ECS
information technology systems operates as an international multi-modal
logistics system, tracking details from purchase order placement through
vessels, containers, orders, and items, even down to colors, sizes
or individual carton bar codes.
ECS's information technology system is fully EDI capable, utilizing
state-of-the-art EDI translation technologies supporting both inbound
and outbound data. The translation capabilities support all major
EDI committee's including ANSI, EDIFACT, TDCC, and VICS, and proprietary
formats.
Electronic
Data Interchange (EDI) refers to the direct exchange of business
information between computer systems. In today's increasingly competitive,
fast-paced business environment, electronic supply chain management
is an area of intense focus, as leading companies everywhere strive
to work more efficiently with their suppliers. Although traditional
EDI is well established in certain industries, in many sectors it
has been extremely difficult to get a high level of supplier compliance,
because of the expense and problems associated with EDI implementation.
DI is the electronic exchange of routine business transactions in
a standardized format between business computer systems of customers
and suppliers. Using EDI, one could choose transactions that provide
automatic reconciliation, improve security for sensitive documents,
reduce paper usage, reduce filing and reduce information errors. These
transactions include:
-
Planning
- Purchase orders
- Acknowledgements
- Advance ship notices
- Invoices payments
EDI,
properly used, will trigger other kinds of processing as well, such
as automatically updating data bases or spreadsheets with the information
on the document. Truthfully, though, these kinds of processing should
already be triggered by your information systems. But they are often
overlooked until someone starts looking at the systems while considering
how to integrate EDI into them.
The direct cost savings come from:
·
No printing cost for forms
· No labor for handling forms and stuffing envelopes
· No filing and other processing of paperwork
There
is still the equivalent of postage (the cost of the phone call and
VAN charges, possibly including a gateway charge), which is usually
greater than the cost of mail postage, but still much less than the
other direct costs that are replaced by EDI.
Because
there is no re-keying, cycle times and labor times are reduced, and
data entry backlogs are almost completely eliminated. This allows
for very quick order processing. A proper system can easily handle
receiving an order and shipping it with its invoice the same day.
This often allows a company those first implements EDI to handle far
greater volumes without adding personnel and other costs. This means
increased sales, and increased revenues once the initial investment
in EDI is recaptured.
These
savings come from:
· No data entry errors from your operators
· No mail time
· Reduced labor processing costs and time
· Reduced lead times
· Reduced order cycle time
· Reduced inventory carrying costs
· No filing and other processing of paperwork
The
faster processing times of electronic commerce are part of what makes
just-in-time possible and allows it to be feasible. If the reduction
of lead times on ordering from your suppliers or customers and reduced
inventory carrying costs are something you want, EDI will make it
possible if implemented properly.
The
reduced cycle times allow the fulfillment of customers' orders much
quicker. EDI allows customers to inquire into one's current stock
levels and to get immediate and up-to-date information about their
orders without labor costs - all automatically.
