EDI Integration & Why It's Important to Your Business

In the age of digital transformation, EDI (Electronic Data Exchange) technology is used to create new business information flows that never existed on paper. As the technology grows, companies need to incorporate more than traditional EDI standards. There are country-specific laws (HIPAA, GDPR, etc.), data collection and protection guidelines, privacy laws, business intelligence guides, and more. Companies must adhere to these laws and guides when implementing an EDI Integration, but how do they proceed without budget-breaking investments in IT resources? 

Finding the right EDI integration technology partner gives companies the power to surpass their competition by focusing on business growth and customer satisfaction, automating much of the sales and marketing process, and access business intelligence data in just a few clicks.

What is EDI Integration?

Absolute Market Insights provides the best overview and definition of EDI Integration:

EDI Integration is “the introduction of the latest EDI solutions with cutting edge technologies... with a complicated mixture of three disciplines at its core: business, data processing, and data communications.” The choices for this technology can include AI (artificial intelligence), cloud-deployed solutions, blockchain technology, machine learning, and data analytics, all while maintaining BI security.

EDI is a stand-alone tool, while EDI Integration is the instrument that maximizes the tool. EDI is the tool that transmits purchase orders, agreements, and contracts, and EDI Integration is the instrument that syncs all the data from those documents with the CRM, HR, Finance, TMS, cloud storage, etc. For businesses that want a cloud-based solution, PaaS is the leading choice for EDI integration for its cloud-first technology and value-added capabilities. 

Why is EDI Integration Important?

EDI Integration improves business operations with customers, suppliers, vendors, etc., while reducing operational costs, ensuring data accuracy and security, and keeping companies in compliance with global and industry regulations. Both large B2B companies and small businesses are using EDI integrations to gain all the benefits that modern EDI has to offer. 

Many companies are looking for guidance on the most effective and efficient way to integrate data from different systems without increasing IT costs. Keep reading to learn about the latest tips and tricks, gain an understanding of the key technology in the space, and learn more about using a third-party data integration platform.

Key Benefits of EDI Integration

EDI integration software and solutions will not only help enterprises extend their data management capabilities, but will deliver business benefits as well.

• Cost Savings: EDI integration, when implemented correctly, reduces overhead and administrative costs for businesses of all sizes. EDI alone will reduce costs associated with paper, printing, storage, filing, postage, and document management. When a cloud-based system is integrated with a CRM, analytics tool, or other efficiency software, it can significantly reduce administrative, resource, and maintenance costs. 
• Faster Commerce. Integrated EDI helps your supply chain become more efficient and productive by connecting order data directly to the accounting or ERP system. This means less time spent on tedious manual tasks, such as calculating invoices manually which can lead to errors that cause problems in other areas of the company.
• Increase Accuracy. API-led connectivity allows for communication between all disparate technologies and makes them work together as an application network, reducing errors and improving the fulfillment process with vendors.
• Data Enrichment. With data, accuracy comes data enrichment for the CRM. Your CRM will be up-to-date at all times, including all relevant information about recent changes in your existing customer's business. With real-time data enrichment and tracking of the same, your customer success team can identify customers in need of assistance or follow-up, repeat orders, or make suggestions based on order data.
• Improve Productivity. Team members will no longer need to create receipts for stock, track down invoices, track supplier performance, and they can spend time on other tasks. 

For companies that are struggling with EDI integration or are reluctant to prioritize the implementation, PaaS is a logical, popular choice. Platform as a Service (PaaS) global spending is forecast to double in size by 2022 compared to 2018 and set to surpass 30 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2022, and for good reason. The benefits outweigh the disadvantages, and building and deploying applications with speed are easier than ever before. 

For example, PaaS technology is an excellent choice for businesses that need to deploy, run, manage and scale their cloud applications. Heroku maintains PCI, HIPAA, ISO, and SOC compliance and is trusted by brands like Citrix, Kajabi, Salesforce, ThinkMD, and more.

Related Reading: Heroku Data Transfer

In the present business environment, it is crucial for organizations to adopt a new way of thinking about integration. Implementing a PaaS system can help companies with today’s requirements and set them up for future success when considering their investments in IT solutions and gaining results without cutting corners.

EDI Integration Myths

Myth: EDI is a relic technology that persists today because it was an industry-standard at one time. Fact: Modern EDI integration tools improve business processes, which means faster processing, fewer errors, and improved business operations. In addition to these operational benefits, they provide real-time visibility into EDI transactions so that managers can make smarter decisions in less time, exceeding customer expectations.

Myth: In order to implement EDI integration, a lot of custom coding will take up time and resources. Fact: Integrate.io is a low-code, cloud-based ETL platform. With just one click, analysts can connect their data sources and repository with BI tools of choice to get working in minutes without needing an elite team of data scientists on hand.

Myth: A large IT team with expert coding experience will be required to maintain EDI integration software. Fact: EDI Integration software and platforms offer a fully managed, scalable cloud platform, giving developers the ability to build, deploy, and manage apps. Small and big businesses alike use these platforms and software to test prototypes and launch critical business applications.

Why Is EDI Integration an Important Business Priority? 

EDI Integration should be at the top of your business priority list because it has gained popularity in recent years. Your competitors are already using it!

For those companies that aren't using it, they're busy dealing with complex global regulations and standards, managing complex IT infrastructure, hardware headaches, and wasting money on hundreds of engineering hours.

Conclusion: Painless Integration

Cloud solutions will allow your company to improve document exchanges without having to invest in expensive hardware or new servers. A point-and-click interface will give you out-of-the-box data transformations.

The world has changed, and now every company needs a plan for success in this new era of connectivity which demands more awareness than ever before about what information can be collected from customers and prospects. With a cloud service offering, every enterprise gets easy access to currently untapped sources of consumer insight while also gaining instant connection with all documents necessary for operations.

Partner with the leading automated data integration service for Salesforce CRM and other cloud systems. Integrate.io will replace your tedious tasks of code writing. Your company can transfer any type of information to Salesforce in an instant with Integrate.io's quick setup process.

If your integration system is missing the mark, let us help. With Integrate.io, you'll have access to the fastest and easiest way to integrate your cloud data. With no coding required, you can connect any of your datasets in a matter of minutes. We have the latest and most advanced products and services. We can advise you on how to maximize your EDI efforts by setting the right goals and using the right tools. You will never again experience data propagation without a clear plan, and your company, your partners, and your customers will notice the difference.

Integrate.io integrates with over 30 Sales Tools.

To learn more about getting started with painless EDI Integration, get in touch and book a demo.

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The Five Types of Data Integration

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