To be competitive, you must go digital.
Many manufacturers have already made the switch from error-prone, paper-based processes to electronic data interchange (EDI) for facilitating transactions. In some industries, like automotive manufacturing, EDI is actually required by OEMs and tier-1 suppliers. Failure to comply with this requirement means getting locked out of the competitive landscape.
While EDI has helped manufacturers make significant strides in error reduction and agility, the sad truth is that not all EDI solutions deliver what they promise. For starters, many EDI systems are difficult to maintain and require customizations that cost businesses significant time and money. Some EDI systems require regular maintenance and don’t integrate (or don’t integrate well) with ERP and other systems, creating burdensome complexities. Lack of automation and real-time communication are also common shortcomings. In the end, many EDI systems are rigid when it comes to adapting to volume shifts or change management, making it challenging to scale business up or down. In a marketplace as dynamic as manufacturing, this is a problem.
With fully-integrated, cloud-based EDI, you get a system that supports customer and supplier collaboration for business transactions including orders, releases, and shipping. Automated, real-time document exchange eliminates the error-prone, manual processes that can be so costly and detrimental to your business. A cloud-based system is always current with EDI industry changes, so you can focus on improving your business outcomes instead of spending time on EDI technology changes.
Plastics manufacturer Champion Plastics had just landed a large deal with Harley-Davidson. To ensure success for the contract, Champion Plastics began investigating EDI solutions. After an in-depth review, Champion Plastics decided to go with the Plex Manufacturing Cloud and Plex EDI based on deep integration. With Plex, Champion Plastics has reduced paperwork by more than 50 percent, translating to a 33 percent savings in manpower at the manufacturing level, and reduced its inventory by nearly 30 percent while still meeting customer demands.
We live in a manufacturing landscape where agility, adaptability, and versatility are everything. When the market shifts suddenly, when prices change quickly, when an opportunity arises unexpectedly, you need to be equipped with tools that allow you to stay responsive while maintaining the high quality our customers demand.
Is your business ready to leverage the speed of cloud-based EDI? Download the brochure for more information.
