only results in a better cash flow, but also ensures customer satisfaction, which can translate into a higher rate of customer retention.- Economic and operational benefitsEDI requires minimal human interaction and intervention to handle data. In fact, 48 percent of the companies surveyed that have implemented EDI report a corresponding reduction in business costs.- Value for both supplier and buyer to reduce order-to-payment lifecycle and improve assortment optimizationOver time, the value proposition has changed from being primarily hub-focused to also supporting improvements for the spoke or supplier. The initial return lay in improving payment cycles and accuracy in managing the order-to-cash lifecycle. The value continues to change over time with the automation of order-to-fulfillment and the extended support for forecasting, warranty, claims and other non-supply chain activities support by standards-based data exchange.Key Implementation ChallengesChange in business processBusiness processes must adapt to deal with the faster processing of documents and communication. Most businesses, however, are used to processes that employ manual (and thereby slow) handling of documentation, and changing these can be quite a task.Partner capabilitiesA core challenge to implementing EDI centers on your business partners' ability to implement and readiness/desire to implement. Implementing a trading community initiative is time-consuming and complex due to the disparate technologies (or lack thereof) each of your trading partners currently uses. Identifying each partner's capabilities and persuading them to invest time and cost into new technology is a time-consuming endeavor, and suppliers often do not see the inherent value of implementing such a solution. However, 29% of the companies surveyed mentioned a partner mandate as the reason for implementing EDI, proving it can be done.Cost, time and resources required for the initial setupThe cost involved in setting up the initial hardware and software for EDI can be very high. The process then needs to be programmed and tested, which requires additional resources and funds. Though these costs are incurred only in the initial stage, some organizations fail to see the long-term benefit these preliminary expenses can help realize.