EDI is meant to save time and money, but when implemented or managed poorly, it can silently drain revenue through penalties, rework, and lost business. Many companies don’t even realize how much money they lose due to avoidable EDI mistakes.
Here are the most common EDI mistakes that directly impact costs,
1. Missing or Late ASNs (EDI 856)
The Mistake:
Advance Ship Notices are not sent, sent late, or sent with incorrect data.
Why It Costs Money:
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Retailers impose chargebacks
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Shipments are delayed at warehouses
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Goods may be rejected at receiving docks
Real Impact:
A single missed ASN can result in penalties per shipment, quickly adding up to lakhs or thousands of dollars.
2. Incorrect Invoice Data (EDI 810)
The Mistake:
Mismatch in price, quantity, tax, or freight charges.
Why It Costs Money:
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Invoices get rejected
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Payments are delayed
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Manual corrections increase effort
Real Impact:
Delayed cash flow and increased accounts receivable workload.
3. Duplicate EDI Transactions
The Mistake:
Same EDI file is sent multiple times due to retries or reprocessing.
Why It Costs Money:
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Duplicate shipments or invoices
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Confusion at the trading partner’s end
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Time wasted investigating issues
Real Impact:
Overbilling, disputes, and loss of partner trust.
4. Ignoring Functional Acknowledgments (997 / CONTRL)
The Mistake:
997 rejections are not monitored or acted upon.
Why It Costs Money:
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Orders or invoices never reach the partner’s ERP
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Business assumes processing is successful
Real Impact:
Missed orders, delayed payments, and emergency firefighting later.
5. Poor Trading Partner Onboarding
The Mistake:
Skipping proper testing and rushing go live.
Why It Costs Money:
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High rejection rates
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Frequent production failures
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Continuous rework
Real Impact:
Support teams spend more time fixing issues than adding value.
6. No Partner-Specific Validation Rules
The Mistake:
Using one generic EDI format for all partners.
Why It Costs Money:
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Retailers enforce strict compliance
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Non-compliant files trigger penalties
Real Impact:
Recurring chargebacks despite “technically correct” EDI files.
7. Expired AS2 Certificates or Connectivity Failures
The Mistake:
Certificates expire or SFTP credentials change unnoticed.
Why It Costs Money:
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Files stop flowing
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Orders pile up
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Emergency fixes required
Real Impact:
Missed SLAs, delayed shipments, and unhappy customers.
8. Lack of Monitoring & Alerts
The Mistake:
No real-time monitoring or alerts for failures.
Why It Costs Money:
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Issues detected too late
-
Business impact already occurred
Real Impact:
What could have been a 10-minute fix becomes a full-day outage.
9. Weak Master Data Management (MDM)
The Mistake:
Incorrect SKU, GLN, UOM, or customer codes.
Why It Costs Money:
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Orders fail in ERP
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ASNs or invoices rejected
Real Impact:
Manual corrections and operational delays.
10. Treating EDI as “Set and Forget”
The Mistake:
Assuming EDI will run forever without maintenance.
Why It Costs Money:
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Partner changes go unnoticed
-
New compliance rules missed
Real Impact:
Sudden failures during peak business periods.
How to Prevent These Costly EDI Mistakes
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Monitor EDI transactions daily
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Validate files before sending
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Track acknowledgments and MDNs
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Keep partner specs updated
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Schedule periodic EDI audits
Summary
EDI mistakes don’t always show up as system errors—they often show up as lost money, penalties, and damaged relationships.
Companies that treat EDI as a business-critical system, not just IT plumbing, protect revenue and build stronger partnerships.
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