What Factors Affect Outsourced EDI Solution Costs?

Costs related to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) can vary depending on a variety of factors. Below, we break down variables that can affect the cost and how you can evaluate your own needs to see what you can expect to spend.

What affects EDI costs?

Although EDI eliminates the costs and inefficiencies associated with paper-based transactions, implementing and maintaining EDI in-house has its own costs. In-house EDI operations require EDI translation software, hardware, staffing and support to manage the program.

Outsourced EDI solutions allow businesses to focus their resources on core business needs, rather than EDI. The cost of EDI operations varies based on a wide range of factors, including:

o  Translation method

o  Volume of data

o  Number of transaction sets

o  Data rate

o  Number of connections

o  Labor costs for the staff managing EDI

o  Number of resources available for implementing EDI

o  Infrastructure (servers and other software and equipment)

o  Annual maintenance and support fees

Is there an “average” cost for cloud-based EDI that buying organizations can expect to see?

As mentioned above, rates will vary widely depending on your specific needs, any customization, the amount of data you use, and the provider itself. Here are some average processing costs for business documents in major industries Note: these costs are averages using in-house EDI operations to exchange documents.

o   Retail - $2-$4 per document

o   Manufacturing - $3-$6 per document

o   Healthcare - $5-$9 per document

Thus, the higher the volume of documents you process, the higher the cost but lower cost per document.

One advantage of choosing Edict Systems as your EDI provider is our pay-as-you-go data rate. You won’t be locked into contracts or sign on for a reduced rate, only to see that rate increase after a certain time period.

What other cost questions should I ask when considering an EDI solution?

Before choosing an EDI solution, you’ll want to have a clear picture of what you can expect to pay. Not all providers charge the same way, so ask plenty of questions to ensure you aren’t surprised with a bill later on.

o   How are my charges calculated monthly?

o   What is included with these rates?

o   Do I pay more if my customer/supplier uses another 3^rd party for their EDI?

o   What is the cost of data and translation services?

o   Is there any cost for the connection?

o  Can you help EDI-enable our suppliers? If so, what are the development costs? 

o   What are the integration costs?

o    Are there any costs for data overages?

o    Can I expect prices to change after a certain time?

o    Are there any yearly increases or fees?      

Choose a Cloud-based Data Mapping Solution

Mapping with and maintaining in-house translators can be expensive and time-consuming. Let the EDI experts at Edict Systems do it for you and save both time and money. 

Our Cloud-based Data Mapping solution for buying organizations maps data to and from any business system or EDI format, eliminates the need for in-house translation software, lowers costs, and reduces the mapping, integration, and implementation time for new or change documents. 

We help make migrating to Cloud-based Data Mapping easier by providing a technical project manager to see your implementation through from start to finish, including testing and production, and future change events.