Bad news: What if the same message started with… 1001110001011100 (binary)… or Quiero comprar…, or Chcę kupić…,or Je veux acheter…, or
Welcome to the world of the automotive supplier, where order requests come into your organisation in multiple ways (i.e., electronically, manually, with or without kanban or In Line Vehicle Sequence data) and with multiple interpretations. You may be thinking… “Odette and the AIAG has set standards on EDI formats. I have common EDI formats for inbound purchase orders… right?”
Well, sort of. Nope.
Even though EDI frameworks define a common interpretation, senders of EDI transactions to suppliers often can, and do, interpret segment data in a variety of ways. This is why automotive suppliers typically cannot use a “standard” ERP system or EDI solution, and need to have systems that can interpret mixed EDI and spot buy orders, without missing a beat.
And let’s not forget that the EDI of today may not be the EDI of tomorrow… IT IS CHANGING.
To make things even more interesting, inbound EDI forecasts and Just in Time transactions are more often including information that must be on specific outbound package labels and shipping notifications. If you don’t get the labels or ASNs right, you could have supplier rating penalties and a variety of other issues that impact your profit.
The best news… if you are an automotive supplier we can help you decipher your EDI requirements and provide a solution that fully integrates with your ERP system. Contact us here at Perceptant Limited. We are UK-based EDI, XML and B2B specialists with over 20 years experience in leveraging Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Infor, Epicor, SAGE, Unit4 and many other ERP and Accounting solutions.
