Electronic Invoicing and EDI FAQs

This page contains Frequently Asked Questions and technical notes about Electronic Invoicing and EDI. EDI is the exchange of business information in a standardized format between companies that use different computer systems. Electronic invoicing lets dealers use the DDMS EDI application to accept electronic invoices from vendors.

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What is EDI?

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a standard structure for digitally exchanging purchase orders, invoices, and other business documents between trading partners (manufacturers, distributors, resellers, and customers) who use different computer systems and enterprise applications.

For example, if you receive an invoice file from your vendor, how would your DDMS system be able to extract the data from the file, and distinguish the invoice number from the total? If the invoice is sent as an unstructured email message or text file, you might have to print it out and manually type the data into the DDMS system, looking over the entire page for the proper entry for each field. However, if you use structured EDI, the EDI software would translate each piece of data into a format that DDMS can process, then import it into DDMS. EDI capability has been a standard feature of DDMS business systems for many years.

What Procedures Can Be Streamlined With DDMS EDI?

EDI can streamline your procedures for accounts payable posting, order entry, billing, and customer order acknowledgements. EDI is efficient — no wasted time waiting for invoices or other paperwork to arrive. It’s paperless — no printing means no wasted resources. It also saves keying time by minimizing data entry errors.

With DDMS and EDI, you can take advantage of the following capabilities:

  • Electronic Invoicing with vendors such as Arlington Industries, Azerty, is.group, S.P. Richards, TriMega Purchasing Association (TPA), and United Stationers
  • Receiving EDI Purchase Orders from Your Customers
  • Sending EDI Invoices to Your Customers
  • Exchanging EDI Acknowledgments With Your Customers

EDI allows you to automate processes so that little or no human intervention is necessary. For example, with Electronic Invoicing, your DDMS system can review EDI invoices based on parameters that you determine, then automatically post them to A/P. Exceptions – invoices that fall outside of your parameters – are flagged for manual review. Instead of manually reviewing and posting every invoice, you only deal with the exceptions.

How is EDI Different From PSN?

Both the ECi PSN and EDI certainly enable electronic transactions. However, the scope of each service is different:

The ECi Private Supply Network (PSN) is a collection of Internet-based services that let dealers exchange data and conduct electronic transactions with suppliers and other trading partners. The PSN acts as a proprietary transport network. It transfers data such as purchase orders, P/O acknowledgements, stock and price checks, and item and pricing files across a broadband Internet connection. PSN resources route the data to the correct destination and PSN software translates file formats when necessary. For example, Internet Purchasing is a service that utilizes the ECi PSN to transmit purchase orders and receive acknowledgments from participating vendors. So, instead of using conventional dial-up modems or EDI transactions through third-party value-added networks (VANs), Internet Purchasing uses the PSN to send these transactions over the Internet.

EDI is an industry-standard structured format that enables applications from different computer systems to interpret each other's data, using a standard such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) X.12. The network used to transport or receive EDI files depends on your trading partner's specifications. Your vendor or customer may require a value added network (VAN) or a direct connection such as a dial-up modem, virtual private network (VPN), file transfer protocol (FTP), or EDI over the Internet (EDIINT).

See also PSN Documentation More and more vendors are using the ECi Private Supply Network as the channel to transmit electronic invoices.

Setting Up and Using Electronic Invoicing For Each Vendor

We have standardized the setup of Electronic Invoicing with several vendors.

See also PSN Documentation More and more vendors are using the ECi Private Supply Network as the channel to transmit electronic invoices.

Electronic Invoice Posting and Exceptions

Posting Electronic Invoices (pdf) documentation for posting electronic invoices with any vendor, and for handling exceptions. To learn how to set up and receive electronic invoices from your particular vendor, see one of the documents below.

Arlington

Setting Up and Receiving Invoices: Arlington (pdf) How to set up electronic invoicing with Arlington Industries, and how to receive and process these invoices via PSN. To complete the process, see Posting Electronic Invoices (pdf).

Azerty

Setting Up and Receiving Invoices: Azerty (pdf) Azerty was acquired by United Stationers This document illustrates howto set up electronic invoicing with Azerty, and how to receive and process these invoices. To complete the process, see Posting Electronic Invoices (pdf).

is.group (Independent Stationers)

Setting Up and Receiving Invoices: is.group (pdf) How to set up electronic invoicing with is.group, and how to receive and process these invoices. To complete the process, see Posting Electronic Invoices (pdf).

S.P. Richards — Invoices, Credits, Freight, and Advance Shipping Notice (ASN)

Setting Up and Receiving Invoices: S.P. Richards (pdf) How to set up electronic invoicing with S.P. Richards, and how to receive and process these invoices via PSN. To complete the process, see Posting Electronic Invoices (pdf).

New! Processing Credits and Freight Charges: S.P. Richards (pdf) It's now easier than ever to process S.P. Richards credits and freight charges. When you receive electronic invoices via PSN, DDMS can automatically post vendor credits to Accounts Payable, and post Freight charges to customer pick tickets in Order Entry. It eliminates several labor-intensive steps.

New! Processing Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN): S.P. Richards (pdf) It's now easier than ever to process S.P. Richards short ships, carton counts and tracking information via PSN. When you receive the new Advance Shipping Notice data from SPR via PSN, DDMS can process short ships, carton counts, carton IDs, and carrier tracking IDs. The system automatically adjusts the quantities and special lines in your orders and your purchase order. You can use Report Writer to add the vendor carton counts to your printed shipping manifest. It allows more proactive handling of shorted orders, and simplifies package tracking.

Supplies Network (a DMI company) — Invoices and Advance Shipping Notice (ASN)

New! Setting Up and Receiving Invoices: Supplies Network (pdf) How to set up electronic invoicing with Supplies Network, and how to receive and process these invoices via PSN. To complete the process, see Posting Electronic Invoices (pdf).

Setting Up and Using the Supplies Network PSN (pdf) Set up appropriate parameters to transmit purchase orders, check stock availability and pricing, request acknowledgements, and receive carton counts, carton IDs, and carrier tracking IDs via the PSN with Supplies Network, a DMI company.

New! Processing Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN): Supplies Network(pdf) It's now easier than ever to process S.P. Richards short ships, carton counts and tracking information via PSN. When you receive the new Advance Shipping Notice data from SPR via PSN, DDMS can process short ships, carton counts, carton IDs, and carrier tracking IDs. The system automatically adjusts the quantities and special lines in your orders and your purchase order. You can use Report Writer to add the vendor carton counts to your printed shipping manifest. It allows more proactive handling of shorted orders, and simplifies package tracking.

TriMega Purchasing Association (TPA)

New! Setting Up and Receiving Invoices: TriMega Purchasing Assn. (pdf) How to set up electronic invoicing with TriMega Purchasing Association (TPA), and how to receive and process these invoices via PSN. To complete the process, see Posting Electronic Invoices (pdf).

United Stationers — Invoices, Credits, Freight, and Advance Shipping Notice (ASN)

Updated! Setting Up and Receiving Invoices: United Stationers (pdf) How to set up electronic invoicing with United, and how to receive and process these invoices via PSN. To complete the process, see Posting Electronic Invoices (pdf).

Processing Credits and Freight Charges: United Stationers (pdf) It's now easier than ever to process S.P. Richards credits and freight charges. When you receive electronic invoices via PSN, DDMS can automatically post vendor credits to Accounts Payable, and post Freight charges to customer pick tickets in Order Entry. It eliminates several labor-intensive steps.

Processing Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN): United Stationers (pdf) It's now easier than ever to process United Stationers short ships, carton counts and tracking information via PSN. When you receive the new Advance Shipping Notice data from United via PSN, DDMS can process short ships, carton counts, carton IDs, and carrier tracking IDs. The system automatically adjusts the quantities and special lines in your orders and your purchase order. You can use Report Writer to add the vendor carton counts to your printed shipping manifest. It allows more proactive handling of shorted orders, and simplifies package tracking.

Merged or Discontinued: ActionEmco, O Henry, PPI

Althrough the following companies have either merged with other companies or stopped providing item files, the documentation below is still available:

Setting Up and Receiving Invoices: ActionEmco (pdf) In 2008, Action Wholesale was acquired by S.P. Richards, and EMCO was acquired by United Stationers. This document still illustrates how to set up electronic invoicing with ActionEmco, and how to receive and process these invoices via PSN. To complete the process, see Posting Electronic Invoices (pdf).

Setting Up and Receiving Invoices: O Henry Inc. (pdf) S.P. Richards acquired O Henry in 2008. This document still illustrates how to set up electronic invoicing with O Henry, and how to receive and process these invoices via PSN. To complete the process, see Posting Electronic Invoices (pdf).

Setting Up and Receiving Invoices: PPI (pdf) S.P. Richards acquired Pens Plus Inc. in 2008. This document still illustrates how to set up electronic invoicing with PPI (formerly Pens Plus Inc), and how to receive and process these invoices via PSN. To complete the process, see Posting Electronic Invoices (pdf).

Other EDI-Related Capabilities

How do I set up (L6W) EDI Parameters, and use (SG) EDI Operations, and run (LT) EDI Reports?

See the original EDI Manual (pdf). It provides detailed documentation on each field and procedure.

Can't I just use Importer to transfer OPDX and electronic invoices?

Setting Up and Using Importer (pdf) documentation for Importer, a Windows program that transfers electronic invoices from a PC to your DDMS system. It's especially useful for users of OPDX and electronic invoicing, but will transfer any EDI file.

Can I use EDI to communicate with other suppliers not listed?

Yes. A DDMS dealer beginning EDI with a trading partner needs no additional hardware investment. The most important thing is to communicate with both your trading partner and DDMS regarding specifications, and to determine if any customized mapping is necessary. You may want to collect the following information for each trading partner:

  • What transport network does your trading partner require for sending and receiving EDI files—VAN, FTP, or something else?
  • What type of EDI transactions and transaction sets (usually identified by a number) does the trading partner require?
  • What specifications does your trading partner's data have? It may be necessary for DDMS to perform custom data formatting (called file mapping).

When you have this information, contact ECi Technical Support to begin the process of setting up your EDI communications.

Any labor required to customize the file mapping to meet your trading partner's specifications is billable. There is also a modest, one-time charge if your implementation requires EDI Importer software, a Microsoft® Windows®-based program from DDMS that transfers EDI files into your DDMS system.

Prior to the repackaging, DDMS always charged an additional monthly EDI maintenance fee to dealers who used any EDI-related functions in their DDMS systems. This additional charge has been eliminated, enabling you to take advantage of these capabilities without impacting your monthly fee.

Can I use EDI to communicate to Customers from my DDMS system?

Yes. EDI-related communications with your customers may include:

  • Receiving EDI purchase orders from your customers
  • Sending EDI invoices to your customers
  • Exchanging EDI acknowledgments with your customers

The specifications, transaction sets, and transport networks vary so greatly among trading partners that it is difficult to standardize the setup for these and other EDI-related capabilities. You may want to collect the following information for each customer:

  • What transport network do they require for sending and receiving EDI files—VAN, FTP, or something else?
  • What type of EDI transactions and transaction sets (usually identified by a number) do they require?
  • What specifications does your customer's system have? It may be necessary for DDMS to perform custom data formatting (called file mapping).

Contact ECi Technical Support to begin the process of setting up your EDI communications with a customer.

Any labor required to customize the file mapping to meet your trading partner's specifications is billable. There is also a modest, one-time charge if your implementation requires EDI Importer software, a Microsoft® Windows®-based program from DDMS that transfers EDI files into your DDMS system.

Prior to the repackaging, DDMS always charged an additional monthly EDI maintenance fee to dealers who used any EDI-related functions in their DDMS systems. This additional charge has been eliminated, enabling you to take advantage of these capabilities without impacting your monthly fee.