We studied all of the solutions on the market including hostedoptions and embedded EDI solutions that attempt EDI functionality in GP. Vantage Point EDI from Data Masons provided the best of all worlds and we have been very pleased with Vantage Point
- Vantage Point EDI Overview
- Vantage Point EDI Scheduler
- Purchase Orders (850/875)
- Invoices (810/880)
- ASN (856/DESADV)
- Planning Schedule/Release (830/862 & DELFOR/DELJIT)
- Supply Chain EDI (Supplier Facing)
- Remote Warehouse Integration (940/945)
- Transportation Management System (753/754)
- PO Acknowledgement System (855/865)
- Product Activity (852)
- Product Catalog (832)
- VAN Service
- Universal Data Translator
- Other EDI Transactions
On-Premise Solution vs. SAAS Model
How to choose the best EDI solution for your business
SAAS (software as a service) and hosted EDI solutions have generated a lot of buzz in recent years. These solutions have several advantages over traditional on-premise “tool-based” solutions such as Sterling Gentran®, Inovis TrustedLink® and Microsoft Biztalk®. On-premise “managed compliance providers” make up a third category of EDI solution providers. Examination of the relative advantages and disadvantages of these solutions can help you make the right decision for your business.
SAAS providers: Webforms solutions
Webforms provide a hosted data entry service that can be quite useful to the low-volume EDI user. A big advantage for hosted EDI service providers is the managed compliance service that is typically provided. SAAS solutions provide a Webform-based application that enables the user to print received inbound documents and re-key shipment and invoice data from an ERP solution. They can typically be set up quickly as long as the EDI partner is available (not all partners can be connected through an SAAS provider). Some SAAS providers also offer a file exchange service that constitutes their approach to ERP integration. In reality the integration is up to the customer or their ERP support organization to set up and maintain.
On-premise: tool-based solutions
Tool-based solutions, also referred to as translators, were very popular in the 1980s and 1990s. They represented a new category of software development where the reformatting of EDI data was placed in the hands of the EDI users. A tool such as Gentran could provide a means to receive EDI documents: creating report templates to print the documents and entry templates to enter data to be sent back to the user. In that sense, they were similar to SAAS providers but required considerably more work to implement.
Tool-based solutions were commonly used to integrate data to ERP systems through a series of data exports and imports using intermediate files. “Embedded” EDI-related functionality and customization was necessary to make the integration and processing reasonably efficient. In many cases these efforts required the storage of “turnaround” EDI data in the ERP system, which in turn drove endless ERP database expansion and upgrade issues. Unfortunately, new functional requirements are continually driven by EDI trading partners in arbitrary timeframes, leaving the developers overwhelmed and only able to deliver needed functionality in the newest releases and often long after the mandated change took effect.
On-premise: managed EDI solutions
A third and important category of EDI solution is the on-premise managed EDI solution. These solutions are a hybrid approach to the EDI compliance and integration dilemma as compared to the SAAS and tool-oriented approaches. A well-executed solution can eliminate the downsides of SAAS and tools-oriented applications while maintaining the best of both systems. A well-devised solution can provide managed (outsourced) compliance, no fee translation and transmission, and tight integration without ERP customization.
The on-premise managed EDI solution holds a wealth of advantages for the user, starting with EDI compliance service that takes the burden off the user. The application can adapt to changing EDI requirements without forcing unnecessary ERP upgrades and introducing invasive code.
The following matrix shows the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative EDI solutions.
FEATURE |
SAS |
EDI Toolset |
On-Premise Managed Solution |
| Fast setup | X |
X |
|
| Managed compliance | X |
X |
|
| Good value | X |
||
| Transaction fees | X |
X |
|
| Low total cost of ownership for modest to high transaction volumes | X |
||
| High performance integration | X |
X |
|
| Predictable software maintenance fee model | X |
X |
|
| Can connect to/comply with any customer/document | X |
X |
|
| Handles non-EDI formats such as XML and ASCII | X |
X |