A Better Way to EDI

Despite pressure from shippers, forwarders, rail and steamship lines, many carriers have resisted moving to EDI because of the high cost of setup, VAN charges, and the labor required to enter and retrieve data via online vendor interfaces such as HUB and GST.

Your problem is solved! 

Now you can process EDI via Direct FTP Internet connection with your trading partners, slash your costs for data-entry, billing, and customer service, and save yourself thousands of dollars per month in VAN (Value Added Network) fees. Profit Tools' EDI Direct supports 204/990/997; 214; 210; &322 (see below for more info). The transactions flow automatically between your customer's system (or vendor interface) and your Profit Tools system, eliminating redundant data entry.

EDI Direct cuts out the middleman (the VAN), and allows you to send and receive EDI information directly between Profit Tools and your customers' system via FTP (File Transfer Protocol, a standard, FREE, Internet capability.) Instead of incurring the costly per-character transaction fees that the VANS charge, you can have EDI Direct on a monthly subscription basis for a low, fixed rate.

Bottom Line: You send as much data as you want, without paying a dime extra, cut  your labor costs dramatically and save thousands per month!

Interested? Contact us for more information please feel free to contact us directly by phone, email or by submitting an information request.

How is this possible? What's changed?

Traditionally, the VAN has served two functions:

1. Transport : physically transmitting the data files from one trading partner to another. What's changed is that we can now use the Internet to move the data. Most shippers, steamship & rail lines, and freight forwarders can send and receive files via Internet FTP (because it saves them money on VAN charges, too). FTP costs the same as sending an e-mail — $ZERO!
   

2. Translation : "mapping" (adjusting) the data format to allow it to flow  between sender and recipient. (Although EDI is a "standard", there are  variations in the formatting and content requirements from one trading partner to  the next, which must be accommodated for the transmissions to succeed.)  However, Profit Tools will handle your data mapping, so you won't need the  VAN for that, either.

Transaction sets we support:

EDI 204 (Load Tender): Let your customers do your order entry! EDI 204 will  populate new orders into your Profit Tools system, eliminating the need have employees  key them in manually from faxes and phone calls. 

EDI 990 and 997 (Acknowledgement/response to Load Tender): Answer them  Automatically! This lets your customers know that you received their Load Tender, and 
informs them of whether you have accepted the load or not.

EDI 214 (Status Update): Get off the phone! Instead of updating customers via phone  and fax, send status updates to their system automatically as the load progresses, based on  the arrival and departure information recorded by dispatch.

EDI 210 (Invoice): Stop printing and mailing invoices! Have them in your  customers' payment system the same day you bill them — with all the information they  need to expedite your payment! Get it there quicker, and you get paid quicker!

EDI 322 (Intermodal Terminal and Ramp Status Update): Keep them informed!  Automatically communicate in-gate and out-gate events from terminal or CY. Making it  easier for them to do business with you means getting a bigger share of their business!

If you have special requirements, questions about EDI functionality, or pricing  information, please contact us today by phone 603-659-3822, email or by submitting an information request.

<< Previous Module     Next Module >>