Is EDI evil, necessary or otherwise?

Here is a guest post from Steve Rees, Wesupply Business Consultant.

Many small businesses see EDI as an “unnecessary evil”.  They don’t always understand EDI and they have other priorities: building a brand, growing the product range or selling to new territories.  Besides, they are usually happy receiving orders by fax or email.  So is EDI evil, necessary or otherwise?

This week I spent some time with the UK division of a Turkish company that imports dried fruit. The Turkish company is small and the UK team is less than five people, but they have the opportunity to sell their product through one of the UK’s largest retailers; that’s hundreds of outlets.  To achieve this, they need to be able to accept orders and send invoices using EDI.  Not so long ago, this would have been both difficult and expensive.  Today, suppliers can fully comply with their customers’ EDI requirements with just a web browser and a low or no-cost subscription.  From the retailer’s perspective, the tiniest company transacts in the same way as the largest.   

Today, all a business needs to trade with the major retailers is a distribution channel (easily outsourced), and an EDI capability (likewise)… not forgetting the need for a great product.

EDI allows small businesses to supply their products to a  huge consumer base through the big retailers; that’s a firm foundation for growth.  Similarly, EDI allows retailers to easily work with small businesses, increasing the range and variety of products available to us, the consumer.  

From where I sit, that’s far from evil.