Who is an EDI Specialist?

An EDI specialist or a consultant is an experienced electronic data exchange professional who has worked on multiple EDI software solutions and has a good knowledge on how to integrate an EDI software (whether it is cloud based or an on-premise using APIs or flat files respectively) with an ERP or any backend solution to help automate and increase efficiency of a cash to order cycle. This person is an expert in not only all things EDI operations from creating, testing, maintaining and upgrading maps, installing an EDI software, setting up EDI communication with trading partners, testing and working in a live and secure production environment to run and maintain the overall EDI process but is also a well-rounded professional who not only knows the technical aspects of EDI but is aware of the business side of sending and receiving documents. An EDI specialist knows the who, what, why of trading with an organization and is able to articulate to his or her tech team members the business and revenue logic behind document exchange.

Why is it difficult to find an EDI Specialist?

It is important to understand no one is born with a desire to become an EDI professional. EDI in 99% cases is an acquired skill set for a software professional when he or she gets introduced to the EDI software technology while working in an organization and grows from there. An EDI specialist is most often a computer science or computer engineering professional with programing skills. What every EDI professional does not understand even after working for years in this space is having technical EDI skills is great however, understanding a company’s business processes can take you to the next level of your career.

Learn from our CEO on how difficult it is to find such EDI specialists even in today’s world where the world has come so close.

Having a deep understanding of this problem in the EDI space, EDI Support LLC has built a team of well-rounded EDI specialists who understand your business needs and revenue motivation and carve custom EDI solutions that are ala-carte to your needs. We not only bring the EDI knowledge from working on different EDI platforms and managed EDI software applications but understand the science behind the document flow and what is required to keep you in good standing with your trading partners when some of the managed EDI services are not able to help. Learn more about our approach to an EDI problem when first meet with us.

Here is what one of customers Get Sunday has to say about our team of EDI Specialists:

We have an increasing number of older invoices with our customers (Walmart & Lowes) that have gone unpaid. We are a smaller startup with ~100 employees and began selling volumes via EDI in 2022. We’ve managed the integration in-house with 3rd party support, but due to the lack of payments I wanted to search for a specialists’ support. I was looking for a partner that can work where we are at and provide tailored support, since most EDI situations are unique. I didn’t want a large firm that typically manages whole EDI integrations, as these engagements typically take longer to setup and often don’t provide the detailed support that’s needed. It was clear after the first call with Jim that his team is best suited to support us.

– Stacey Feldman, Controller

How can an EDI Specialist help your organization?

An EDI specialist plays a vital role as an external resource if you are looking for specific EDI and data integration expertise. For example, if your tech team does not have EDI expertise in-house then, they can hire an EDI consultant or an EDI consulting company like EDI Support LLC to help guide your tech team setup an EDI software, run and maintain it throughout. Or even if you have EDI expertise in-house, you may not have integration expertise to integrate EDI into your backend systems like accounting, ERP, WMS, e-commerce platforms. Either way, find out where the skill set gap is in your team if you need to implement EDI and automate your systems and start exploring who can help you fill that gap in the market.

How does the pricing for EDI Specialists or Consultants work?

EDI Consultants usually charge on an hourly basis depending on the amount of work you need from them. It can vary from $150-$250 an hour in most cases that we have seen in the market. You can also work out a monthly retainer model with an EDI consultant(s) if there is continuous work required with dedicated team members who will be an extension of your tech team if an EDI consulting company operates in that model. Hourly pricing makes sense when one head count is needed for only a few hours a day or week to work with your in-house tech team.

Looking for a team of independent EDI experts who can help you with your EDI problems? Checkout why you need to work with well-rounded EDI professionals.