As supply chain transactions move faster and faster, the ability to exchange data quickly and accurately has become a competitive necessity. To keep up with this pace, businesses rely on Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to keep their operations moving, yet many struggle with the technical hurdles of securely moving that data between different companies. While EDI provides the language for these digital conversations, a Value-Added Network (VAN) provides a reliable connection that ensures your business documents arrive exactly where they need to be, without the headache of managing individual connections for every new partner.
A VAN is a third-party service provider that acts as the intermediary for your EDI transactions, facilitating the exchange of EDI documents between trading partners. It allows for documents to be sent and received with the VAN managing the connection and transmission of documents. Many VANs offer optional value-added services such as data translation, managing trading partner connections, document archiving, and user interfaces with added functionality.
Think of a VAN as a post office that ensures EDI documents are transported to and from your trading partners.
An EDI VAN is only the beginning of connection capabilities with your trading partners. Many EDI VAN providers, like Edict Systems, offer solutions that build upon a traditional VAN. On top of transporting documents to and from your trading partners, optional services are available to help your business further automate operations. These solutions can automate the heavy lifting, integrate directly with your existing software, and ensure data integrity before it ever touches your internal system.
At Edict Systems, we offer EnterpriseEC, a cloud-based B2B Trading Network that provides services beyond the traditional VAN. EnterpriseEC provides outsourced EDI and VAN services designed to lower costs and eliminate the burden of managing individual connections. We also offer integrations that bridge the gap between your EDI and your business, ERP/MRP, or accounting solution. Integration capabilities include systems like SAP, JD Edwards, Microsoft Dynamics, and more. One connection to EnterpriseEC helps you manage all your EDI trading connections.
EnterpriseEC also offers optional services such as integration, data mapping and translation, and document validation to further streamline your trading partner connections.
Cloud-Based Data Mapping: In-house translation software is expensive to license and time-consuming to maintain. Cloud-Based Data Mapping replaces your in-house translator by converting EDI data into your required format. A dedicated project manager sees you through your mapping, testing, and production from start to finish.
ValidateEC: ValidateEC is a rule engine for buying organizations that checks incoming and outgoing documents against your specific business rules before they reach your internal systems. If an item, quantity or price doesn't match, you are notified and the document is held for review, where it is then rejected or accepted by your ERP system based on the established rule for that trading partner and item.
Edict Systems’ comprehensive EDI services help buying organizations and suppliers of all sizes ease the burdens associated with in-house EDI operations. Our VAN solution, EnterpriseEC, helps remove the complexities of exchanging electronic documents with their trading partners, lowering costs and simplifying connections and management of all EDI transactions and trading relationships. Benefit from transparent billing with no rounding up, no long-term contracts, and a dedicated customer support team that works to earn your business every day.
If you are interested in learning how Edict Systems can securely connect to all your EDI trading partners with one connection, contact our experts.