Most businesses come to us with some kind of EDI provider recommendations they have been given by different parties whether through their trading partners or external consultants. It is good to know that you have a good starting point to begin researching on these recommendations and dig deeper but you shouldn’t be relying solely on them to make a decision. So, the answer is no. You don’t have to use either SPS Commerce or TrueCommerce or any other EDI service provider only. You are free to use which ever platform you want based on your business needs.

Things to Consider:

Here’s what to look for when choosing an EDI provider:

1. Your Internal Infrastructure

2. Internal Resources

3. Overall business needs (how do you intend to scale? do you need broad
   capabilities; what kind of support is required etc.)

4. Budget

All the above criteria should be in line for you to start thinking about the right partner. Do your due-diligence by asking the right questions while shopping for an EDI service.

Questions to Get Started:

1. What does your Trading Partner and client on-boarding process look like?

2. How much time do you take to implement the EDI system and train our team?

3. What’s your response time to errors?

4. What is the level of customer support you provide?

5. How quick are you going to get back?

6. How fast are you going to provide a resolution for our issues?

7. Can you help integrate EDI with our ERP software?

This video talks about the reality of how businesses are forced to use a certain EDI provider just because either their trading partner is using them or someone else they know is using them.

EDI Support LLC’s Recommendation:

Do a thorough deep dive into the different EDI providers when shopping around. Ask them the right questions (like some mentioned above) to gauge if they can fulfill your business needs as you grow and scale, can fit your internal infrastructure and provide you the right kind of support as needed to help implement your trading partner requirements.

At EDI Support, when you come to us, we understand your needs and suggest you with solutions that will work for you with our wide experience and honest opinion. It is your choice if you want or don’t want to take them into account but can consider them as a starting point for your search. Ask for references from 2-3 businesses of all sizes to learn about what worked well and what did not. That’s the best approach for you.