Tag Archive - EDI

[Guest Post] Advance Shipping Notices – Digital & Physical Supply Chain Consideration

 

Today Celtrino welcome a guest post from Michael Kelsey, a founder of Business Software Solutions and one of Celtrino’s business integration partners.

Supply Chain Pressures

Michael Kelsey

Michael Kelsey, Owner at Business Software Solutions

In these days of ultra-competitive pricing, the retailers are making every effort to control costs within their own businesses.  With the labour cost attached to moving stock through the organisation, streamlining activities within the supply chain becomes ever more critical.  A number of retailers are requiring their suppliers to support this process by providing information electronically in advance to ensure stocks can be received, stored and acknowledged with minimum manual intervention.

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Posted on September 28, 2012 in Advanced Shipping Notice, Supply Chain by
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Who Can Benefit from Celtrino Express? An Interview with John Behan

 

Celtrino Express provides a document transaction platform for moving information between supply chain partners securely and with a full audit trail history to provide transparent reporting of processing progress. John Behan, Director at Celtrino, explains more about the potential applications of Celtrino Express.

John Behan, Director at Celtrino, explains the key benefits of Celtrino Express e-Billing Service

John Behan, Director at Celtrino

“Transferring documents electronically between businesses has always been a trade-off between simplicity with error, such as when using email, or extremely complex to prevent these errors, such as traditional EDI. Neither of these approaches is ideal as online businesses move towards a more social model,” said Behan, “which is why Celtrino Express has been specifically designed to be simple and intuitive to use whilst providing a secure mechanism for transparent audit trail creation and workload reduction.”

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Posted on May 25, 2012 in Celtrino Express, Celtrino Platform, EDI, Supply Chain, Supply Chain Management by
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e-Invoicing Up 20% Globally According to New Report

 

A new study commissioned by e-Invoicing provider Basware in conjunction with consultancy Billentis has found that the use of electronic invoices for B2B transactions rose by 20% during 2011. The report found that although many businesses elected to implement e-Invoicing for their own benefit, legislative changes in several countries also had a large part to play in the increased rates of adoption.

e-Invoicing Up 20% Globally

Mexico led the way with legislative changes, mandating that any business trading over a certain threshold must exchange electronic invoices – an approach set to be adopted by Greece, Spain, Norway and Kazakhstan during 2012. The Scandinavian countries, the Benelux union and German also introduced legislation designed to encourage the uptake of e-Invoicing, although most adoption throughout these states was as a result of businesses identifying their own economic benefits for doing so. Finland went one step further by insisting businesses submit invoices to state bodies electronically.

The study also found that the legal status of electronic invoices still varies between countries. In Japan and China, although electronic invoices can be exchanged, they are regarded legally as a copy requiring a paper invoice to be raised for regulatory purposes. Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia however grant electronic invoices the same legal status as a paper version.

Commenting on the results of the report, Karri Lehtonen, Vice President of Basware said, ‘Legislation regarding financial records varies between regions. Paper based invoicing requires a business to understand these legal variants to trade globally. e-Invoicing technology removes this headache as it automates compliance with countries’ different legal requirements.’

Further to Lehtonen’s observations, the use of an outsourced global platform for electronic invoicing has the potential to transcend diverse national legislation allowing businesses to focus on their customer’s requirements, without constructing complex EDI systems to cross borders. As more countries make e-Invoicing mandatory, the process will become more complex for businesses operating in multiple markets; a cloud-based platform such as Celtrino’s Smart Admin reduces the technical and regulatory burden on a business whilst allowing them to trade anywhere and everywhere.


Posted on February 24, 2012 in Cloud Computing, e-Invoicing, EDI, Report, Smart Admin by
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Boeing Prove Direct Integration Is Not Everything

 

During late 2011, Boeing finally began shipment of their latest aircraft, the 787 ‘Dreamliner’. Three years late and massively over budget, the Dreamliner has had a troubled route to market but Boeing executives are convinced that the changes the technological and manufacturing advances made during the project, coupled with their new approach to supply chain management will reap major benefits in the future.

Prior to the Dreamliner, Boeing bought parts from suppliers before assembling the finished aircraft themselves. The 787 project however required suppliers to design and build major sections of the aircraft before delivering them to Boeing. The ultimate goal was to reduce the final assembly time by Boeing to just three days.Supply Chain Management in Boeing

To make this ambitious plan a reality, Boeing implemented a collaboration hub which would bring together all 34,000 suppliers involved with producing parts for the Dreamliner. The system allows suppliers access to real time data to ensure that every single part is assembled in the correct order and delivered on time; with a three day assembly window, timing of deliveries is critical so that everything is in place at the right time.

The centralised data system means that every member of the supply chain is immediately aware of any potential delays and can adjust their assembly and delivery schedules accordingly. As the primary buyer, Boeing are able to gain an instant overview of the entire supply chain, so that parts are only ordered as requested and helping to speed payment of invoices between suppliers.

One of the most notable aspects of Boeing’s new supply chain management platform is that it is not reliant on every supplier having the same ERP systems in place in their businesses. Instead of using a proprietary EDI format to join inventory and accounts systems, the new Boeing platform collects and retains information in the online hub.

Although Boeing’s new cloud-based supply chain management system has revolutionised the way that the business operates in terms of efficiencies and future cost savings, there remains room for improvement. Using a platform which allows for transparent data transfer between ERP systems would further reduce complexity and potential data duplication between onsite systems and Boeing’s portal. Time will tell whether Boeing’s supply chain management system undergoes such an evolution.

 


Posted on January 17, 2012 in Cloud Computing, ERP, Integrated Supply Chain Management Platform, Supply Chain Integration, Supply Chain Management by
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e-Invoicing, Beyond PDF – Part 1

 

At the most simple level, electronic invoicing is replacing a physical, paper invoice, with an electronic equivalent. For most businesses, their e-Invoicing process is to create a PDF version of the invoice document which is then emailed to their customer. Although this system works well in principle, it can still be improved upon.

Firewall Failure

One of the basic problems that has plagued email since it became a major business tool, is its vulnerability to misuse. The most common way to distribute viruses and malware is via an email attachment which is opened unwittingly by the recipient.

Modern network security techniques and antivirus software reduce the risk of viral infection, but at the same time are notorious for detecting ‘false positives’ and archiving or deleting genuine messages as well as those that are infected. Should your invoice be one of those messages incorrectly identified as a virus or spam, there will be a natural delay in payment of your bill.e-Invoicing: Beyond PDF

Valuable time and effort will be spent emailing additional copies of the original invoice or negotiating with IT departments to have the message released from quarantine. Such delays cost in terms of duplicated effort, time spent chasing up missing invoices and increased costs associated with late payments.

The Solution

The obvious way to prevent an electronic invoice from being incorrectly deleted is to completely bypass traditional email mechanisms completely. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) technologies already exist to perform these transactions, but they tend to be both costly and difficult to implement.

Enter the hosted e-Invoicing platform. These systems, exemplified by Celtrino’s Smart Admin service, require no onsite EDI installation and are capable of traversing corporate firewalls and anti-malware systems quickly and efficiently. An electronic invoice submitted via Smart Admin leaves your accounts system and is entered automatically into your client’s accounts system without any delay or manual intervention.

PDF invoicing is a step towards greater efficiency, but Smart Admin invoicing will revolutionise your billing and payments system for the better. Watch out for the second part of this article about life beyond the PDF on Dumping Double Entry.


Posted on December 21, 2011 in e-Invoicing, EDI, Smart Admin by
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Cloud computing, e-commerce and how automating your documents can save you big

 

“Supply chains that rely on paper-based purchasing, order and inventory reconciliation, and all-important billing and payments, are prone to error, are going to be subject to delay and query, and require a lot of labour to control (…)” Read on our ‘Battle of supply chains’ post.

 

Cloud computing, e-commerce and how automating your documents can save you big

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Posted on November 24, 2011 in Business Process Automation, Cloud Computing, e-Invoicing, EDI, European Union by
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EDI – Did You Know?

 

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)DI, or Electronic Data Interchange to give it its full title, has been around as a “standard” since the 1970s, facilitating data transfer between businesses ever since. The idea of providing a strict data structure which would facilitate data transfer between computer systems without involving human intervention, thus reducing the space for human error, was immediately attractive.

Skip forward 30 years and the attraction of automation and reduced intervention remains very attractive. In fact, so attractive that there are currently more than 50 different EDI standards in active use across the European Union.

Why?

The advent of the flexible data interchange markup language XML in the 1990s, immediately allowed business sectors who believed that their market vertical was significantly different to others to create their own EDI standards. The ease of use meant that just about anyone could define and implement their own standard to meet their needs, whether or not something suitable already existed.

Even the European Union got in on the act, creating an EDI standard specifically for short distance sea trips, such as ferry crossings between England and France, as a distinctly separate standard to that in place for long haul shipping.

Problem?

This proliferation of standards is not such a problem for businesses operating solely within a particular sector, but any who supply to multiple industries or sectors will need to implement several different systems to cope with the EDI demands of each customer. Not only is such a system hugely complex to implement and manage, it is seldom cost effective either.

Clearly, pulling out of the market altogether is not an option, but a system which interacts transparently with all required formats without intervention is preferable. A system which requires no on-going maintenance and is hosted externally is even more desirable because of the potential cost savings available.

The future?

The UN and EU have both tasked committees with finding a way to condense their own plethora of competing standards; despite their best efforts they were only able to rationalise 12 different e-invoicing standards into two. Neither committee was able to find a way of bending the standards to meet every need.

The solution clearly lies in finding a system which allows industries, sectors and sub-sectors to continue with their current EDI formats, but which translates electronic invoicing and payment data automatically and transparently into the correct format for both supplier and purchaser. Such a system immediately reduces the burden on businesses looking to trade across industries, reducing their own EDI implementations to just one, externally hosted solution.

 

To find out how Celtrino’s Smart Admin platform could help reduce your EDI implementation complexities, please contact us at +353 1 873 99 02.

 


Posted on November 21, 2011 in e-Invoicing, EDI, EU, European Union by
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Automating accounts payable delivers big savings

 

Have a read of my recent interview with the Manufacturer about how to eliminate the pain of accounts payable processing.

Accounts payable process improvements deliver big savings

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Posted on November 10, 2011 in Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Advanced Shipping Notice, EDI, Purchase Order Capture Automation, Supply Chain Performance by
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Masters of Supply Chain Management – Edward A Guilbert

 

Many of the large players in the EDI world would have us believe that the concept of joined-up supply chain management is a product of the 21st Century. Or maybe the late 1990s if they were feeling generous. Few however realise that the foundations for electronic data interchange were actually laid during a European crisis in 1948.

At the end of World War II, Russian forces blockaded parts of Berlin, preventing Allied access to the areas of Berlin for which each nation was responsible. US, French and British forces were immediately unable to get into the parts of the city they controlled.

The Berlin Airlift was implemented as a way to deliver food and other important supplies to Allied forces and local people through the only way possible – air cargo. For 13 months, an almost constant stream of aircraft landed, dropped off cargo, and departed again, eventually delivering more than 2 million tonnes of food.

Space on the tarmac at the Berlin airport was at a premium. Consequently flights arrived and were turned around for departure again in minutes. And with no onsite storage, cargo had to be collected by the receivers as soon as the plane touched the ground.

Edward A. Guilbert's manifests marked the start of EDI standardsBecause every aspect of The Berlin Airlift had to be performed at the fastest possible speed, logistics officers, led by US Army Master Sergeant Edward A Guilbert, had to develop a way of tracking all of the cargo arriving in the city. Upon commencement of the Airlift, it rapidly became apparent that the different manifest forms accompanying each delivery were totally different, some even in other languages. Clearly something had to be done to standardise the process.

Guilbert and his team managed to develop a standard manifest system which they could easily transmit via telex, radio-teletype or telephone and which allowed them to track the contents of several thousand tonnes of cargo every day. Cargo manifests were transmitted from the despatch point to Berlin as soon as the plane was en route, advising Guilbert and his team of the work required when the cargo arrived.

Through standardisation, Guilbert’s team were able to implement an orderly logistics and distribution system thanks to the time savings made. It may not have been as instantaneous as internet-connected systems, but Guilbert’s manifests marked the start of EDI standards.


Posted on November 2, 2011 in EDI, Supply Chain, Supply Chain Management by
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Supply Chain Integration Part 4 – Best Practice

 

Best Practice written on a white boardThe recognition that supply chain integration with your suppliers and partners is of paramount importance is the first step in a sometimes challenging and complex process. Each member of a supply chain has their own way of doing things, using a variety of different systems which at first glance are probably not fully interoperable.

Despite being a “standard” Electronic Data Interchange, or EDI as it is known for short, there are many minute variations and tweaks required in order for one computer system to “talk” to another. As a result, reconfiguration will have to take place at each supplier to allow for smooth communications. EDI setup and maintenance is an expert job and being time intensive, is also costly. As a result the use of an outsourced service which does the required EDI translations automatically is preferable.

The use of an externally hosted Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment (EIPP) system allows every member of the supply chain to integrate their payment systems for maximum compatibility, whilst retaining complete autonomy over their own data and in house processes. During the supply chain integration process, companies can choose to enable as much or as little interchange as they desire. Obviously the more interchange permitted, the greater the on-going cost savings through a reduction in labour costs that would be accrued through manual processing of the same actions.

Clearly the complexities of such an integration is outside the experience (or interest) of most businesses and so they will need to secure the services of a specialist consultancy. Here are three suggestions to help when choosing:

  1. A proven track record in successful completion of supply chain integration. Any company you consider should have verifiable testimonials from previous customers and reference sites which can be visited for first-hand verification.
  2. Experience in trading community onboarding. Integration projects deal not only with system interoperability, but also the political issues raised by bringing together businesses with differing values and ethics.
  3. The ability to make integration as simple as possible with the minimum of disruption for any member of the supply chain.

In the light of these suggestions, expertise in supply chain integration is just one facet of the decision process. The technology and methodology used is just as important with on and off site implementations of supply chain integration. Clearly Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) options which see the EDI services hosted externally are preferable in terms of scalability, speed of deployment and minimisation of disruption – all data interchange is performed externally with minimal local reconfiguration required.

 

Supply Chain Integration Part 1

Supply Chain Integration Part 2

Supply Chain Integration Part 3

Supply Chain Integration Part 5


Posted on October 21, 2011 in BPO, Business Process Outsourcing, EDI, Electronic Invoice Presentment & Payment, Outsourced EDI, Supply Chain Integration, Supply Chain Performance by
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