Virtual Logistics' Ecommerce Data Integration Blog

A well planned ecommerce integration and whether to choose a middleware package over a single silo EDI solution is closely related. Before I begin to examine this relationship it is important to define a couple of key terms.

Virtual Logistics Inc. today released its fourth ebook, An SMB-SME Guide to EDI, targeted at SMB-SME and midmarket readers.

2012 has almost ended and if you listen to the doom and gloom artists who follow Nostradamus and their own interpretation of the Mayan calendar, on the 21st we all won't be around. Buy hey, its the 21st and I am still here, at least for now. In a former life I studied archaeology, so I figured it would be good to provide you with a number of predictions for the first year of the 14th Baktun, as we at VL see things. But first let's revisit 2012.

One of our widely read blog articles, is one that we wrote a few years ago. Its titled 8 signs your EDI system sucks. While the 8 signs are still valid, and we still see sites with all 8 signs, I thought we would update the 8 signs with 5 more as we come to the end of 2012.

EDI or Die - I thought it would be useful to look back at where EDI started and how things have changed over the years, so I reached out to Randy Smith and asked him to give me an EDI history lesson. Randy wrote SupplyTech's STX12 which later became a Harbinger product. He also co-wrote the Pro_EDI translator, one of the first true EDI integration products. If you ever have the chance to meet and chew the fat with Randy do it. He's one of a kind with a huge amount of experience in doing EDI, so you'll learn a lot.........

I am amazed in our sales cycle by the number people I speak to who have selected an EDI Service provider and found out after the fact that they have been slotted into a one size fits all solution. I don’t know too many businesses that are identical even in the same vertical. The way businesses are run is as diverse as the people who work in these organizations.

I have read, over the past weeks, a number of articles predicting that the VAN (Value Added Network), commonly used for EDI trading partner communications is dying a slow death. The latest article I read postulated that in the next year VAN traffic charges would be nil. Zero, no charge! Not sure I agree with that, but it is definitely a race to the bottom. In medical terms death can be slow or it can be quick. In the case of the VAN it is a tortuously slow death.

Over the years much has been written about the potential cost savings of implementing EDI. Many business have been forced into doing EDI by trading partners in order to retain business and many as a result have taken the easy route and opted for a web based solution.  Why? The web portal solution is cheap, it is easy to become compliant and doesn’t require a buy in from the internal IT people as the solution requires no infrastructure purchase or software setup. Usually a web browser is all that is required. 

Since the building of paved roads and railroad tracks, there has been a need for standards.  Roads were needed to be of a consistent size to accommodate carts, which in turn made the width of carts (and even automobiles today) a specific size and height. Railroad tracks had to be the same width and strength in order for trains to travel across the country.  Standards have always been a part of the movement of goods and services.     

8 Signs your EDI System Sucks