Parcel - November 2008 - (Page 28) product profile HOW TO INTEGRATE EDI WITH SHIPPING TOP EDI SERVICE PROVIDER AND SCANCODE CREATE A POWERFUL SOLUTION New Sheriff in Town SAAS — Software as a Service — is gaining popularity throughout business because it allows companies to use web-based solutions remotely without having to purchase and deploy their own software. One of the most promising examples is that in which EDI translation and distribution is handled by a service company that does it all. When a retail chain customer of a leading EDI service provider mandated that its vendors convert to a totally electronic trading partner environment, Scancode Systems, Inc. provided the bridge that enabled one technology-limited vendor to comply, automating an electronic fulfillment and shipping process quickly, in a few logical steps. Electronic document exchange (more commonly known as EDI) was the private turf of very large enterprises for years — the technology was expensive to buy and implement, and not easy to use without extensive training. Maintaining it required hard-to-find specialists schooled in the most obscure elements of I.T. Technology heavyweights like Wal-Mart, Sears and the U.S. Department of Defense blazed the EDI trails decades back, recognizing the enormous economies that could be realized by eliminating paper processes as well as the gains to be made through process standardization. Today, simple, affordable electronic trading partner document exchange is available to even the smallest companies, giving them the leg up needed to compete at all levels. Here’s How It Works The retailer submits the purchase order to the EDI service provider as an EDI 850 document. The automated service decrypts the PO and relays it to the vendor as a plain language XML document. Scancode Order Express parcel shipping software reads it and places it in its database tables. Warehouse personnel download the PO and pick the line items from stock, scanning “eaches” information into Order Express as the container fills. Data on the filled order is saved in Order Express and with the order completed and the container filled, it generates a packing slip to accompany the shipment. It simultaneously generates a shipping label with a UCC 128 barcode describing the container and contents so that on delivery, the store can identify what’s inside simply by scanning the barcode. Understanding EDI and B2B Electronic Documents Electronic trading partner documents are not all the same. EDI — a term often used generically, although improperly — stands for the hard-coded Electronic Document Interchange X.12 “transaction sets” developed and maintained by the American National Standards Institute — ANSI. These are standardized formats for virtually every document exchanged between businesses: purchase orders, invoices and advance ship notices, to name a few. A more recent development is the XML document, flexible and human readable. These XML templates can even be built to trading partner specifications. Even accounting files and database files can be exchanged automatically, computer-to-computer. The fundamental issue remains solid: companies who incorporate EDI and exchange business documents/data electronically save on personnel and physical resources, eliminate errors and accelerate transactions dramatically in a totally secure environment. Effective and Timely Communications via EDI Scancode Order Express automatically prepares and sends an XML advance ship notice to the EDI service provider, which re-encrypts it as an EDI 856 (ASN) document and forwards it to the retailer. In a parallel process, Order Express tenders the shipment to the parcel carrier. Finally, the vendor invoices the retailer through its accounting software, again relaying it through the EDI service provider, which encrypts it and forwards it as an EDI 850 (invoice) document. Thanks to Scancode, the nightmare of integrating EDI is a thing of the past. For more information about Scancode’s Shipping with EDI solutions, please visit us on the web at www.scancode.com/edi. 28 November 2008 www.PARCELindustry.com http://www.scancode.com/edi http://www.PARCELindustry.com
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