A recent study conducted by APICS suggests that globalization has forced supply chains to evolve, becoming increasingly complex as a result. An organization’s global supply chain is essentially the main artery through which international trade and interconnected distribution systems allow them to reach new markets more effectively. Consequently, ERP systems such as SAP B1 act as the critical link between businesses, providing real-time data exchange and improved transaction speed.

How are global trading expectations changing?

• Rapid Delivery (Fulfillment)
  Driven by Amazon’s innovations in e-commerce, rapid parcel delivery has become a shipping standard. Consumer demand for quick delivery will only continue, with the accepted window becoming shorter. It is crucial for businesses to optimize fulfillment processes to enable faster and more cost-effective delivery options.
• Dropship
  With the boom of e-commerce, it is expected that 20% of all retail sales will be dropshipped in the near future. Due to the high demand for dropship services, major retailers across the globe are increasing pressure on their supply chain to adopt dropship strategies. This amplifies the need for a co-dependent solution between retailers and suppliers wherein a dropship option is available. 

What are the top three contributors for adapting to global trade?

1. Supply Chain Automation

According to a CSCO study, globalization has increased supply chain complexities and logistics management costs. To overcome the challenges that accompany such change, businesses are relying on automation to streamline workflows, reducing manual effort while enhancing productivity, efficiency, and accuracy.

2. Electronic Transactions

To ease the burdens associated with global trading, businesses are shifting towards digitalization, using electronic transactions for faster and more accurate processes at a more manageable cost. With an electronic transaction database, there is less risk of losing critical information, and the document turnaround process is significantly simplified.

3. Distribution network

The distributor network can be the solution when businesses lack internal resources or knowledge to serve a specific need or region. By growing global distribution channels, a business can increase sales revenue while establishing brand awareness in new markets without any upfront costs, as the distributor handles all sales, fulfillment and customer management in their region.

How to get ahead and stay ahead in today’s competitive global market?

Adoption of EDI is a must

A global business network requires an IT infrastructure capable of exchanging information, documents, and data across all platforms and programs. Following the lead of most major businesses, adopting EDI has become the highest priority for global trading as companies are required to comply with their partners’ EDI requirements. However, EDI solutions also offer other significant benefits and opportunities.

In the past, companies relied on phone calls, fax, and paper documents to exchange EDI documents, which increased the burden on staff and increased administrative costs. With supply chain management solutions such as EDI automation, businesses can eliminate downtime delays, labor costs, and manual entry errors while allowing users access to transaction data for quick response time to changes in the global market.

Automation in Electronic Transactions by EDI Integration

EDI in its simplest form is an electronic data exchange between different business partners and is disconnected from other business systems. To meet the expectations of global trade, businesses are seeking a modern EDI solution that is able to integrate with their ERP system. Pressured by the demand for enhanced capabilities and automation in electronic transactions, businesses are choosing EDI integration to enable automated workflows, increase visibility into operations, and improve customer service. 

Fortunately, EDI integration into ERP has become much more accessible thanks to third-party services that have mastered the data integration process. The resulting automation provides businesses a competitive advantage--the ability to connect to the largest companies across the world. Other benefits include:   

• Speeded up the business cycles
• Enhanced data accuracy with automation virtually eliminating human errors
• Better customer relationships due in part to simplified order processing and fulfillment
• Improved cash flow as a result of faster order processing
• Supply chain visibility with real-time data updates

To find out more about EDI solutions for the SAP ERP system, please contact us at vietnam@dicentral.com. Our consulting team will equip you with all the information you might need to make the right decision for your organization.

DiCentral APAC
Website: www.dicentral.com.vn
Email: vietnam@dicentral.com