6 Reasons to Partner with EDI Managed Service Providers

Week #5 of IDEA’s EDI Masterclass: Your Ultimate Guide to Streamlining Business Processes with Electronic Data Interchange

By Tom Guzik, Director, Digital Integration Services, IDEA

headshot of Tom Guzik

Managing Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) operations in-house can be so expensive, complex, and resource-intensive, it undermines the cost-saving, efficiency-enhancing benefits of automating document exchange between trading partners. Entrusting EDI operations to a managed services provider like IDEA eliminates compliance fines, EDI operational expenses, and the overhead associated with finding and retaining EDI professionals.

Solving Staffing Shortages with EDI Experts

In today’s market, experienced EDI professionals are retiring faster than replacements can be trained and maintaining a skilled in-house team is growing more difficult by the day. Like an extension of your internal team, IDEA Exchange Managed Services applies decades of experience in the electrical industry and technical EDI to meet the specific needs of any business.

Cost Savings by Foregoing Software

Did you know you can save up to $45,000 by eliminating the need to own and support EDI translation or mapper software? Instead of relying on in-house resources, companies can leverage IDEA’s expertise to create, modify, deploy, and update custom document translation maps. While IDEA manages the technical aspects, companies retain ownership of the maps and communication to maintain complete control over EDI operations.

Simplified Connections with Managed AS2/FTP Hosting

Companies that do not use a Value-Added Network (VAN) often struggle to maintain secure and reliable communication channels with trading partners. IDEA’s hosting services and managed connections for AS2, FTP, OFTP, and OFTP2 connections provide secure delivery of all EDI documents — even in the event of technical issues.

IDEA’s team is always on hand to promptly identify and resolve any problems, so transaction processes run smoothly regardless of the platform used by a trading partner.

Expedited Trading Partner Onboarding

Unique technical requirements can prolong onboarding and overload internal teams. When IDEA handles all the technical aspects, new trading partners are integrated faster into an EDI system that complies with their requirements.

Expertise to Offer Continuous Optimization

IDEA’s EDI managed services extend beyond troubleshooting and workload management. The IDEA Exchange Managed Services team uses their collective decades of industry experience and technical EDI expertise to help companies grow their businesses through EDI improvements.

Tailored EDI Solutions for Your Business

Whether it’s a legacy system migration or a custom solution implementation, IDEA listens to every company’s challenges and goals to develop a managed services solution that enables business growth. Unlike other providers who offer a one-size-fits-all approach, IDEA takes the time to understand each company’s specific needs and business goals. As Phil Hale, Chief Information Officer of Elliott Electric Supply, says regarding his experience partnering with IDEA for EDI managed services, “IDEA tailored their services around our business and what we wanted to accomplish—and they did so within our budget guidelines.”

Why Choose IDEA Exchange for EDI Managed Services?

Entrusting EDI operations to IDEA’s industry-leading Exchange Managed Services eliminates the need to scour hiring sites for skilled EDI professionals, reduces operational costs, and ensures compliance with trading partner requirements. In short, it helps businesses realize the promises of EDI without the burden on internal teams.

To learn more, contact Ilene Bromberg (ibromberg@idea4industry.com) or visit the IDEA Exchange Managed Services page.

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