Seeking EDI Clarity

Some Clarity of Thought around EDI

Let’s set the technical record straight on a few items. EDI is a generic term that has been equated to mean a standard like X12 or EDIFACT. When you examine the acronym you discover it means Electronic Data Interchange. The Electronic Data part of EDI can come in many formats: X12, EDIFACT, CSV, XML, fixed record length, etc. The Interchange part can occur using any number of protocols: FTP, HTTP, SMTP, AS2, etc.

The Role of VANs

Now that we have the basic terms covered, let’s talk about the role of a Value Added Network (VAN). As the name implies this service provides added value to the data exchange world. Some of the value is understanding how to use all the protocols to exchange data in various formats, but the majority of the value is to take data received from many partners in many formats through many protocols and deliver a single format in a single protocol to the recipient of the data. In other words, VANs do all the communication and translation (all the hard work) in the world of electronic data interchange. If a recieving entity could get all their partners to send them the same data in the same format using the same protocol all the time, the value of a VAN would be reduced but not removed. Using a VAN also removes a non-core chore from your business. Who has time to worry about whether all the data is moving everywhere it should all day? You may not, but VAN providers do. No matter the format of the data, there is almost always a need to translate from the inbound data to "my" data. Companies just don’t talk the same language no matter what. Mostly because they all have different systems. So we know that VANs can translate data from one format to another and send it using any protocol, let’s talk a little about other value VANs can add: data validation, data integrity, mailboxing, data consolidation and deconsoilidation, ability to store and forward, regulate data flow, and many more. Again, is this core to your business?

EDI Silver Bullets

There are no silver bullets that we have found. Currently, AS2 and XML are probably the most widely touted silver bullets of the day. Nothing could be further from the truth. For some reason people seem to believe XML is self-describing. As a matter of fact, there is an example of an XML document we receive from a trading partner that is so huge, complex, and confusing we are translating it for other VANs as they gave up. As for AS2, if you want ease of use, use FTP. AS2 is much more difficult to set up and get working. Most non-IT folks don’t know what a certificate is or how to obtain one.

Not Quite Ready for Real People

Although the exchange of electronic data can help you provide better customer service, provide insight into your trading partners, and give you visibility into your business, the human race has been around for quite a while and we still have not figured out how to speak a single spoken language. EDI in any form has been around for only about 40 years, we might need a little while longer to figure out how to talk to one another.

Finding Profit in the Last Mile

Logistics managers work tirelessly to find efficient ways to move their companies’ products to market. Negotiating smart terms for international freight, cross-country trucking and warehousing ensures that those goods get through the supply chain with the lowest possible cost. All that remains is to move the products down the last mile and into the hands of the end customer. While that seems simple, it’s often this last link in the chain where profits are lost.

Only One Way to Go

Consolidators like UPS and FedEx offer a range of services, but look closely and you’ll see what they don’t offer. Shippers have to be agile and adaptable to changing conditions, so they need a last-mile logistics option that maximizes flexibility. Too often, consolidators force their customers to adapt to their logistics model. They offer one option and one price—take it or leave it.

That’s where independent carriers come into play. Couriers and LTL truckers have the capacity and flexibility to deliver when and where shippers need it. Traditionally, these carriers didn’t offer the range of services or the shipment visibility that major shippers require. In the last few years, that situation has changed dramatically and companies in pharmaceutical, retail, bio-sciences, high-tech and a variety of industries are realizing how independent carriers can meet their needs while reducing shipping cost.

Managing the Process

Keeping up with hundreds or thousands of individual shipments consigned to dozens of carriers would be an impossible task without the right tools. Carriers who want to handle this type of work have already invested in their operations systems. They can supply all the shipment details from pickup to delivery, but the volume of data would be overwhelming.

Fortunately, advanced technology now provides shippers with the business intelligence tools they need to effectively manage the last-mile transportation process. Web-based platforms unite large numbers of carriers and have the capability to consolidate shipping data into a manageable form. The most advanced technology will even provide a dashboard capability that graphically depicts the overall progress of your shipments while allowing you to quickly drill down to an individual shipment should the need arise.

Better Service and Higher Profits

Independent carriers are able to offer more flexibility in their service and the competitive nature of their industry ensures that shippers will get the best value for their logistics spend. Rather than be bound by the rigid practices of huge consolidators, smart shippers are utilizing a ready resource for faster shipment at a lower cost. Building a customized network of independent carriers ensures that they will deliver not only their company’s products, but improved profits, too. The business intelligence they need to efficiently manage this emerging transportation option is readily available and as close as the nearest web browser.

When Disaster Strikes: Continuity for Couriers

Businesses rely on technology more and more everyday. From desktop computers to mobile phones, these modern tools have brought unprecedented levels of productivity to the workplace. When everything is working smoothly, companies reap the benefits of these expanded capabilities. Unfortunately, there are always unforeseen problems lurking out there. When things go wrong, the loss of technology can seriously impact your operations and even force a virtual shutdown. Businesses like couriers and air freight truckers are in a class of extremely time-sensitive firms and must address this risk. But how?

Have a Plan and Use It

A business continuity plan is no longer an option, but a necessity. Expedited delivery companies are increasingly becoming 24-hour operations. Interruptions due to weather, natural disasters or utility service faults figure into most plans. Unfortunately, plans don’t always deal with less dramatic but no less damaging impacts.

If your company maintains its own hardware for a courier software system, there is a potential point of failure. Minor flooding, electrical surges and a host of other problems can spell disaster for that system. Even if there isn’t any damage to your building or other equipment, your relatively fragile server can be damaged much more easily than trucks or structures.

Because you can’t always protect the server, make sure you’ve protected the valuable data from your operations system. Losing information on accounting (especially collections) and customers can be crippling. All it takes is a breakdown in your server or a faulty backup tape and you suddenly find yourself with no way to take orders, track shipments or bill customers.

Get That Data Out of Here

For the ultimate in protection and continuity, keep your data completely off-site. Modern courier software is all web-based and relieves you of the burden of care and maintenance for your own server. Housed in a secure hosting facility and maintained by technical professionals, these cloud-based solutions are available anytime, anywhere from any web browser.

Leading technology companies can host a system that’s available over 99.999% of the time. Their staff has the experience and knowledge to reliably run a professional system on your behalf. Why not let the experts handle all the maintenance, upgrades and backups for your system. In turn, you get to focus on what you do best and manage your company’s operations.

There are all kinds of hazards in the world of expedited deliveries. Smart companies meet those challenges using best practices that minimize their exposure. Being prepared is the first step in protecting your business from unforeseen dangers.

Meeting Shipper Expectations: How Do You Win and Keep Business?

Shippers expect good service, but how do you prove your value to them? The right technology can help to differentiate your business from the competition.

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Everyone appreciates getting full value for their dollar whether times are good or bad. The trick lies in being able to demonstrate the value to your customers. If they can’t see it, they may think it’s not there. In a competitive industry like expedited delivery, your competition is just a phone call away. So you do a good job for your customers, but can you actually prove it to them?

If deliveries don’t turn up in the right place and at the agreed time, someone is bound to notice. Ironically, it’s when everything goes as planned that your customers wonder what’s really going on with their shipments.

Technology Creates Visibility

Before modern technology started changing the face of the delivery business, no one had much visibility into the actual process. A shipper just had to trust that a carrier was doing the job as agreed. It was only when things went wrong that traces were initiated and telephones started ringing. Without any way to check progress, a shipper was essentially blind to the status of a job.

Courier software companies started changing that situation back in the 1970s. A pioneering company created a complete “back office” application to help couriers and truckers run their businesses. For the first time, these carriers were able to gain visibility into shipments and share that information with their customers when needed.

Mobile Means Real-Time

As cellular phones and handheld computers with GPS entered the scene, shipments could be tracked down to the minute. Shippers could log onto the carrier’s web site and get real-time information about the status of their shipments. Carriers were now delivering more than just goods—they were delivering logistics data to their customers.

Shippers also realized the value of this information and used it to keep tabs on their carriers. Unfortunately, they were often accessing the data only when something went wrong. They weren’t getting the positive information that would demonstrate the value of the carrier’s service.

Using Technology to Create Value

These days, advanced courier software is only delivered over the web. Information is available anytime, anywhere through an internet browser with these solutions. So, a shipper can see for themselves that everything is going smoothly.

In fact, one logistics technology company already offers a way for shippers to keep up with all the jobs in progress with various independent carriers. Using a virtual dashboard, the shipper is constantly updated on the status of their deliveries. They don’t just check when there is some kind of exception. Instead, they get to see that a majority of the work is proceeding right on schedule. A carrier’s good work is constantly on display to remind their customer of the value they bring to their link in the supply chain.

In a highly competitive business like expedited delivery, a business owner has to constantly win their customers’ business. The best way to demonstrate value is to provide the tools and information they need to see that value for themselves.

It's All About Who You Know

It’s been said that it isn’t what you know, but who you know that counts. Being part of a network broadens the market reach of any carrier company and makes its service more valuable to shippers.

Entrepreneurs are an independent breed by nature and tend to avoid being grouped together. However, savvy business people know that networking can create a lot of synergy to help them grow their company. Many of them probably participate in personal networking groups and various forms of social media to build their businesses, but they may be overlooking the benefits of leveraging their operations technology to gain access to an already powerful network.

More Than Just Technology

Unless a carrier runs on custom made courier software and has no need to connect with partners and customers, they are already part of a network that brings together all the users of that product or service. The combined power of all those users on a single platform can be a force for growth. The question becomes how to leverage that power and turn it into a value proposition for the end customer.

Shippers are often forced to deal with a variety of data feeds and types. They must utilize a diverse group of couriers and truckers to help them move their goods to market in a cost-effective manner. Unfortunately, this also means they have to go to great lengths to consolidate performance data and manage their carriers.

The Power of the Network

The power of any network is the strength of its common connections. If a courier company fully utilizes the communication capability of their courier software to manage EDI exchanges with shippers, they are accessing the technical power of the network. Their shipper customers recognize the advantage in dealing with a service provider who can provide a consistent, unified and reliable flow of data.

But when those owners wisely select courier software that provides a common platform for a broad group of carriers, they can leverage that physical network to drive connections to new shippers and new streams of revenue. Their customers prefer to work with proven technology and the carrier who possesses the right tools will find that they enjoy a certain preference from new or prospective shippers.

As with most things in business, technology is about who you know. Explore the many courier software options carefully and make sure the one you select will deliver all the networking power a growing company needs.

Tough Times Call for Smart Technology

Tough economic times are forcing businesses everywhere to take drastic measures to cut costs. When it comes to running your expedited delivery business, bottom line profitability is what really matters. If you’re searching for ways to trim away the fat and ride out the economic downturn, investing in courier software technology could be the cost effective solution you need to improve efficiency today and prepare for future growth as the recovery takes shape.

Increase Operational Efficiency with Courier Software

Implementing courier and dispatch technology streamlines the entire delivery process from order entry through dispatch and right through the billing process. For example, courier software provides convenient, low cost communication options like sending SMS text messages directly to a driver’s phone. One big problem faced by courier companies is the miscommunication that results when dispatchers try to manually relay messages to drivers. Lost time, productivity and profits are often the result. Mobile communication technology keeps drivers connected so that important data is immediately transmitted and jobs can be updated even while the driver is already en route. Courier software and dispatch software provide the tools your staff needs to save precious time and provide better customer service.

Tracking Means Transparency

Modern courier software operates the same way you run your business—in real time. Your customers want to track their own shipments and they demand complete accountability. Barcode scanning capability is expected along with online proof of delivery (POD). It isn’t enough to have any old system these days. If you and your customers can’t interactively manage the shipping process, you don’t have the tools you need to survive. In fact, holding on to older technology can actually cost you more than making the move to a more modern system. Investing in advanced technology saves on overhead costs now, but it saves even more money in the long run.

Reducing costs during these tough economic times may seem like a financial stretch, but can you afford to let the opportunity for a better future just pass by? Taking the necessary steps to stay ahead of the technology curve (and your competition) is the smart investment for your business.

Should Your Business Be Up in the Cloud?

These days you often hear about companies making the shift to doing business “in the cloud.” Such advanced web-based technology allows users to access important information anytime, anywhere. Expedited delivery companies are finding this technology to be especially useful. With cloud-based courier software, their authorized users can access their logistics operations system from any computer with a web browser.

Cost Effective Solution

Cloud computing software provides its users with a predictable operating cost. A fixed monthly fee typically includes technical support, upgrades and maintenance. All of the upkeep is handled by the software vendor so the user can focus on his or her core business instead of maintaining hardware and updating software.

It’s Clearer in the Cloud

Operating in the cloud opens a business up to so many possibilities. Accessing important logistics data is as simple as logging on to a website or remote server. The cloud-based solution provides carriers and shippers the ability to access important information 24/7 without being limited to a specific platform, operating system or hardware system. They have instant access to pertinent information about shipments, proof of delivery, time in transit and control of high-value or potentially dangerous goods. Every time a shipment or package passes through the various points in the delivery chain, vital information is collected and becomes almost instantly available for viewing.

Up to the Minute Information

For couriers and other expedited carriers, the focus is on time. Getting shipments to their intended recipient requires that real-time data move right along with the packages they are transporting. Shippers, distribution centers and drivers rely on access to timely information in order to expedite the delivery process. The ability to access this information via the cloud results in operational efficiency and improved cost management. The right courier software can significantly improve tracking efficiency and reduce the incidence of lost, stolen and misdirected packages. The ability to deliver time-sensitive packages efficiently is essential in order for courier companies to remain competitive.

Technology has also leveled the playing field for courier companies looking for ways to expand into new markets. Doing business in the cloud makes it easier for independent carriers to provide both the service and visibility that their customers demand