And I think I will take a step up onto the soap box and applaud what Ken put so well.
I, too, am continually ... awe-struck ... by the number of replies to a fairly specific trading partner relationship type of question. When I read Elan's original post, the first words in My head were "ask your TP what they want" and be done with it. I had written a blog about that a while back on the http://editalk.com website. I'm truly of the belief that a trading partner relationship - our connections to the vendors and customers we work with via EDI - is just as important (at least in our work life) as our personal relationships are with our boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, friends, families, neighbors and so on. It's something that needs and requires communication and actions on both parties. It's very true that you need to find out what each TP requires and will accept and wants or will send. If you're in the retail world, generally your retailer will set the stage with the documents they want to send, they want to receive, and what format they want it in. Retailers (in the EDI world) are generally called "hubs" because we (yes, I work for a retailer) are the center of the EDI "wheel" and we drive the transactions. WE create a PO format (the 850) and spell out what information WE will be sending. WE require the ASN (856) to be returned and WE designate what information is required and what information is optional. WE require the Invoice (810) or not. WE designate what documents WE want to trade. The problem that this can create for our vendors - our suppliers - is that they may not have some of the information we're requiring stored in their systems. Plus, they also get orders from Retailer B, Retailer C and Retailer WM as well and each of those retailers have their own requirements and specifications that they want. If you (or they) are a smaller business, you (or they) may be using one of the plethora of 3rd party EDI providers out there (and on this list!) and you (or they) may not be the most EDI proficient. It is then up to that 3rd party provider to be compliant to all of the demands that WE have put out there. If Elan works for one of the smaller companies and uses a 3rd party, then it's up to that 3rd party to find out what the receiver of the ASN wants. Others (and Ken) have mentioned the SOPI, SOTI, SOTPI and other "layouts" for the ASN document. If you're not EDI knowledgeable, you may not know what those mean. It would behoove you to learn. Even if EDI is not a major part of your job function (I wear many hats at My employer), it's in your best interest to figure out what it is you're doing. Many VANs and 3rd party providers and other companies and institutions offer training classes and events and seminars and e-learning about what EDI is and how they "do" it. Take some. It will only help you in your future.... With the current economy downturns and (yes, I'll say it) recession; and with the current "not-so-hot" Holiday shopping season upon us, EDI seems to be one of the most ... solid ... positions you can have. While it may seem to be an expendable position when possible layoffs occur, it's truly not. For what will the company do without you? Who will run the jobs, fix the errors, make sure it all runs smoothly, if you're not there. I'm lucky (?!?) in that I'm the entire EDI Department for My company - over 400 stores in 12 states and nearly a billion dollars in sales annually. And My boss knows that without Me, EDI would not work smoothly and flow easily. It's one of the few MIS related functions he knows he doesn't have to worry about. Any errors come up or issues, they're fixed and taken care at the spark, before they become a raging fire. EDI is here to stay. Your TRADING PARTNERS are here to stay (hopefully!). Learn who they are, develop a relationship with them and keep that contact base strong so that if and when there IS a problem or a question, you can get it resolved quickly, easily and - more importantly - straight from the source. Next for that soap box...? Craig E. Dunham EDI Coordinator EYE Analyst Re: Question on UCC-128 labels/EDI 856 for pallet-level shipping *T <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/message/23813;_ylc=X3oDMTJybDFhc3NkBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzIxMDc2NzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDA1NTgyBG1zZ0lkAzIzODEzBHNlYwNkbXNnBHNsawN2bXNnBHN0aW1lAzEyMjgzOTA4MjI-> Posted by: "Ken Etter" Wed Dec 3, 2008 4:29 pm (PST) I know this is going to be a bit left of center for the original question, but.... I'm continued to be amazed that EDI "professionals" continue to raise questions to this group without giving a hint that they have checked with the specific Trading Partner first. I also amazed that some EDI departments appear to discourage or not want to contact their Trading Partners when they have these and other related questions. As so many others have posted, you need to contact EACH of your Trading Partners to find out what their requirements are, ESPECIALLY for 856's - because if you can't say or spell chargebacks, I'm quite sure accounting department can. But before that, you probably should (have already) contact each of them and request the following: 1. EDI Contact information, including names, email addresses AND phone numbers. If possible get at least two contacts from the Trading Partner (unless that one contact is a robot who never takes a vacation or has a sick day that turns into 10 days hospitalization because of an accident). I was about flabbergasted when I started an EDI position several years ago with a company that had about 75+ Trading Partners, yet only had 6 TP contacts listed for use within a department. After you have create the list, do yourself a favor - take some time at least twice a year and follow up with that Trading partner to insure your contacts are current. You'll know what I mean when you just assume you have a current contact for TP XYZ, and 18 mos later when you do have a question, you find out so & so you emailed comes back undeliverable and the phone call to them reaches someone else who has no idea how to spell EDI, yet alone tell you what happened to that ASN for the largest shipment in company history. 2. A list of specs for every EDI transaction they want to trade with your company. 3. Establish transaction transmission guidelines and expectations with your trading partner - how soon does the 856 need to arrive at the company, how soon will the company send a 997 for your outbound transmissions, how soon does the company expect a 997 for the transmissions they are sending you. In regards to the last section, I'm a stickler to sending and receiving 997's. If you have any sort of a decent EDI system, your 997's should be the most simplest and easiest document to set up and in most cases, it just a matter of checking the field that says WE WANT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS and YES WE WILL SEND YOU ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. I look upon this as a matter of professional courtesy - if you are "nice" enough to send me some EDI, I'm going to be nice enough to let you know I got it by acknowledging it. But on the other side of the coin, if my system is going to generate EDI for you, then I most certainly want to know if you got my document, so please send me a 997 back, EVEN if you are already sending me an 855 or 865. Usually those ##5 documents are generated several hours to a few days after receipt of the original ##0 document, but if you/they never got the original ##0 document, a ##5 document will never ever get generated in return. And with that being said, I relenquish the soap box..... 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