If you have never explored the world of EDI and your business is immersed in a multitude of trading and commercial transactions from day to day, then chances are, one day you will come across it. For the majority of businesses out there, EDI is introduced at the instigation of one of your trading partners.

At Flow, we believe one thing is very clear. EDI saves you time and money by leveraging the existing value from your current IT investment.

Do your Due Diligence with our 10-point Checklist

Use our 10-point checklist when selecting your EDI provider. We want you to get your due diligence correct as the decision you make is a big one.

1. Does the EDI product integrate directly with your accounting and business management software? If it doesn’t, you won’t get all of the potential financial savings on offer.
2. Does the EDI product work with a diverse range of applications? If it doesn’t, you will need to reinvest in new EDI technology if you replace any of those applications.
3. Does the EDI product cater for the trading partner generating the requirement, and will it also support your other trading partners? If it doesn’t, you may need to reinvest to cater for the remainder of your trading partners.
4. Does the EDI product support VAN and offer EDI connections? If it doesn’t, you may need to reinvest to cater for other EDI connections.
5. Does the EDI product support all established document formats, APIs and network protocols? If it doesn’t, you may be denying yourself access to standards demanded by your trading partner.
6. Does the EDI product provide workflow, logging and reporting capabilities? If it doesn’t, you need to question how you will know what has actually taken place.
7. Does the EDI product also cater for additional business needs such as system integration, reporting, and data synchronisation? If it doesn’t, you may find yourself needing to purchase additional products.
8. Does the EDI product require additional investment in hardware or technology? If it does, watch those outgoing costs go up and up and up.
9. Does the EDI provider have a strong working relationship with your trading partners? If it doesn’t, you may find yourself facing considerable delays in testing and implementing the EDI service.
10. Does the EDI provider specialise and focus its entire business around the implementation and supporting of EDI with a proven track record in the industry verified by a host of local success stories?

Read our about our  EDI Offering and  Trading Partners we work with.