Take Advantage of E-Commerce Trends with EDI Software
Originally used in the retail sector, electronic data interchange has become an effective way for manufacturers and their suppliers to optimize their supply chains and streamline transactions between partners. One of the world's biggest stores, Amazon, doesn't actually have a brick-and-mortar storefront. Virtual storefronts are surpassing physical ones as more and more goods are sold through e-commerce channels.
According to Kate Mohr of Manufacturing.net, the e-commerce clothing market is expected to reach $470 billion by the year 2020, up from $256 billion last year. The online consumer electronics market will reach $400 billion by that time, and it was $247 billion in 2015. While these sectors continue to grow at steady rates, companies that cannot take advantage of it will be losing out on huge amounts of revenue and market share.
The e-commerce market provides increased reach, more opportunities for brand awareness and overhead savings. Companies like Amazon that run warehouses and ship directly to consumers are enjoying reduced costs compared to companies that are maintaining retail spaces. The growth of e-commerce has cemented the need for streamlined data interchange between manufacturers and suppliers. EDI transactions can bring that efficiency.
By reducing transaction time, EDI software lets suppliers order and move goods faster. Without an EDI solution, transactions between partners would be reliant on redundant, time-consuming forms. Orders that took hours and even days prior to EDI software are now done in a matter of minutes thanks to EDI mapping. The efficiency of EDI transactions allows manufacturers and suppliers to ship goods directly to clients when they're needed, instead of trying to guess how many units will be sold and shipping them off to sit on shelves. EDI allows these companies to operate on demand with a more efficient supply chain.