Retail orders that enter the ERP without keying, and shipments without rejections
I assess the flow with your major customers, sort out codes and mappings in the ERP, and help you choose an EDI provider and coordinate the connection.
37questions on orders, codes and rejections, in 8 minutes
Orders, dispatch advices and invoices in standard formats
Electronic data interchange (EDI) sends orders, dispatch advices and invoices between companies in agreed formats, such as EDIFACT, X12 or XML, without anyone keying them.
It usually starts because a retail chain requires it. The heavy work is not in the format but in the codes: each product’s GTIN and mappings for the customer’s products and stores.
Signs your company needs one
- Retail orders are downloaded from B2B portals
- Dispatch advices are sent as spreadsheets by email
- Major customers’ orders arrive in different formats
- There are receiving rejections due to differences with the order
- Payment reconciliations with retailers are done by hand
- A new customer requires EDI as a condition of buying
EDI: who it is for and when it does not fit
A good fit for
- Suppliers to supermarket, pharmacy or home improvement chains
- Companies that download purchase orders from B2B portals and key them into the ERP
- Warehouses with rejections at the customer’s receiving dock due to order differences
Not a fit when
- A single customer asks for EDI with few orders a month: their web portal may be enough
- Products have no GTIN or codes agreed with the customer
- The customer uses its own API instead of EDI; a direct integration is assessed instead
The cost of staying as you are
Keying orders
Every order downloaded and copied into the ERP costs people’s time and creates a chance of error in quantity or store.
Receiving rejections
A dispatch advice that does not match what arrives ends in returned goods and freight paid twice.
Customers you cannot open
Some chains do not buy from suppliers that do not exchange via EDI.
How I assess EDI in four steps
The flow is mapped with each customer and codes are sorted in the ERP before choosing the EDI provider.
I map the flow per customer
Messages each retailer requires, deadlines, volume and implementation guides.
I sort out codes
GTIN per unit, case and pallet, and product and store mappings in the ERP.
I help you choose the provider
I compare EDI providers by customers covered, connection to your ERP and cost.
I coordinate the connection
With the provider, so orders flow in and the dispatch advice comes from the warehouse.
What your company provides for the electronic data interchange project
Each customer’s requirements
The EDI guide or supplier manual each chain provides.
Product and location codes
Your products’ GTINs and the customer’s store or delivery codes.
Sample documents
A month of purchase orders, despatch advices and invoices, with any rejections.
Contract with the EDI provider
Your company contracts the EDI network; the provider configures each customer’s maps.
Assessment, requirements and selection
EDI flow assessment
Messages per customer, deadlines, volume and gaps in codes and master data.
Codes and mappings in the ERP
GTIN, customer codes and delivery locations ready before connecting.
Selection and coordination
An EDI provider matrix and coordination of the connection to ERP and warehouse.
Diego Muñoz
I do not implement EDI platforms. I assess the flow with your customers, sort out codes and mappings in the ERP, help you choose the EDI provider and coordinate with them the connection to your ERP and warehouse.
I assess and help you choose; the vendor implements
Take the assessmentMarket options
EDI providers differ in how many Peruvian chains they have already mapped, cost per document and the connector to your ERP.
Other platforms I assess
- SPS Commerce
- TrueCommerce
- OpenText Trading Grid
- Cleo
- Comarch EDI
Selection criteria
- Retailers and partners the provider already connects to
- Supported messages: order, confirmation, dispatch advice, invoice
- Connection to your ERP and warehouse
- Error alerts and support in your time zone
- Cost per message, per partner or by volume
EDI: limits and alternatives
EDI network implementation
I do not implement EDI platforms. The per-customer maps and network connection are configured by the provider you choose.
Certification with each chain
Each customer tests and certifies its messages. The customer sets the timelines.
ERP master data
If codes do not match, the EDI order arrives with errors. That clean-up in the ERP is something I do.
Which other systems it connects to
Integration platforms (iPaaS/ESB) and APIs
Format translation and connection to the ERP.
See the systemEnterprise resource planning
Orders that flow in and invoices that go out with the customer’s codes.
See the systemWarehouse management system
Dispatch advice built from what was actually shipped.
See the systemE-invoicing (SUNAT/OSE)
SUNAT e-invoice and its delivery to the customer in their format.
See the systemMulti-store retail
Operating with retail chains and multiple delivery locations.
See the systemMaster data management
Products and customers without duplicates before mapping.
See the system37 questions and 8 minutes to see where to start
This analysis measures how your company receives purchase orders from chains and large customers, moves them into the ERP and returns dispatch advice and invoice. The questions cover GTIN codes, cross-references, B2B portals, delivery appointments, rejections and deduction reconciliation.
Scored dimensions
- Agreed messages per partner. It observes whether, for each chain or large customer, the sequence of purchase order, confirmation, dispatch advice and invoice is defined, with its implementation guide.
- GTINs, locations and cross-references. It observes whether each pack size has a GTIN in the ERP and whether the customer's product and delivery location codes have a maintained cross-reference.
- Channel and message control. It observes through which channel messages are received and sent, whether each one is checked to arrive exactly once and who handles errors.
- Order and dispatch in the ERP. It observes whether the purchase order enters the ERP as a sales order automatically and whether the dispatch advice comes from what the warehouse actually picked.
- Rejections, prices and reconciliation. It observes whether price and product are validated before loading the order, whether rejections are measured by cause and whether each chain's payments and deductions are reconciled with invoice and delivery note.
What you receive
When you finish, you receive your level in each exchange dimension and the gaps ranked by priority. Each gap comes with a first action to coordinate with your EDI provider, your ERP or your warehouse.
19 scored questions and 13 context questions (type of operation, size, current system). Context questions are not scored: they let us read the result against similar operations.
Free of charge. Only Diego Muñoz sees your answers.
Before you start
No. I assess the flow, sort out codes and mappings in the ERP, help you choose the EDI provider and coordinate the connection with them. The provider operates the network and message mappings.
It is the standard barcode that identifies your product to retailers. It is obtained through GS1 Peru and must be recorded in the ERP per unit and, where relevant, per case and pallet.
It depends on that customer’s volume and on future ones. With a single partner, their portal or a simple connection is sometimes enough; I compare that with the cost of an EDI provider.
The online assessment and the 30-minute review with Diego are free and carry no commitment.
Only Diego Muñoz sees them, to prepare the review. They are not shared with third parties or used for bulk mailings.
Review your EDI case with Diego in 30 minutes
Diego Muñoz replies in person, on Lima time. If you have taken the assessment, he comes with your answers already read.
WhatsApp +51 919 488 260 · damunoz@dmunozgroup.com