7 Important Questions and Helpful Answers About GDSN Data Synchronization
High-quality product data is critical for any business that buys or sells products. Many companies we talk to want more information about product data standards, such as GDSN data synchronization. We recently sat down with product manager Scott Williams to discuss...
Ask The Right Questions: Outsourced Vs In-house Vendor Portals
Web-based vendor portals are popular in Australia, particularly in the grocery sector. Retailers have told us that they are an easy way to ensure all suppliers or vendors are onboarded for electronic exchange of orders, invoices, and shipping documents (ASNs), giving...
EDI 846: 5 Reasons to Adopt the Inventory Inquiry/Advice
The EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice has become an essential EDI document due to growth in drop-shipping and eCommerce. This EDI document is foundational for organizations that want to expand into omnichannel retailing, which requires up-to-date inventory information....
Using the EDI 945 to Deliver Shipment Details
There are many ways third-party logistics providers (3PLs) communicate shipment details to their customers. The list includes emails, phone calls, texts and even faxes. Most 3PLs find these methods outdated and use the EDI 945 Warehouse Shipment Advice instead. It is...
The Most Eco-Friendly Shoppers in the U.S.
Social responsibility is of increasing importance to consumers. This made the research team at SPS Commerce wonder, what U.S. cities are the most eco-conscious and which eco-friendly products are trending? Thanks to Google, we can compare consumer demand data for the...
What is the EDI 940?
As a third-party logistics provider (3PL), you’ve likely been in conversations about customers using or requiring the EDI 940. But what is it? And why do you need it? In its most basic form, it is an electronic version of an order from your customer. In fact, whenever...
5 Secrets to a Successful ERP Implementation
This time of year, businesses often consider deploying new systems — including enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Considering a new ERP implementation? These 5 strategies will help everything run smoothly within your company and with your customers: Plan for...
How Purchase Order Acknowledgements Can Transform Your Supply Chain
AT A GLANCE Uncover purchase order acknowledgments and their role in retail. Learn how automation reduces manual confirmation errors. Examine improved supplier-retailer communication. Master how EDI accelerates order-to-fulfillment cycles. With the growth of eCommerce...
The Power of Netflix on Consumer Behavior
AT A GLANCE Examine how consumer shopping habits have shifted post-pandemic. Gain insight into trends like omnichannel, personalization, and fast delivery. Connect behavioral insights to data-driven inventory management. Explore why agile supply chains are essential...
Be Ready All Stages of Business Growth with EDI, Xero & SPS
The No Nasties Project was founded a little over two years ago. Today, the supplier has sold more than 30 million Sugar Free-zies stix across Australia. No Nasties evolved from a start-up in 2018 to a nationally recognized brand by 2020. Their staff know how the...
A Guide to eCommerce Fulfillment for Retailers & Distributors
According to a recent study, 63 percent of consumers expect to continue to do more online shopping, even after the pandemic. The acceleration of eCommerce also has massive implications for how retailers and distributors fulfill orders. Yet fulfilling eCommerce orders...
Looking for an EDI developer? Think about full-service EDI instead
It’s no secret that technology talent is hard to come by these days, and an EDI developer is no exception. EDI developers are a rare breed with specialized and broad skills that make them especially difficult to find, such as: Implementing and monitoring EDI systems,...
My Customer is Asking for an E-Invoice, What Now?
October 1st, 2020 More and more businesses are receiving requests from their customers to send e-invoices. In principle, the request for e-invoices means that the paper invoice you send via post, or the PDF invoice you send by e-mail, is no longer sufficient. Of...
EDI Software for the Undecided
Whether you’re new to EDI software or a veteran, choosing the right solution is a big decision. Perhaps you’re asking, “what should I look for in EDI software?” or “what’s involved with a new EDI software implementation?” Let’s explore some fundamental questions about...
Replacing inventory with information
Inventory information can be the lifeline or the death rattle of companies in the retail ecosystem. Companies – regardless of size – need to balance inventory with meeting customers’ needs (whether your customer is an actual shopper, a retailer, or a manufacturer)....
How to Manage Increased Drop-Ship Demand at Scale with SPS and NetSuite
Are you new to the drop ship order process? Has the pandemic replaced many of your bulk orders with drop-ship ones? Or, maybe you’ve dabbled in drop ship, but now you’re seeing your drop-ship orders skyrocket? If so, you’re definitely not alone. Every segment of...
SPS Commerce encourages Girl Scouts to “Think Like a Programmer”
It’s no surprise that young girls often associate math and science with boys, as only 24% of women make up the STEM workforce. Events like “Think Like a Programmer” are helping to break down those barriers. “Think Like a Programmer” is a full-day event for Girl...
How to Implement Just-in-Time Inventory
Evolve Your Business to Just-in-Time Inventory Inventory management within your supply chain often includes a complicated web of data being managed through multiple systems. High cost, inefficient inventory, and distribution management practices are unfortunately...
Why EDI Integration That’s Built for Oracle NetSuite Certified Matters
When you’re a small to mid-sized company, new orders and new customers are the lifeblood of your business. But as your order volume grows, so does the complexity of your supply chain. If your company is going through a transition like this, automating your...
How to excel at eCommerce order fulfillment
It’s no surprise that eCommerce order fulfillment is capturing headlines and mindshare. On-time shipments, BOPIS/BORIS options, and recognizable packaging can make or break a consumer’s shopping experience. If done right, they’ll return. If not, forget about a repeat...
Streamlining Item Data Management
Streamlining item data management is not only achievable, it’s quite helpful for retailers, vendors and even the consumer. Find out more in this podcast.
![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]
AT A GLANCE Explore key elements including managed services and compliance. Find out how full-service EDI reduces manual errors. See how automation accelerates partner onboarding. Delve into scalability benefits for growing businesses. If you’re looking for an EDI...
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...
Technology: Table stakes for your EDI solution
When looking for an EDI solution or EDI platform, most companies start by evaluating the provider’s technology. This is an essential first step in ensuring the solution can meet your business requirements and those of your trading partners. If you’re wondering how to...
![Evaluating Your EDI Options: 7 Building Blocks of Full-Service EDI [White Paper]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/SPS-Commerce-Full-Service-EDI-graphic.png)
Evaluating Your EDI Options: 7 Building Blocks of Full-Service EDI [White Paper]
Whether you’re new to EDI or an EDI veteran, the countless cloud type of EDI offerings available in the market today probably all sound the same. A Google search for “EDI providers” leads to over 8 million results! Although the multitude of EDI services may sound...
SPS Commerce heading west for IN>LA18
If you’ve been following along with the blog over the past few months, you know that SPS Commerce has been hosting networking events from coast-to-coast. Our final occurrence in the series, SPS Commerce IN>LA18, is next week. Join us on Thursday, November 8, 2018,...
The true costs of inefficient supplier and vendor onboarding
We’ve mentioned previously how the typical process for onboarding a new supplier to your systems can take weeks, if not a few months, for some retailers. Though it simply sounds like a long, annoying process, it’s a bigger issue than that. A months-long vendor...
EDI 894: Primer on the Delivery/Return Base Record
There are a variety of ways to get products from a supplier’s warehouse to a retailer’s store. A popular model is to have products delivered to a distribution center, and then ship the items to individual stores from there. However, when you’re not quite big enough to...
The EDI solution that can Integrate with any system
AT A GLANCE Discover benefits of integrating EDI with ERP systems. Learn how automation reduces manual data entry. Understand improved speed and partner compliance. Gain insight into integrated EDI as a future-ready solution. As the retail supply chain strives to be a...
Order-to-shelf inventory management
Order-to-shelf inventory management is an inventory management strategy that has been making headlines recently as more and more retailers, particularly grocers, are embracing it in an effort to reduce back room storage and labor costs. We've seen this in other...
EDI 812: Debit/Credit Adjustment transaction explained
AT A GLANCE Discover EDI 812 and its role in financial adjustments. Learn how automation reduces processing time. Understand improved vendor relationships through accuracy. Gain insight into how SPS solutions simplify credit adjustments. At the risk of sounding like a...
What is blockchain and how does it help retail supply chains
No doubt you've been hearing all the buzz lately about Bitcoin and blockchain, wondering what all the fuss is about and exactly what it is. What is blockchain? For starters, Bitcoin is an alternative currency that doesn't exist in physical form. Blockchain, on the...
Are you ready for the reverse ASN?
You've seen us talk about the ASN before — the Advanced Shipping Notice. It's the advanced notification about an incoming shipment, and many of the large retailers require it from their suppliers these days. But we haven't talked at all about the Reverse ASN. We're...
When your retailer asks to trade electronically with EDI
Smaller suppliers that have been selling to smaller retail partners have probably found a nice little groove — your retail buyer emails a purchase order, which you enter into your inventory system. The order gets packed and shipped, and you send it off to your...
EDI 861: Receiving Advice/Acceptance Certificate
The Receiving Advice/Acceptance Certificate is growing in popularity as more and more retailers rely on their trading partners to help manage inventory. The EDI 861 document is often used in automatic stock-replenishment programs managed by the supplier or vendor. As...
RWC reaps the rewards of new sales with EDI for SAP
In 2017, Reliance Worldwide Corporation (RWC) signed with a new retailer with over 2,000 selling locations that would carry more than 100 RWC product SKUs at each location. “If we were still doing EDI manually, this account would have required a team of ten full-time...
5 ways technology drives down costs in retail, supply chain
People often like to complain about how technology has made our lives busier instead of easier, and with good reason. It has gotten easier to create more information, but that means we've got more to read. It has gotten easier to communicate with other people, but now...
![Sourcing solution from SPS Commerce [VIDEO]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/sourcing-solution-sps-commerce.png)
Sourcing solution from SPS Commerce [VIDEO]
The Sourcing solution from SPS Commerce is the assortment expansion and management solution designed for merchandising across all your channels. The solution provides retailers access to the largest network of products worldwide, instant access to vendors and shortens...
A well-oiled supply chain, Princess Auto and SPS Commerce
Princess Auto Ltd. is a Canadian company based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Today, the retailer has 44 stores and over 2,400 team members to complete your purchase whether it be in-store, online, or on the phone. “Doing business electronically is the only way to do...
Rise of the Marketplaces: Predictions for the future
Now that e-commerce is a way of life for most people, and Amazon has become one of the biggest retailers in the world, marketplaces are popular alternative channels for retailers who want to increase their sales. Marketplaces are also useful for vendors who want to...
Physical retail locations vital for true shopper engagement
While many traditional retail stores are closing physical retail locations, such as Kmart, Sears, JCPenney, Macys, that doesn't mean the retail store is dying by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, there are 4,080 more retail stores opening than are closing this...
Rise of the Marketplaces: Drop shipping and Marketplaces together
Thanks to companies like Amazon, Overstock, and Wayfair, e-commerce marketplaces are becoming a popular way for both retailers and suppliers to reach new customers without a lot of capital outlay or overhead. It doesn’t require additional marketing expenditures...
Opportunities for omnichannel and the importance of retail stores
Our annual benchmark report, Retail Insight: Moving Beyond Omnichannel, looks at several different trends that are important in the retail arena, affecting retailers, distributors and manufacturers. We’ve been publishing this report every year for the past five years,...
Growing and thriving as grocery competition heats up
The grocery competition for local and small chain grocers and stores has never been greater. Amazon has acquired Whole Foods and has been trying to set a trend for online grocery shopping while slashing prices. Walmart has been experimenting with grocery buy online...
Endless aisle doesn’t come with endless resources
When it comes to the filling the Endless Aisle, Amazon has pretty much ruined the curve for other retailers who want to fill their online presence with inventory, while Walmart is trying its own tactics to expand it's already considerable product catalog. With SKU...
E-commerce wave hits vendors as retailer expectations rise
When e-commerce took off, it started cutting into retailers' in-store businesses, causing a bit of panic. To add fuel to the fire, marketplaces like Amazon, eBay and Etsy have been spawning and growing over the years. Not to mention hundreds and thousands of small...
Acumatica integrated EDI from SPS Commerce powered by MAPADOC
SPS Commerce is proud to roll out our new Acumatica integrated EDI solution powered by MAPADOC. This Fulfillment (EDI) solution provides streamlined communication and efficiencies across your trading partner network. To meet your needs, SPS Commerce offers solutions...
McLendon Hardware on better customer engagement
“The partnership McLendon Hardware has with SPS has been successful for many reasons,” says Nathaniel Polky, Director of Information Technology at McLendon Hardware, a family owned, 90-year-old business based primarily in Western Washington, “One of the strong points...
Key traceability takeaways from GS1 Connect 2017
The changing business landscape has amplified the demand for product information. To keep on top of this trend, SPS Commerce recently attended the GS1 Connect 2017 conference, where people from Grocery, Foodservice and the Healthcare industries came together to...
SPS Commerce launches Gartner Report on Achieving Multichannel Maturity
SPS Commerce today announced the availability of complimentary access to a recent Gartner report focused on the three pillars of multichannel retail success: order orchestration, demand planning and effective use of store inventory. The report, “A Survey Analysis:...
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