Supply Lens

What do I need to get ready before my EDI retailer integration can be set up?

Prepare for an EDI retailer

Collect the specification, codes and trading rules from your retailer, and check your own products, identifiers and Locations, so the Supply Lens team can build your EDI integration without delays.

About 6 min

By the end of this guide you'll have everything the Supply Lens team needs to configure an EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) integration with a retailer: their documents and codes, and your own systems checked and ready. EDI integrations are configured by the Supply Lens team from the specification and data your retailer provides, and gaps found later are the main cause of delayed go-lives.

Before you start

  • A contact in your retailer's EDI or supply chain team. If your buyer can't supply the documents below, ask to be connected to their EDI onboarding team: most large retailers have one, with a standard document pack for new suppliers.
  • An export of the active product codes from your ERP or IMS (inventory management system).
  • Access to Parties and Locations in Supply Lens.

Steps

Collect from your retailer

  1. Ask for the technical documentation:
    • the EDI specification or technical guide: message formats, required fields and the transmission method (VAN, SFTP, API or email);
    • at least three real sample purchase orders, covering a range of products and order sizes if possible. They're used to validate the configuration before go-live;
    • the outbound format requirements for anything you send back, such as order acknowledgements, despatch advices (ASNs) and invoices.
  2. Ask for the codes and identifiers:
    • your supplier code: the code the retailer uses for you, separate from your company or VAT number;
    • a product cross-reference table mapping each retailer product code (GTIN, EAN or their own code) to your internal SKU. Every product that could appear on a purchase order must be in it;
    • depot and location codes for each delivery location or depot, which Supply Lens maps to ship-to addresses in your system;
    • carrier codes, if the retailer prescribes which carrier or shipping method to use.
  3. Ask for the trading rules:
    • mandatory fields on inbound purchase orders or on the documents you send;
    • tolerance thresholds: whether partial fulfilment, short-shipping or substitution is allowed, and the acceptable tolerance;
    • acknowledgement requirements: whether an order acknowledgement is expected, and within what timeframe.

Check your own systems

  1. Align your products. Check every internal SKU in the retailer's cross-reference table exists in your ERP or IMS item master, character for character, and fix any gaps before you hand the table over. Supply Lens has no automated check, so follow Align your SKUs.
  2. Check your organisation identifiers. Your organisation party needs a VAT identifier (your VAT registration number) and a GLN (Global Location Number, a 13-digit code that identifies your business in the supply chain). If you don't have a GLN, the Supply Lens team will coordinate issuing one. See Add an EDI Integration.
  3. Set up delivery Locations. If the retailer delivers to specific stores, depots or distribution centres, set them up as Locations in Supply Lens first, so the team can map the retailer's depot codes to records that already exist. See Add a Location.
  4. Hand everything over to the Supply Lens team, or to the Support Team.

What the Supply Lens team does next

Once you've handed everything over, the Supply Lens team:

  1. builds the cross-reference tables for this trading partner (product, depot and supplier codes);
  2. configures the EDI integration and validates the format against the retailer's specification;
  3. runs a test cycle using your sample purchase orders;
  4. coordinates connection testing with your retailer's EDI team;
  5. confirms the go-live date and activates the integration.

You need to be available to check that test orders flow correctly into your ERP, and that test despatch advices and invoices are accepted by the retailer.

Check it worked

You're ready when:

  • you have the specification, at least three sample orders and the outbound format requirements;
  • you have your supplier code, a complete product cross-reference, depot codes and any carrier codes;
  • you know the retailer's mandatory fields, tolerances and acknowledgement timings;
  • every SKU in the cross-reference exists exactly in your ERP or IMS;
  • your organisation party has VAT and GLN identifiers, and the delivery Locations exist.

Once live, a retailer purchase order follows this route: the retailer sends it (via VAN, SFTP or API); Supply Lens validates it against the cross-reference tables; if every code matches, a Sales Order is created in your ERP and an order acknowledgement goes to the retailer; when despatch is confirmed in your ERP, an ASN (advanced shipping notice) is sent; and the invoice is generated and sent in the retailer's format.

If something goes wrong

  • An order is held with an alert. A retailer code couldn't be matched. Supply Lens never creates a partial or incomplete order: the order is held until the cross-reference is added. The fix is almost always a missing product or depot code.
  • The retailer adds a new product to your range. Tell the Supply Lens team before the retailer orders it, or orders for it will be held until the mapping is added.
  • The retailer can't supply the documents. Ask for their EDI onboarding team.