Many things have changed in the retail industry in recent years – things that were inconceivable back then are now commonplace: placing an order from a computer, from the comfort of your own home, or on the go, from a mobile phone.
Everything changed when EDI entered the market and revolutionized all aspects: from how the retail supply chain behaves to the efficiency brought to internal and external processes. Of course, initially, you needed dedicated personnel to assist with the implementation of the EDI system, establish new relationships with business partners, and maintain them over time.
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All of this has changed for the better thanks to cloud technology. Nowadays, there’s no longer a need for extensive IT department intervention or for you to acquire excessively expensive software or hardware. Furthermore, once the system is up and running, you can be sure that it is very sustainable and self-reliant – you don’t have to constantly keep an eye on it.
What does EDI do for the retail industry?
The way EDI streamlines processes is quite straightforward and without complications. However, for the sake of illustration, let’s go through a brief case study. Let’s consider a retail company that sells clothing and needs to restock for the fall-winter collection. They need to order more ‘chenille’ fabric because it’s in high demand during the cold seasons. In the past, if the company had sent an order that landed in the contact person’s inbox and sat there for days, they can now simply send a purchase order to the supplier, and the supplier’s system would detect and process it automatically and immediately. The faster the order enters the system, the quicker the supplier can deliver the ordered products, and the sooner they arrive at the clothing retail company. This means the retail company can launch the product to the market very rapidly and deal with fewer stagnant inventories.
EDI – a way to increase efficiency while ensuring compliance at the same time
When you own a business, you likely depend on certain regulations and standards you must comply with. The number of such regulations varies depending on the industry you operate in. However, being in compliance with them is extremely important for the smooth development of your business. Balancing these two factors is an ideal task for EDI.
With the help of EDI, you can streamline your business processes by eliminating paper and the associated costs, save time, giving you the opportunity to focus on more important tasks, and, most importantly, achieve greater long-term profitability. Investing in EDI software may seem like a significant effort at the beginning, but it brings a multitude of benefits along the way – keeping you up to date with technological innovations and staying one step ahead of your competitors in the market.
The supply chain can undergo positive transformations thanks to cloud-based EDI software. If you operate in the retail industry and are looking for a way to make your operations more efficient and agile, do not hesitate to contact us so that we can find a suitable solution for your needs together.
