TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

Solving EDI Onboarding
Challenges

TECHNOLOGYGUIDE 1Solving
EDI Onboarding Challenges|

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EDI Onboarding: Introduction
If you’re a supplier who wants to work with large. retail partners, such as Target or Walmart, you’ll berequired to exchange data with them using EDI Even under the best of circumstances, EDI partner
onboarding can be a long, complex process.
Without proper resources and sufficient planning, it can take six months or more, causing real harm toyour business, resulting in:•Lost revenues:
revenues During EDI setup, you’re leaving
money on the table while you’re unable to sell
your product in the partner’s stores•

Damage to partner relationships: If your EDI
onboarding process is too difficult, it can evenreduce your ability to do business with certain
partners altogether

In this guide, we walk you through, step-by-step, how to create a well-defined partner onboarding process
that’s fast, efficient, and reliable. We’ll show how the right process gives you the visibility to meet partner
requirements, effectively monitor EDI success, and reduce EDI setup bottlenecks.
Let’s look at how you can navigate and streamline the EDI onboarding process to move beyond solving

hassles — even turn EDI into a competitive advantage for your business.

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1

Establish EDI Specifications
Requirements differ for each partner. You’ll need document specifications for how tosend files to each one. These include the file types your partner sends and receives aswell as document details, such as which fields to include.

2Set Up The Transport Connection
Establish connectivity via AS2, FTP, SFTP, or another protocol specified by yourpartner. Exchange identifiers, certificates, etc. to create a profile for your business
partner in your file transfer solution.

3

Map Your Data for Integration
Mapping takes raw documents your partner sends, then converts them into a format
that integrates with your backend systems. It’s the toughest part of EDI onboarding,requiring deep knowledge of your backend systems and processes.

4Repeat the Process with New Partners
Once you’ve built an EDI process for one partner, it should be easier to repeat it for thenext one. While details differ for each partner, you can use existing integrations as astarting point and make modifications.

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Solving EDI Onboarding Challenges| 4Accelerating the EDI Partner
Onboarding Process
What do you need to speed up your EDI onboarding processes?

The Right Expertise
Having someone to manage and support your EDI onboarding process is critical. If you have EDI staff thatknows your systems and where to go to update your ERP, accounting, logistics, shipping and other tools, EDI
onboarding will go much faster than if you outsource. If you do outsource, be sure your resources collaborate
with your internal business teams to learn your business processes and necessary backend systems.

The Right Tools
Integration platform as a service (iPaaS) solutions allow you to connect to many backend systems. But while
many have B2B EDI capabilities, they don’t always have the depth of capabilities required to support some ofthe complex documents and scenarios your trading partner may demand. For example, they may not handle:
Bespoke applications

Custom schemas

Custom, non-standard formats, such as flat files

Complex mapping requirements

Large file sizes

Make sure the solution you select supports all the types of integrations you require.

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Visibility into Transactions
Once you set up the EDI connection, you’ll need to do testing to ensure it operates correctly. For that, you’ll
need monitoring capabilities to evaluate what’s going on with the process. For example, when you receive
an EDI 850 Purchase Order, you’ll need to track when the Functional Acknowledgement, Purchase Order
Response, Advance Ship Notice or Invoice is sent back in response. Having visibility into the entire processand gaining the ability to search the full transaction log will simplify troubleshooting and speed the overall
onboarding process.

Reusable Assets
If you have to write custom logic to onboard every trading partner, your process will quickly become
unmanageable. A solution with a reusable API architecture will enable you to reuse many aspects of yourexisting integrations, accelerating new partner onboarding. While you won’t be able to directly cut andpaste, you will be able to use the first map as a starting point and guide.

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Software to Accelerate EDI PartnerOnboarding
What to look for in a modern EDI solution. Find the right tools and you
can solve the majority of EDI onboarding challenges right off the bat.

Modernizing a Legacy Technology
EDI systems are a legacy technology that have accumulated more than 50 years of technical complexities
over time. As a result, onboarding EDI trading partners can present a difficult challenge. You need to gather
EDI document specifications from your partners, set up transport connections, and understand the EDI
data, which has its own structure and highly technical syntax, to map it to or from your internal systems.
Troubleshooting network issues on often unreliable networks is another sticking point.
To make matters worse, many EDI software solutions are archaic, using complex interfaces with asubstantial learning curve rather than modern technologies such as web-based UIs. Fortunately, newer EDI
solutions can dramatically simplify the process of onboarding EDI partners.
The following are some things to look for when you evaluate a solution that can help you accelerate andsimplify the EDI partner onboarding process:EDI Connectors

EDI Mapping

Reusable Assets



APIs



Simple Troubleshooting, Maintenance, and Monitoring

We’ll explore each of these key components.

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EDI Connectors
One way to speed up EDI partner onboarding is to use a solution that provides connectors. Bundledconnectors are reusable building blocks for creating a data flow between trading partners. Each connector
inputs messages and either transforms them from one format to another, transports them securely to andfrom their destination, or integrates with an application or platform. If your solution lacks connectors forany of these systems, you’ll need multiple EDI solutions, adding complexity and slowing processes.

1

Data Transformation Connectors
Data transformation connectors are used to change the format of messages between
EDI standard document formats and the formats used by popular applications anddatabases — e.g. between XML and X12 or EDIFACT.

2Transport Connectors
Transport connectors, such as an AS2 connector, enable you to securely send files topartners, between cloud systems, and across local networks. When choosing a solution,
look for one that can support the protocols your partners are using.

3

Integration Connectors
Integration connectors link various apps, databases, and tools to connect EDI
documents into your systems and start automations. For example, when you receive anEDI Purchase Order, you can automatically create an entry in your accounting system,
update your ERP, and generate a shipping notice in your logistics software.

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Other Key Components of EDI Solutions
Intuitive EDI Mapping
Many mapping tools require coding. Look for a tool with a point-and-click design to simplify mapping
between data formats. An intuitive user interface lets non-technical users set up connectors and map data
between source and target tables..

Reusable Assets
Once you’ve onboarded one trading partner, a solution that provides reusable packages, such as maps andbusiness logic, saves time onboarding the next one. You can tweak the existing process and mappings,
rather than rebuilding them each time from scratch.

APIs
When onboarding many connections, the process often requires redundant tasks, such as setting up eachpartner’s AS2 Identifier, public certificate, and other connection details. A solution that exposes its features
through a web API like REST, JSON, or OData lets you onboard connections programmatically or create
scripted management workflows to automate onboarding or set up multiple partner profiles at once.

Logs & Searching
Once you’ve completed partner onboarding, it’s time to test out your EDI data flows. To speed up yourtesting, troubleshooting, and onboarding, select a solution that monitors all interactions and provides
tagging to make the data inside EDI documents searchable. For example, if you receive a PO and yourpartner never receives the ship notification in response, you may need to perform a search to see if it was
actually sent.

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TECHNOLOGY GUIDESolving EDI Onboarding Challenges| 9Challenges & Solutions Following
Onboarding
EDI is a continuous and ongoing initiative, requiring coordination with yourpartners and IT systems.

Post-Implementation Challenges
We’ve covered the challenges you’ll face in onboarding partners with EDI and what to look for in asoftware solution to speed and simplify this process. Following your integration, you’ll need to ensure theongoing success of your EDI system in the face of ever-changing business conditions.
Once your EDI integration is complete, you might see changes to a range of technologies and businessconditions that will affect your EDI systems.

Digital Encryption Certificates
Certificates can expire after one, two, or five years. If the partner changes certificates, they’ll notify you so
you can update your integration accordingly.

Architecture
You may change your architecture from on-premises to the cloud or vice versa. Your solution will need tosupport your new infrastructure and be portable across environments.

SoftwareYour CIO may change your ERP, for example, from Dynamics GP to NetSuite, requiring your organization
to alter your mappings and backend processes to interoperate with the new solution.

Personnel and ExpertiseYour in-house EDI experts, who know your EDI integrations, may leave your team. To prepare for thispossibility, you’ll need an intuitive solution you can keep running even without your EDI expert.

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Solving EDI Onboarding Challenges| 10Solutions to Post-Implementation
Challenges
What’s necessary in a solution that will support your organization after the initial implementation?
Just as with the initial onboarding process, taking too long to make changes will cost potential revenues
and jeopardize your relationships with trading partners.
Software capabilities that will simplify the process of modifying your existing EDI partner integrations
include the following core elements:

1Connectors
Connectors with simple, standard interfaces will make it easier for you to swap out
backend applications. A solution with connectors that support both on-premises andcloud applications can even support a migration to a new data cloud or on-premises
data center.

2

Documentation and Support
If your EDI expert leaves, you don’t want a complex solution that only a rocket scientist
can understand. Your solution should make it easy to document connections for futureusers and come with the reliable support of a team that stands behind its product.

3Monitoring and Troubleshooting Logs & Searching
If you make changes, you’ll need to test the solution to ensure it works so you can meet
SLAs and avoid chargebacks. Having the ability to create metatags, perform searches
on data, and monitor the system for speedy troubleshooting is crucial at this stage.

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Solving EDI Onboarding Challenges| 11EDI is an Ongoing Initiative
EDI solutions are mission-critical business systems, and as such, you simply cannot afford to haveextended downtime or faulty partner exchanges. It’s crucial to intentionally consider your postimplementation reality and solve potential headaches before you select your EDI solution and develop yourcustomer onboarding process.

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Solving EDI Onboarding Challenges| 12ArcESB
An end-to-end EDI solution for mapping, translation, file transferand integration.

Built for Reliable EDI Onboarding
By understanding the EDI onboarding process and having the right resources, you can accelerate thatprocess, speeding time-to-revenue and building strong relationships with your trading partners.
To master your onboarding process, you’ll need the right EDI solution with robust, easy-to-implement EDI
capabilities and the flexibility to fit your technology infrastructure and business needs.
Few tools can match the combination of powerful EDI features and affordability offered by ArcESB. Our
platform supports all major standards and protocols, eliminates costly VAN document transaction fees, andinteroperates seamlessly with your backend systems. With comprehensive support and a modern, APIdriven design built on a suite of 80+ connectors for data transformation, transfer and backend integration,
ArcESB checks all the boxes legacy EDI doesn’t. And it deploys anywhere you need it — on-premise, in thecloud, even right through Amazon Web Services.

Learn more about ArcESB online at: www.arcesb.com.

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