Detecting differences between vendors offering EDI-as-a-Service can be difficult. Choosing the wrong service option could potentially lead to transaction failure, cash flow disruption, and even loss of future business. In this presentation, Ali Jenan and Jim O’Leary, experts on strategic business and IT project planning, will share 10 best practices to follow when planning and evaluating EDI services to avoid jeopardizing business operations and trading partner relationships due to poor performance or lack of control. See the recorded presentation at: www.extol.com/ediservice

1. ®
Integrate. Automate. Succeed.
Considering
EDI-­‐as-­‐a-­‐Service?
10
Best
Prac9ces
to
Guide
Your
Decision
Jim
O’Leary
Ali
Jenan

2. • Migra1on
• Onboarding
External
Loca9ons,
Partners,
and
Services
On-­‐premise
Applica9ons,
Services,
and
Data
EDI
Middleware
versus
EDI-­‐as-­‐a-­‐Service
Vendors
/
Service
Providers
Customers
Cloud
/
SaaS
Applica9ons
&
Services
EDI
Middleware
Dashboard
Enterprise
Applica9ons
Windows
/
Linux
/
VMware
Opera9onal
Data
Transac9on
Data
Analy9cs
Data
Design-­‐5me
Tools
Repository
Monitor
Manage
Provision / Integrate
Internal
Coordinator

3. • Migra1on
• Onboarding
External
Loca9ons,
Partners,
and
Services
On-­‐premise
Applica9ons,
Services,
and
Data
EDI
Middleware
versus
EDI-­‐as-­‐a-­‐Service
Vendors
/
Service
Providers
Customers
Cloud
/
SaaS
Applica9ons
&
Services
EDI
Middleware
Dashboard
Enterprise
Applica9ons
Windows
/
Linux
/
VMware
Opera9onal
Data
Transac9on
Data
Analy9cs
Data
Design-­‐5me
Tools
Repository
EDI-­‐as-­‐a-­‐Service
Manage
Provision / Integrate
Monitor
Coordinate
Service
Internal
Champion

4. Key
Issues
1. What’s
most
important
to
know
and
understand
before
deciding
to
outsource
EDI?
2. What
responsibiliAes
and
acAviAes
should
you
avoid
outsourcing?
3. How
can
you
minimize
the
risk
of
choosing
a
soluAon
that
might
limit
or
disrupt
your
business?

5. Profile:
EXTOL
Interna5onal
• Provider
of
business
integraAon
soGware
and
services
since
1989
• 800
Customers
in
TransportaAon,
LogisAcs,
DistribuAon,
CPG,
Food,
Apparel,
Industrial
Manufacturing,
Health
Care,
PharmaceuAcals
• How
we’re
different:
– Hybrid
middleware
and
services
soluAon
with
flexible
licensing,
deployment,
and
management
opAons
– Faster
Ame
to
value
without
sacrificing
power
or
flexibility
– Unmatched
customer
service
and
support
5

6. 1.
Verify
if
EDI-­‐as-­‐a-­‐service
is
a
good
fit
for
your
business
Factor
Choose
EDI-­‐as-­‐a-­‐Service
if
factor
is:
Choose
Self-­‐managed
EDI
if
factor
is:
Go-­‐live
urgency
High
Low-­‐High
Strategic
business
value
of
EDI
Low-­‐Medium
Medium-­‐High
Number
of
trading
partners
Low-­‐Medium
Medium-­‐High
Qualified
IT
resource
availability
Low
Medium-­‐High
Partner-­‐side
variability
Low
Medium-­‐High
Internal
integra9on
customiza9on
Low-­‐Medium
Medium-­‐High
Frequency
of
change
Low
Medium-­‐High
Service
level
complexity
Low
Medium-­‐High

7. External
Loca9ons,
Partners,
and
Services
On-­‐premise
Applica9ons,
Services,
and
Data
2.
Conduct
an
inventory
of
current
and
future
EDI
needs
Vendors
/
Service
Providers
Customers
Cloud
/
SaaS
Applica9ons
&
Services
EDI
Middleware
Enterprise
Applica9ons
Windows
/
Linux
/
VMware
Opera9onal
Data
Transac9on
Data
Analy9cs
Data
Number
of
trading
partners
to
onboard
now
and
in
the
future
EDI
documents
and
direcAons
CommunicaAon
methods
needed
Non-­‐EDI
transacAon
requirements
Back-­‐end
integraAon
requirements

8. Poll
#1
Which
of
the
following
EDI
capabiliAes
does
your
business
require?
(check
all
that
apply)
q Support
for
non-­‐standard
EDI
documents
(partner-­‐defined
flat
file,
XML,
etc.)
q Direct
integraAon
with
applicaAons
and
data
q Very
large
document
processing
(over
10
megabytes)
q Near
real-­‐Ame
transacAon
response
turn-­‐around
q 24
*
7
monitoring
and
management

9. Change / Maintain
ü Provision new partners
ü Configure new transactions
ü Upgrade document versions
ü Upgrade app / data interfaces
ü Maintain platform, middleware
Monitor / Manage
ü Monitor activity
ü Handle exceptions
ü Manage service levels
ü Report results
ü Archive / purge logs
Design / Implement
ü Provision partner
connections
ü Map transaction data
ü Integrate with enterprise
applications and data
ü Test / deploy
ü Manage go-live
Gather / Plan
ü Gather TP specs / data
ü Analyze requirements
ü Size environment
ü Configure EDI
infrastructure
ü Plan, schedule, and staff
EDI implementation
3.
Use
a
lifecycle
framework
to
evaluate
op5ons

10. 4.
Choose
based
on
requirements,
not
provider
op5ons
ü FuncAonal
capabiliAes
ü Range
of
services
ü Licensing
opAons
ü Deployment
opAons
ü Change
turn-­‐around
ü SLA
monitoring
/
compliance

11. 5.
Understand
how
partner
setups
and
changes
work
Terms of Service
• Standard vs non-standard
changes
• Fixed Price vs Time & Materials
• Lead time
• Response time
• Typical turn-around time
• Billing for services
Your business Service provider
Setup / Change Requirements
• EDI partner onboarding
• Non-EDI partner onboarding
• New transaction provisioning
• EDI version updates
• Partner connection changes
• Application and data interface
changes
AuthorizaAon?
Requirements
/
Specs?
TesAng
Process?
Sign-­‐off
Mechanism?
Status
/
Checkpoint
Process?

12. 6.
Authorize
someone
to
coordinate
with
your
provider
Internal Champion
Responsibilities
• Trading partner requirements
• Partner mediation / escalation
• Data mapping requirements
• Internal interface specs
• Problem escalation
• Implementation priorities
• Change requirements and approvals
• Status monitoring
• Delivery sign-off

13. Trading Partners
Internal Resources
SaaS
Hosted
EDI-as-a-Service
Internally
Developed
Applications Database
Commercial
Application
Suites
On-premise
EDI-as-a-Service
File System
Firewall
EDI-as-a-Service
Provider
Services
Last-mile Integration
Cloud ServicesSuppliers Service PartnersCustomers
7.
Quan5fy
the
business
value
of
last-­‐mile
integra5on

14. 7.
Quan5fy
the
business
value
of
last-­‐mile
integra5on
Last-mile Integration
$ Higher implementation cost $ Lower operating cost
$ Lower error rate
$ Faster response
$ Higher growth capacity
$ Improved SLA compliance
$ Higher customer satisfaction
$ Lower opportunity costs
VS

15. Poll
#2
For
which
endpoint
types
does
your
business
need
last-­‐
mile
integraAon?
(check
all
that
apply)
q On-­‐premise
commercial
applicaAon
systems
(ERP,
TMS,
WMS,
etc.)
q Home-­‐grown
applicaAon
systems
q Cloud-­‐based
SoGware-­‐as-­‐a-­‐Service
applicaAons
q On-­‐premise
enterprise
data
(DBMS,
files,
documents)
q Cloud-­‐based
enterprise
data

16. 8.
Broaden
your
view
of
TCO
Gather / Plan Design / Implement Monitor / Manage Change / Maintain
ConfiguraAon
Fees
One-­‐Ame
setup
Fees
IntegraAon
Fees
Training
Costs
Assessment
/
Planning
Fees
SubscripAon
Fees
Usage
Fees
Error
ResoluAon
Fees
Partner
Setup
Fees
Change
Fees
Manual
Processing
Costs
Opportunity
Costs
Early
TerminaAon
Fees
Switching
Costs

17. Choose
a
hybrid
soluAon
that
gives
you
the
choice
of
self-­‐managing
EDI CoordinatorInternal Resources
Internally
Developed
Applications Database
Commercial
Application
Suites
File SystemServices
Trading Partners
SaaS
Cloud ServicesSuppliers Service PartnersCustomers
EDI-as-a-Service
Last-mile Integration
Monitoring
/ Reporting
Choose
a
Provider
with
an
onboarding
speed
advantage
Build
a
canonical
interface
to
internal
applicaAons
and
data
Choose
a
Provider
with
an
integra5on
speed
advantage
9.
Consider
strategies
to
reduce
or
eliminate
switching
costs
Choose
a
hybrid
soluAon
that
gives
you
the
choice
of
self-­‐managing
Internal Champion
Service Provider
EDI
ConfiguraAons
IntegraAon
ConfiguraAons

18. 10.
Look
for
a
collabora5ve
partner
with
a
track
record
of
mee5ng
needs
like
yours
• How
long
in
business?
• Customer
references?
• Industry
experience?
• Team
size
and
composiAon?
• Ongoing
support?
AGer
hours?

19. Q&A
Contact:
Website: www.extol.com
Email: info@extol.com
Phone: +1 (570) 628-5500
Ø Download our new white paper at:
www.extol.com/ediservice