Annual SPS employee appreciation BBQ serves up more than food and fun
On August 14th, SPS Commerce hosted our annual employee appreciation BBQ on the lawn of the SPS Tower Turf Club. As is customary, our SPS executive leadership team served up a bountiful array of delicious picnic favorites to our #TeamSPS employees. A mixture of...
Why choosing to automate drop shipping is smart
Manual entry works but volumes can quickly outpace resources Here's why automating your drop shipping is a good idea. Deciding when to automate is difficult, especially for drop shippers. Traditionally, increasing order volumes trigger this change when manual order...
5 reasons to ditch free vendor portals
In life sometimes you get what you pay for Supplier portals (or vendor portals) are usually free which is why some vendors use them to get their orders from retailers. However, most vendors will tell you that they aren’t as great as they appear. The unfortunate truth...
![Seven elements of full-service EDI [Infographic]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SPS-Commerce-Full-Service-EDI-Infographic-blog-post.png)
Seven elements of full-service EDI [Infographic]
If you’re looking for an EDI solution, the countless cloud EDI offerings available in the market today probably all sound the same. How can you tell the difference between providers? For many businesses, EDI is not a core competency. These companies want to minimize...
Thrive Market exec honored for supply chain vendor enablement
Every year RIS News honors several retail executives for their innovation, boldness, and impact through their Pacesetter award. SPS would like to congratulate Jeff Chaput, vice president of supply chain at Thrive Market for being awarded this supply chain honor in...
Peer-to-peer advice to first-time drop shippers
Looking back at any business changes or advancements, you can always identify what went well and where to improve if you were doing it all over again. These learnings can indicate gaps in rollout plans, roles that should have participated more or less, and...
3 questions to ask when considering an EDI solution (from a retail IT perspective)
Over the years, a glut of new system integration platforms has emerged in the retail IT marketplace. They all seem to promise the same thing: a transformation in the way they deliver product support and information to their customers. This often means spending...
![Nanoleaf smart lighting process automation [EDI case study]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Screen-Shot-2019-07-31-at-2.08.36-PM.png)
Nanoleaf smart lighting process automation [EDI case study]
In 2015, the IoT movement and smart technology for the home and office were emerging, with one exception. No one had produced a smart light fixture that included the lamp and the light source as an all-in-one product. Nanoleaf was the first to do so, enter this smart...
Full-service EDI offers real-time access to EDI experts
Full-service EDI providers give you expert assistance at the exact time you need it, in the channel of your choosing––including but not limited to–– voice calls, live chat, email, social media, or within your EDI solution. Once your EDI solution is live, the...
How to choose EDI if you are undecided
You may have heard the pros and cons of EDI from your peers, customers, and partners, and haven’t quite been convinced the timing is right for your business to switch from manual order processing to an automated process using EDI. In short, you are not sure how to...
Googling your way to the right EDI provider
You’ve been asked about doing EDI either by a retailer, your senior management or are simply planning ahead. Ignoring it may seem tempting but avoiding EDI can inhibit growth. Before you decide, check out some EDI providers that can make it easier than you expect. The...
Strategies to drive your small business growth and product launch success
To make it in today’s rough and tumble e-commerce marketplace, the savvy small business owner needs a great product, and a willingness to take risks. There have never been as many opportunities (and retail technology tools) to either start an e-commerce business,...
SPS Commerce honored for gender diversity
SPS Commerce was recently named a Winning ‘W’ Company by 2020 Women on Boards for achieving at least twenty percent female gender diversity on its corporate board before the year 2020. Winning ‘W’ Companies are cited in the 2020 Women on Boards (2020WOB) annual Gender...
Automation remedies for understaffing issues in retail
Now that 2019 holiday planning has begun in earnest, retailers and suppliers alike are scrambling to address the worker shortage that is plaguing the industry. With unemployment at a nearly 50-year low, finding workers is more challenging this year than ever. Each...
Annual SPS fundraising brew off mixes fun with corporate community service
SPS employees (SPSers) look forward to summertime as it means an abundance of beautiful weather for lawn games and events at the Turf Club (the extensive greenbelt which surrounds the SPS tower). When you mix in a bit of fun and competition and tie it to our company...
EDI and ERP migration: Critical considerations when replacing both systems
Organizations moving into the modern age tend to grapple with how to implement multi-system IT infrastructure. More specifically to the EDI industry, the grappling often occurs when it comes time to replace both EDI and ERP systems. Natural questions include: Which...
![Wolverine uses retail analytics to boost footwear sales [Video]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Retail-Analytics-Sperry-Shoes-Wolverine-Worldwide-SPS-Analytics-SPS-Commerce-1080x675.jpg)
Wolverine uses retail analytics to boost footwear sales [Video]
Retail data can be unorganized and overwhelming for supplier sales teams, preventing them from using it to maximize sell-through and boost retailer confidence in their forecasts. These teams often spend hours wading through retail analytics spreadsheets, Post-Its, and...
Mitigating retail seasonality with EDI retail technology
Order slumps and spikes are a nearly unavoidable seasonal byproduct if you operate a business within the retail industry. Retail seasonality consists of everything from shifts in industry/production practices, to weather patterns, holiday shopping periods, and more....
5 ways to scale your business with retail technology
Understanding how to scale your business into your next phase of growth is daunting and can take considerable effort. This means wearing many hats to get things done. Whether businesses are small startups or retail giants, like Amazon, the adage, “innovate or die”...
How to get purchase order-to-invoice reconciliation right
Considering the pace at which the retail industry is changing it’s becoming harder for retailers to keep up with the demands that consumers are placing on them, as well as the suppliers, vendors and other trading partners who support them. With every link in the...
Three ways retailers can partner with vendors to drive drop shipping success
When done right, drop shipping is an ideal way for retailers to expand their product assortments, reduce shipping costs and delight consumers — all with little capital expense. On the other hand, poor drop shipping execution can create a sub-par customer experience...
Prevent costly and time-consuming errors with full-service EDI
EDI is highly visible to your retail customers and trading partners, especially when something goes wrong. EDI errors can lead to serious issues such as delayed orders, late shipments and damaged customer relationships. That’s why preventing EDI problems before they...
Apparel Magazine Honors Augusta Sportswear Brands’ Automated EDI Initiative
Apparel Magazine recently honored 26 apparel companies for their initiatives using technology to streamline data to impact their business and their supply chains. SPS Commerce was delighted to nominate Augusta Sportswear Brands and see them honored as an Apparel 2019...
SPS Certifies EDI Solution for Acumatica 2019 R1
SPS Commerce Fulfillment EDI solution for Acumatica powered by MAPADOC has been recently recognized as an Acumatica-Certified Application (ACA) for Acumatica 2019 R1. Companies use SPS Fulfillment to achieve 100 percent compliance with retailer EDI requirements....
Five key takeaways from IRCE 2019 @ RetailX
TeamSPS recently visited the Windy City to be part of IRCE @ RetailX. For more than a decade, experts from SPS Commerce have participated in IRCE 2019 to get a feel for what’s happening in the retail community through conversations with attendees from a variety of...
Women in Tech Breakfast and fireside chat, featuring Jennifer Tejeda, CEO of PagerDuty
To celebrate women in technology, SPS Commerce strives to highlight female leaders to describe the challenges and rewards that come with working in the modern tech industry. On June 26, SPS was delighted to present a very special SPS Women in Tech Breakfast and...
Is your EDI solution ready for Amazon Prime Day 2019?
For many retail companies, Prime Day is a way to test their business process automation, including their supply chain and Amazon EDI operations in preparation for the upcoming holiday season. Retailers and suppliers know that July usually means a dip in retail sales,...
JD Edwards EDI automation best practices
EDI has existed for over a generation now, and the EDI industry is largely mature at this point with a few bigger players like SPS Commerce controlling a big share of the market. That said, a final, often overlooked EDI frontier remains: direct process integration...
Key items to consider when forming a drop ship returns strategy
By Jenny Nguyen, Partner Marketing Manager, ShipStation Returns are a common hurdle for e-commerce retailers, especially in the drop shipping arena in which products are shipped out via suppliers. Though businesses may prefer not to think about returns and their...
Come Meet SPS This Summer! #MeetSPS
Retail doesn’t take the summer off and neither does SPS Commerce. We are hitting the road to see you at the following e-commerce tradeshows, technology forums and networking events to introduce you to the latest innovations and experts that drive small business...
![Freeing customer service from manual order validation [Case Study]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CS_SURR.png)
Freeing customer service from manual order validation [Case Study]
SUR&R Auto Parts, a leading supplier of fluid line repair kits and specialty tools to the automotive aftermarket industry, process orders. Recently, the volume of orders from one of the company’s key customers increased. This is good news for the business but...
Streamline with an end-to-end JD Edwards EDI integration
As the retail industry and the supply chain that feeds it evolves and becomes more complicated, automation becomes necessary for more and more businesses. Automating processes through EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange, can offer some of the best return on investment...
IRCE @ RetailX is just around the corner, see you in Chicago
Next week, the #MeetSPS team will be packing up and heading south to the Windy City (aka Chicago) to be part of IRCE @ RetailX. We are eager to see the many e-commerce brands, retailers and partners that are attending. For more than a decade, SPS has attended IRCE to...
SPS IN:NYC19 inspires sell-out crowd
Last Thursday, SPS Commerce and Skubana hosted a sold-out event where customers, partners and friends came together to share their insights and advice on the latest trends in retail. SPS IN>NYC19 was so much more than a happy hour. It lasted long into the evening...
Introducing the Mastering the Retail Game podcast
SPS Commerce proudly introduces the Mastering the Retail Game podcast. Each episode explores the new rules of retail and provides real-world advice from the retail experts at SPS, as well as executives, merchandisers and operations professionals from retailers,...
Motivation dictates your automation
By Michelle Davidson, Wholesale Distribution Industry Principal, Oracle NetSuite Considering when to automate drop-ship operations comes down to one question: What is your motivation? For many entrepreneurs, their motivation is to grow a company to a predetermined...
Customer support sets drop shippers apart
By Megan Miller, Partner Marketing, ShipStation Your customers are vital to your company’s continued success. Today’s online shoppers have thousands of choices for similar products. Top customer service sets your business apart from the competition. When you go above...
Advice from suppliers on preparing for the first drop ship order
Every new retailer-supplier relationship marches towards its first major milestone, the first drop ship order. Fulfilling this order correctly and according to a retailer’s requirements sets the relationship on the right course for a long-term partnership. In late...
How EDI Integration for SAP works with a full-service approach
EDI Integration for SAP supports fast, efficient and accurate communication with trading partners, as well as helps to streamlines processes across the various systems within an organization. But as we discussed in our previous post, not just any SAP EDI integration...
Capterra ranks SPS as the #1 Most Popular EDI Provider for third consecutive year
Capterra, a Gartner company, has again ranked SPS Commerce as the most popular EDI software, a position SPS has held every year since the report launched in 2017. Capterra ranks technology providers based on a company’s customers, reviews and social presence. In May...
![How IMCO Carbide Tool used EDI to rise to the top [Case Study]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CS_IMCO.png)
How IMCO Carbide Tool used EDI to rise to the top [Case Study]
As a leader in the tooling industry, IMCO Carbide Tool is constantly driving towards delivering a more efficient and accurate order cycle with their distribution customers. Why? Distributors have many brands of similar tools to pick from for their customer’s order....
Order-To-Invoice EDI for SAP: A New Standard
A common refrain at SPS Commerce is that EDI, as a standard, is anything but standard. After all, how could it be when every retailer in the world has different business rules, requirements and expectations of their suppliers? EDI becomes even more non-standard when...
![Drop shipping advice from experienced suppliers [Research]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Direct-to-consumer-journey-from-the-first-drop-ship-order-through-automation.png)
Drop shipping advice from experienced suppliers [Research]
If you happened to be looking for advice on drop shipping, who would you consider turning to for advice? More than likely it would be someone who had experienced the same excitement and anxiety associated with processing their first direct-to-consumer order from a...
SPS IN:ATX19 sold-out crowd rocks Austin
The rain cleared and it was a beautiful night to gather in Austin with a sold-out crowd of customers, partners and friends at SPS IN>ATX19. ShipStaton and Brightpearl co-sponsored the SPS event at DuMont’s Down Low cocktail bar where we had amazing drinks,...
Ensure EDI readiness with full-service EDI testing
When it comes to EDI testing, every retailer, grocer and distributor has different compliance requirements for their suppliers. Some require 20 or more distinct EDI testing scenarios based on product category or order fulfillment model, such as drop-shipping, cross...
SPS Commerce honored in 2019 Commuter Choice Awards
On May 7, 2019, Metro Transit honored SPS Commerce as an honorable mention in the Employer category of its 2019 Commuter Choice Awards. This was the first year that SPS has been nominated for the award and we are delighted to be included among the honorees. The staff...
Homegrown family business embraces EDI to sell to large retailers
Two middle-schoolers, Isabel and Caroline Berkaw, just wanted bath bombs that didn't stain their bath tub. When the sisters started making homemade bath bombs and submitted them to an art fair, they had no idea how their lives would change. In relatively short order,...
A full-service approach to SAP EDI integration
There comes a time in a business’s growth where automation becomes a necessity. One of the easiest ways to automate processes is through EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange. EDI can help facilitate fast, efficient and accurate communication with trading partners, as...
Meet SPS at Directions 2019 for the Dynamics SMB Community
SPS Commerce is heading west to Las Vegas for Directions 2019 and we hope to see you there. As one of the leading partners focused on the Microsoft Dynamics SMB community, SPS has attended this event for more than a decade to reconnect with our partners, whom we...
Trading partner communication sets the stage for positive EDI relationships
Communication with your trading partners can make or break your EDI initiatives. Good communication sets the stage for positive, collaborative trading relationships whereas poor communication can lead to chargebacks, unsatisfactory scorecard performance and damaged...
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