• Need for external help or EDI support gave rise to several groups of independent EDI experts called EDI consultants or EDI consulting companies or firms
• EDI consultants usually are brought to help with different aspects of EDI implementation that the companies might lack the knowledge or expertise
• Companies should evaluate their internal structure and make decisions on which type of EDI company they should work with.

Introduction

EDI Consulting or EDI Consultants as standard terms came into existence when companies started expressing the need of external entities or experts to help them in different stages of EDI implementation: internal infrastructure assessment, project planning, installations, mapping, ERP integration, trading partner on-boarding, end-to-end testing, training and on-going support.

Even today, companies ranging from small-mid-large have a great need of external EDI consulting and support services because they do not get the level of expertise and support needed from their EDI solution providers/managed EDI services in the marketplace to run end-to-end EDI operations effectively.

EDI Consulting and Support Services involve:

1. Complete software installation and configuration
2. Map development
3. Trading partner onboarding
4. Training your EDI team on the bought software and best practices
5. End-to end testing
6. EDI chargeback research and resolution
7. Ongoing support
8. Document integration with your back-end systems

There is a huge gap in the marketplace where the EDI expertise is limited across different industries and countries. Generally, we have seen companies would have either one or two or no resources on staff who can manage the whole EDI operations. This is where an EDI consulting company or EDI consultants like EDI Support LLC can act as your back-up or extended team to guide your in-house resources in the right direction and help with various tasks. Our offerings whether you need a new EDI setup or need support with your existing EDI solution cover the full spectrum of EDI operations.

Why do you need EDI trained staff at your disposal 24/7?

1. You have 0-1 EDI person on staff and he/she calls in sick. Who handles your chargebacks or error resolution? Does your business go on a stand still? The answer is no.
2. You can have your VP/Director of IT step in to select an EDI service provider, they move out of the company for whatever reason and you have no clue what’s happening with respect to EDI and your trading partners changing guidelines.
3. Your ERP consultants may not have the complete knowledge about EDI and document integration into your ERP.

Consider all the above scenarios when you are deciding about the kind of EDI service model you need that works well for your business.