Supply chains are unpredictable—geopolitical shifts, supplier shortages, and shipping delays can derail even the best-laid plans. But while external disruptions may be beyond your control, the efficiency of your operations doesn’t have to be. With the right electronic data interchange (EDI) solution you can ensure smooth transactions, accurate data exchange, and stronger trading partner relationships—so your operations stay resilient, no matter what comes your way.

However, not all EDI solutions will meet the unique needs of your business. Success depends on choosing a system that not only fulfills your business requirements but also integrates seamlessly with your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, like Microsoft Dynamics 365. 

To help you make an informed choice, MSDynamicsWorld and Celigo hosted a webinar where EDI experts shared practical strategies for evaluating, implementing, and optimizing EDI solutions and integrating them with Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP. 

Let’s dive into the highlights.

Understanding your options

EDI plays a vital role in modern B2B commerce, enabling businesses to exchange critical documents like purchase orders, invoices, and shipment notifications. By automating these transactions, EDI eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and accelerates supply chain operations. 

However, not all EDI solutions are built for today’s demands. Traditional EDI solutions come with a host of challenges, including lengthy implementation and trading partner onboarding, unpredictable cost spikes, transaction backlogs, and compliance risks that can put your operations in jeopardy.

Dive deeper into the challenges of three common EDI solutions:

• EDI via legacy iPaaS: Legacy iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) platforms are designed for developers, forcing your team to depend on heavy developer resources for EDI implementation and management. This can lead to long implementation times, poor agility, and a high total cost of ownership. 
• Specialized fully managed EDI: With this solution, a third-party provider handles EDI implementation and management—but at a price. You get limited visibility, minimal control, and the frustration of going back and forth with the vendor to resolve issues. Additionally, implementation is often slow, scalability is a challenge, and costs can skyrocket unpredictably since they’re tied to transaction volume.
• Standalone EDI software: This type of solution offers preestablished connections to popular trading partners. However, they often lack end-to-end integration capabilities, meaning you will need another solution like an iPaaS to integrate your ERP or enterprise systems. And because these solutions are designed solely for EDI, they don’t support API based B2B integrations—limiting your flexibility.

Learn more about the pros and cons of each EDI solution.

Evaluating EDI solutions in 6 key steps

Each EDI solution comes with its own set of advantages and challenges. So how do you choose the right one for your business? It starts with a clear evaluation process. Follow this six-step framework to identify the best-fit solution for your needs.

1. Define your business requirements: Identify your trading partner needs, transaction volume, transaction complexity, integration needs, and available EDI and integration resources.
2. Evaluate EDI vendor capabilities: Look for a solution that supports end-to-end automation, both EDI and non-EDI integrations, scalability, customization, self-service flexibility, and real-time transaction visibility.
3. Assess ROI: Evaluate potential cost savings, efficiency gains, compliance benefits, and the long-term financial impact as you scale for each solution.
4. Evaluate implementation and onboarding support: Choose a provider with industry expertise, strong customer support, flexible implementation options, and robust onboarding and training resources.
5. Analyze the total cost of ownership: Consider licensing, implementation, and maintenance costs—including hidden expenses—both now and in the future.
6. Compare EDI options: Weigh all factors to determine which solution best meets your business needs.

Dive deeper into how to evaluate vendor capabilities. 

Maximizing efficiency with B2B Manager

By choosing an EDI solution that is easy to use, provides complete visibility and control, and is cost-effective, you can ensure long-term success for your business. This is exactly where Celigo B2B Manager excels. Celigo B2B Manager eliminates the challenges of traditional EDI solutions by providing a centralized platform for managing B2B and enterprise-wide integrations.

With Celigo B2B Manager, you get more than just an EDI solution—you get a smarter way to manage B2B integrations. Here’s how it delivers real value:

• Faster time-to-trade: Prebuilt trading partner connectors, EDI profiles, and ERP templates provide efficiencies and accelerate implementation.
• Greater visibility and control: A centralized dashboard provides real-time monitoring, error detection, and compliance validation to support self-service EDI management.
• Lower B2B/EDI costs: Unlike transaction-based pricing, Celigo offers a transparent cost model based on trading partners and document types, cutting unnecessary expenses.
• Scale IT and EDI resources: All of the features above allow you to scale IT and EDI resources without requiring additional infrastructure or headcount. 

With Celigo B2B Manager, businesses can streamline EDI, improve efficiency, and scale seamlessly—without the usual roadblocks.

Looking to learn more about EDI solutions tailored for Microsoft Dynamics 365? Watch the on-demand webinar, “Future-Proofing Supply Chains for D365 Users: How to Choose the Right EDI Solution,” today. For a deeper dive, check out our comprehensive guide, “Choosing the right EDI solution: Six steps for retail suppliers.”