newbie trying to select a most suitable EDI software

[ABAMOTO]

Dear all:
My company is trying to launch EDI with some of our trading partners. However, there are so many EDI software/services in the market. How do I judge which would be the best one for my company?

Currently my company is using MAS200. And we need EDI 850, 855, 856, and 810. Our trading partners are very specific electronic component distributors. Therefore, most of the EDI companies do not have them on the list (even though they are huge).

May I know what EDI software you are using?

I am narrowoing down to Kissinger and True Commerce. Can anyone of you share your 2 cents on both softwares with me?

Thank you alll very much. =)

 

[nelste]

Hello.
What country are you in or what country is messages going to handled?

//NELSTE

 

[KIRBY2000]

Ask your (future) trading partners what EDI software
package they are using.

 

[ABAMOTO]

Now I am waiting to contact the EDI coordinator at my trading partners'... However, what if one trading partner is using abc software and the other is using xyz, then what am I going to do?


By the way, i am living in the states. All the messagings will be handled inside the U.S. =)

 

[BocaBurger]

I would suggest IBM's WebShpere DataStage TX, but since I would fo the company I am a bit (or a byte) prejudiced.

The TX product, when developed was first designed to handle EDI as the main data type. Now you cam map EDI to XML, to SAP to just about any format, and connect to just about any 3rd party software. If you have some 3rd party that is not supported, (and doesn't work with ODBC) you can write your own JAVA adapter.



BocaBurger
<===========================||////////////////|0
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the sword hurts more!

 

[BocaBurger]

That should be "work for" not "would fo".



BocaBurger
<===========================||////////////////|0
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the sword hurts more!

 

[ABAMOTO]

Thanks for your information BocaBurger. It seems that IBM EDI is good for me. However, because our IT has very limited resource, I do not think such program can be maintained and handled well. Most likely we need some 3rd party software that will handle most of the jobs. For customized mapping, we also can outsource to consulting service.

Yes it does seem that our IT infrastructure is still far from being professional, but that is our company's nature. =__=

Thank you very much for your information.

 

[BocaBurger]

I would tend to disagree. If the documentation is read, the solutions are fairly stable. Websphere DataStage TX has an excellent support group, IBM has Professional Services, and some 3rd party consulting companies do a good job. Beware of bargain consulting, if it sounds to cheap to be good, it is.
You can run on Windows or Linux to save $$ on hardware. The Commerce Manager product is used by a wide variety of companies, from retail, manufacturing, healthcare, gov't, etc.


BocaBurger
<===========================||////////////////|0
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the sword hurts more!

 

[nelste]

there are many programs out there for maping one information to another. Becuase i work with EDI i want more than a converter. If you are going to send and recieve invocies or orders you must be certain that the information is recieved by the other party. Many converters have no tracing to the reciever or how to manage end to end responses. I would recomend a program that can handle both comunication and translation. Check out

http://www.dip.co.uk.

//NELSTE

 

[BocaBurger]

WebSphere DataStage TX has adaptors/connectors for VAN, E-mail, FTP, HTTP, Socket, messaging software, databases, JMS, etc. and you can write your own JAVA based connector that works with the program too.
It is the #1 in market share world-wide.
<END Commercial Message>



BocaBurger
<===========================||////////////////|0
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the sword hurts more!

 

[ABAMOTO]

I am not familiar with WebSphere DataStage TX. When you say "write your own JAVA based program", do you literally mean that implementing programming languages or using more like application-level GUI design-tools? How deep do you get invovled with programming when you use WebSphere DataStage TX?

Don't get me wrong. I have a passion for programming languages (although sometimes it's very frustrating). However, I need to figure out the best solution for my company, including a future support&maintenance.

For instance, I am willing to use this WebSphere DataStage TX for my company and the EDI solution turns out to be the best. One day I got another opportunity and I have to leave the company, how would the company feel? A company should make sure that its operation runs normally with absence of any employee. Therefore, with limited resource, if today my company uses WebSphere DataStage TX, I will probably be the guy who does the programming. In this case, it is definitely not a good EDI solution in terms of maintenance and support.

Outsourcing would be much easier and preferrable from a small-medium size company's point of view if anything involves in-house programming which requires certain level of knowledge/education/experiences.

However, I do thank you for your sharing. =)

Have a nice weekend

 

[BocaBurger]

You don't have to write any of your own code, unless you want to, or have some unusual situation where it would be needed by almost any program. If you do write the code, it would be well commented and documented so any sucessor would have no trouble undestanding what it does, right?
The program allows comments in the rules for every transformation, so anyone following you should be able to understand why a particular rule was implemented, it works with several source control programs, and (in the next release) will have it's own debugger, profiler for performance and other system tuning tools.



BocaBurger
<===========================||////////////////|0
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the sword hurts more!

 

[sanjyadon]

Why dont u look for something with Sterling COmmerce.
They have good softwares. I have been ussing Gentran Director for quite sometime which support the documents u mentioned.
Don

 

[damber]

I would have to agree with BocaBurger if you're wanting a very flexible & functional integration solution; IBM Websphere Datastage TX - (formerly from Ascential up until a few months ago, and before that named Mercator) - this is a serious package for serious solutions. But it is really Enterprise Class Software - and requires a fair amount of technical investment (as do most) - knowledge, funding and time. But worth it.

Another alternative which is touted to be more 'complete' in its functional architecture is SeeBeyond - their package is more off the shelf, but has other issues, and is apparently very buggy.

But if your company is really not into the tech side of this area, and don't really want to be - then why not use an integration service provided by GXS or Sterling Commerce? These providers will also translate whatever message format your application requires into/outof the partners format. Or provide you with software to do so. If you have limited requirements - this can be a much better way of achieving your goal.

Both of these companies will provide you with either a fully hosted service, a software and transport service (where you develop the maps etc), or a transport only service. Varying costs for varying needs.

(GXS have recently acquired IBM's Information Exchange (IE) service, which does essentially the same thing)

TrueCommerce's software does not appear to be very functional - it will tie you into using TrueCommerce for your map development and the actual technical integration - the software does not seem to natively/easily integrate with MAS200. Unless they meet your requirements and are very low cost, I would consider GXS/SterlingCommerce. (In most cases GXS are more expensive, but check them both out)

You should also consider that the Technology sector is moving rapidly towards RosettaNet and away from EDI Statndards such as X12 and EDIFACT - (

http://www.rosettanet.org/

) so you should consider this as a potential future requirement. Cyclone Commerce do a good product that manages this type of integration.

So...

You have to really start from your requirements before looking at software solutions.

1. What do you have to do to integrate now ?
2. What do you have to do to integrate in the near future ?
3. What may you need to integrate in the long term ?
4. Do you want to 'buy' or 'build' ? ('buy'ing would be a service from the likes of Sterling Commerce, 'build'ing would be an integration tool like Datastage TX)
5. Do you want to have in-house experts to manage your integration solution, or outsource it ?
6. What protocol adapters will you need ? (HTTP, FTP, ODBC, BAPI/BDC/ALE, WebsphereMQ, etc etc)
7. What data formats do you need to support ? (X12, EDIFACT, RosettaNet PIPs, XML based standards, flat file, IDocs etc etc)

There are of course a lot more questions to ask - but the important ones are about your strategy - understand what you WANT to do, then you will find determining HOW to do it becomes less troublesome.

Finally, WebMethods is also a very functional and competent software solution - you may want to have a look at that too.

Buy: SterlingCommerce Or GXS
Build: IBM Datastage TX Or WebMethods

Hope this helps, and good luck !

A smile is worth a thousand kind words. So smile, it's easy!

 

[Last1Out]

Review websites for EDI software, for the platform you will be using.

Have some facts about your business transactions, i.e. how many are processed on an average day, how many trading partners, what communications will be used (dial, FTP, AS2..etc.).

Some vendors will allow you to download demo version, with example transactions, so try a couple. Drive before you buy.

Oh, and make sure you will have technical support for your
business. Some transactions may be mission critical.

 

[EDISMW52]

You need to select EDI software that meets YOUR companies requirements. If you select EDI software that is X12 compliant including variants like UCS, VICS, and others, your trading partners will be able to process your transactions as long as they also have X12 compliant translators. Ask youself:

1) List the transactions your company is interested in exchanging over the next 18 to 24 months.
2) List the number of trading partners
3) Determine if you want integration of the EDI data with your software like MAS or if you will use some form of manual processing.
4) Determine what type of reporting you need from the EDI software.
5) Determine how much customization of the messages you will need. Some EDI translators support more customization than others.
6) Determine what type of implementation guides (documentation you want to exchange with your trading partners). Do the translator packages you are looking at support creation of implementation guides or do you need other software like EDIFIX, EDISIM, or SpecBuilder.
7) Find out how soon after new versions of X12 the EDI vendors provide them.
8) What is the typical support timeframe when you report problems?
9) Is training available?
10) What type of user documentation exists. Is it written in a manner to be useful.
11) Is the software scalable. In other words if you decide you want to implement EDIFACT, RosettaNet, UBL, or other standards, does the software allow you to add modules to support these additional standards.
12) Do not buy any software just on the recomendations of another user or consultant. The best software for one company can be a nightmare for another company. Obtain evaluation versions of the software you are interested in and test, test, test. If you can't obtain an evaluation version of a particular product, forget it and find software you can evaluate.
13. Does the translator software support all X12 standards or do you have to pay for each one you use. If pricing is on a per transaction basis, estimate all of the transactions you will need over a 24 month period of time to determine the true cost.
14) Pricing is important but it isn't the only or most important factor.
15) How widely used is the product you are considering? If you add new team members to the project, will it be easy to find people with skills in the product you are interested in buying?

In the US, the industry assocation for electronic components is EIDX (

http://www.eidx.org)

for X12/EDIFACT and RosettaNet (

http://www.rosettanet.org)

for XML.

Sylvia Webb

 

[Last1Out]

Before you contact any vendor, do a review of your business process. Take inventory of how many transactions you will be processing via EDI (should match your current paper transactions). Should you outsource, before bring the
process in-house? Can I download and try some EDI transactions before buying? Do I have the necesary MASxxx
modules, on board, so transactions can be integrated directly into the ERP applications. And most, importantly,
can I count on experienced support?

Good Hunting!

 

[RonProcak]

The Kissinger Associates software (I beleive it is not called Sales Partner) is a great tool for EDI integration with MAS200. You can use Gentranirector, Gentran:Server for Windows and some other translators for the EDI front end. Earlier this year I have used Gentran Integration Suites (GIS) along with the Sales Partner Module within MAS200. It is a simple process once everything is setup.

Ronald D. Procak Jr.

 

[ABAMOTO]

Dear all:
Thanks for the reply.

A summary to my understanding about EDI.

Accounting Software <-> Mapper <-> Translator <-> VAN

A couple things that I need to be aware of:

1) how good is the integration between my accoutning software with the mapping software? Complete integration is highly recommanded.

2)Target a VAN service that best benifits your business, then you can use its translator software (Also, you need to make sure it is compatible with your mapping software).

3)Find a good IT consulting firm to help you maintain and train the users.

4)Estimate your business growth is also important, so you have an idea what EDI solution and what VAN service you should get.

I will probably get MAPADOC + TrustedLink with Inovis's VAN service. I talked with GXS and Sterling Commerce and I feel they are more favorable towards the enterprise large volume trading partners.

Thanks all for your help... Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[nicholmikey]

You should try tangentia, they cover the whole process and specialize in low cost solutions for starting / midsize companies.