1 | Good contact with the EDI partner
The first contact you make with your potential future EDI partner is interesting, because it is this one that will determine the type of relationship you will have with your interlocutor. It is better that the feeling passes between you so that you can ask your questions without problem.
Choose a partner who takes the time to be interested in you and who offers you a personalized approach. Speed of answers to your questions, interest that he has in your file, questions that he asks you… are points to be considered.
The most important thing is that your partner is completely transparent with you, both in terms of costs and deadlines. It must also be clear, educational and provide the right answers to your questions.
2 | Pricing adapted to your EDI project
Price is obviously an important criterion to consider, but choosing the cheapest provider just for its low price is not always the best solution.
We should ask ourselves the question of the “fair” price:
– Does the price quoted correspond to the services offered according to the volume requested and the communication networks required?
– Does the price remain in the average of competitors’ prices?
– Does the price include all the services I need? Are there no hidden costs?
Request a comprehensive list of implementation costs per feed and per partner addition. It is better to know in advance the costs that would be incurred by a change in your services.
Compare the different offers on the market to have several quotes : you will get price proposals according to your volume of documents and the cost of setting up. It’s up to you to choose the one that seems most suitable.
3 | A reliable, scalable and «user friendly» EDI technology
The platform technology is an important factor to consider when choosing your partner.
Indeed, exchanges between platforms must be ensured even in the event of a communication link break so as not to impact your commercial activities. In this case, the platform must have automatic relays and secondary communication modes (backup). Any processing anomaly of your messages must be immediately notified (email alert, SMS…).
The solution must also interface perfectly with your information system or ERP, without generating errors or delays in your project. Finally, make sure you choose a scalable EDI SaaS platform that adapts easily to the evolutions of your project.
4 | EDI support at your service
Once your project is in place, the support team of your partner becomes one of your main interlocutors. The EDI technicians will take care of your requests.
You must be able to contact them easily (via a ticketing tool, by mail…) to send them your requests and be sure of the dates of support and resolution.
5 | References that speak to you
If your future EDI partner has customer references in your field or some of your customers/ suppliers, it is always more reassuring. Don’t hesitate to ask for customer references.
Rather than references, ask for examples of customers for whom your partner has already implemented EDI. You can also ask for customer feedback to know what you are doing.
6 | EDI partner platforms already connected
It is best to choose a so-called “shared” platform rather than “point-to-point” for faster implementation and easier evolution of the scope of your project.
With shared EDI, the connection of an interface from your information system to the shared platform of your EDI partner is to be developed once, regardless of the number of partners involved.
Finally, if your customers and/or suppliers are already connected to the platform of your future EDI partner, the implementation takes only a few days and generates less costs.
