The Importance of EDI :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

The Importance of EDI To stay competitive in today's global economy, businesses are being forced to re-evaluate the way they do business with their customers and their vendors. We cannot afford to close our eyes to advances in technology in the way many businesses have done in the past and continue to do even now. It is a question of do it or die in the competitive world of products and services where the well informed and the technologically equipped will reap the rewards of success. Our company is already behind others in technology and efficiency by not having EDI. Without EDI, our internal processes have poor response times, excessive paperwork floating around and potential errors that should not be necessary as well as wasting personnel time doing a work that could be automated. When business begins to trade or share core information, the return of technological investment is clear and then we realize the true value of EDI. We should not stay behind our competitors and should start now a process of implementing EDI in our company, improving our efficiency and productivity, and reach higher levels of customer satisfaction. When EDI is used as a tool to enable process change and help achieve business goals, significant benefits can be reached. EDI enhances all parts of the business process, and we would expect some impacts, such as: Â · Reduced Process-Time: the need to send and receive information is crucial in today’s business world. With EDI, data can be sent and received in seconds and 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, thus allowing business to continue outside the normal business day, and the turnaround time for a business transaction can be reduced from days to hours and, in some instances, to minutes or even seconds. Â · Increased Efficiency: the major part of data entry tasks is generated from a computer. When companies develop compatible electronic documents, data is never copied, re-keyed, or manually filed, freeing employees for more important activities, eliminating tedious work and reducing the risk of human error. Â · Optimized Inventory: managing inventory is a critical issue for any business. EDI can provide faster and more accurate information about production, buying and delivery needs. It is a link between customer, seller and vendor thus leading to improved inventory management and reduction in inventory levels. For initial EDI projects, limited objectives with perceivable benefits should be our first step.