From EDI Expert, Glenn McPeak:

The automation of the transaction flow in the world of EDI is unclear for companies that want to automate the exchange of business documents between themselves (OEM for this discussion) and a sub-contract manufacturer, or those companies that are the subcontracting partner for others. Issues such as materials ownership, stocking, arrival notification, production scheduling, ERP system integration and the costing of the goods and service are not always well understood by EDI and ERP systems.

Often times the service provided is just one step in a manufacturing sequence that’s driven by a step in a shop order, as opposed to a purchase order or similar document. Some component materials may be provided by the sub-contractor, while others are owned by the buyer of the product and service. Lack of communication and integration of business systems result in scheduling challenges, stock shortages and other problems caused by the lack of communication within this supply chain exchange.

Handling these situations in a manual environment has its challenges and high overhead given…