The Role of EDI in Third Party Logistics
Logistics Industry September 30, 2015
Overwhelmed with seemingly endless amounts of paperwork? Looking for ways to lower your logistics costs? By incorporating EDI into your logistics processes you’ll reap numerous benefits. Here we’ll cover the basics of EDI and how it can help change your business for the better.
What is EDI?
Short for Electronic Data Interchange, EDI is the computer-to-computer exchange of business documents between business partners. It therefore replaces the mailing or faxing of paper documents.
What are the benefits of EDI?
There are both short and long term benefits to implementing EDI including:
Visibility on your products and shipments
An EDI system allows you to monitor your inventory and the status of your shipments at any time of day or night, provided you have an internet connection.
Improved accuracy
EDI eliminates inevitable human errors resulting from manual data input regarding the storage and movement of your inventory.
Lowered costs
You can decrease your costs as less clerical effort and paper usage is required.
Improved speed
Large volumes of commercial data can be communicated from one computer to another in an instant, enabling faster response on orders and greater customer satisfaction.
Improved efficiency
Significantly less labor time is required to manage your inventory when an EDI is in place. This means that orders can be processed more quickly and accurately, resulting in improved delivery of goods and services.
Environmentally friendly
EDI is a “green” technology, in other words it’s good for the environment. Less paper is required to manage and distribute your products from your plant to your logistics provider and from the warehouse to your end customer.
EDI with McKenna Logistics
McKenna’s web portal keeps our clients informed with a full range of reporting functions, such as the ability to view inventory levels 24/7. Our RF tracking technology ensures that your product is always ready to ship. McKenna’s software platform allows for a variety of data exchange formats. Contact us to find out more about how McKenna’s convenient and customizable EDI platform can help grow your business.
