In the past decade, it has been a clear trend that most companies are aiming for EDI outsourcing. Especially those companies that have had a more re-active EDI strategy when it comes to business partner activations have seen that the need for specific EDI-related knowledge and capacity heavily fluctuates due to the ad hoc nature, which makes it difficult to reach the necessary focus and productivity level within the internal IT-team. Also, the lack of best practices and uniformities around such integrations done by several team members is a challenge, leading to complexities during the operational phase when maintenance and problem-solving activities need to be executed under pressure since business-critical processes are at risk.
Companies with a more active EDI strategy, who truly believe in the necessity and strategic advantage of EDI could see this differently. They might have organized themselves in the appropriate way to develop a strong digitization pace and not have to depend on a partner to deliver these integrations. We also assess how migrations of an installed base of years of integration work can be transferred to more future-proof and cost-effective environments.
Also here, we hardly encounter companies that still wish to have an EDI solution deployed on their IT infrastructure. Companies that still pursue this direction are mainly driven by a low-cost strategy, often inherited from the past. The step towards a new and more future-proof solution will make it the ideal moment to consider the real benefits of using state-of-the-art infrastructure with flexible global data storage & retention options, global interoperability meaning that you get instant access to a large variety of EDI platforms, Value Added Networks (VAN), and other important data hubs. Advanced data security and compliance measures are also more difficult to implement locally.
At Quyntess, we only offer SAAS-based solutions but are interested in understanding your thinking around On-Premise preferences, and might still meet your standards through a more tailored proposition like a separate and dedicated SAAS environment or considering a more demanding SLA regime.
Of course, making up your mind about the scope of your EDI project is crucial too. We typically see more investment and priority going into the 'order-to-cash' process, with integrations to key logistics service providers and suppliers lagging behind. Also, sub-contractors, if applicable, is a group that is often neglected or is integrated in a way that might be too simplistic.
In the end, all business partners with significant transaction volumes and consequently importance should be your EDI targets. We do advise focusing on one business partner group and one process set at a time, since you will be able to leverage your efforts in a better way, also leading to better ROI. Make sure you have your basic processes well covered before you move into more advanced or exotic ones.
We strongly advise you to consider both! And ideally find a partner that can offer both as one integrated solution, as you will encounter a lot of providers where these are separate worlds. At Quyntess, we do offer such a modern concept of 'hybrid EDI'.
The benefits of hybrid EDI are multiple:
This is not an easy thing to do, and the complexity heavily depends on the scope, your current way of working, how easily you can collect precise information and the realistic timings that are associated with the transition. We can help you to get on the right track.