Photo appears courtesy of Social Innovation Camp. We have offered a lot of advice about integration over the two and a half years that we have been blogging. Rather than make you look for those pearls of wisdom, we thought it would be nice to create a handy digest for data integration best practices. For you integration veterans out there, if you have any tidbits of advice you’d like to share, please feel free to comment. We love hearing from our readers!
- “It’s not uncommon today to find a small company selling artisan toffee to the big retailers using EDI, all while also selling direct to consumers using an e-commerce site AND successfully marketing using social media. The difference between them and those on the cutting edge is that the latter has all of these processes integrated.” ~ January 24, 2014
- “My recommendation is that if you’re processing more than 20 transactions per day, then you should be integrated.” ~ March 15, 2013
- “Even if you are using EDI software or EDI services that you purchased within the past 5 years, you owe it to your company to investigate what is out there now. You will be surprised how much more efficient your EDI operations can be, and most importantly, how much your bottom line will love it.” ~ February 1, 2013
- “The second biggest consideration for an integration solution includes engaging with a mentor like myself. Along with my expertise, I am backed by Aurora EDI Alliance partners and the manufacturer’s professional services team to establish best practices, training and support for your integration project to move you in the right direction.” ~ January 18, 2013
- “The point is whether or not you use your solution to its fullest capability and exploit its strengths. It’s easy to sit in your cubicle and criticize…but it’s much more effective to work with your solution and help it live up to its potential.” ~ October 12, 2012
- “While you’re considering the investment to integrate, reevaluating your accounting system may not be a bad idea either. Will it meet your long term business goals? Will it grow with you or will you outgrow it? Many of the traditional EDI software proposals we submit are for companies who are also replacing their ERP and/or accounting system.” ~ September 28, 2012
- “Make sure that you are comparing apples to apples. For example, if one EDI software package offers built-in AS2 and one doesn’t, how much will it be to add it? Hint: Don’t get so hung up on pricing that you end up with a solution that becomes more of a problem than a solution! Always think long term and look at the big picture.” ~ May 11, 2012
- “I have always believed that ERP folks are experts at what they do – Enterprise Resource Planning. And EDI folks are experts at what they do – Electronic Data Interchange or integration between systems. Leaving the EDI projects to the folks who construct the real world solutions every day allows you to focus on what YOU do best.” ~ May 4, 2012
- “Look around your company to see how many people are receiving spreadsheets or files from others (customers, suppliers, etc.) and spending hours manually manipulating them to get the data they need. Often they turn around and key that data into the ERP system! This is the kind of manual process that slows down production and keep companies from growing.” ~ November 3, 2011
We hope you have enjoyed our compilation of data integration best practices. This group is comprised of some of the best EDI and data integration experts the industry has to offer so this valuable guidance comes from many years of experience and expertise.
Do you still have questions about the wide world of EDI? Find the answers in our free eBook: EDI Implementation Made Simple
