Woolworths takes supplier onboarding to the next level

GS1 Australia has partnered with MessageXchange and Colladium to acquire an electronic info interchange (EDI) certification and self-testing assistance to guide Woolworths with provider onboarding.

With the new EDI Certify service, suppliers are now in a position to deliver EDI acquire orders dependent on the information and facts they input, self-test their messages to Woolworths whenever to get all challenges determined upfront. Once the issues are fastened, they can retest messages without having relying on Woolworths eBusiness team.

Background

Woolworths provider onboarding and obtaining their items onto cabinets at the correct time is paramount.

The retailer has a established of concept implementation guidelines (MIGs) that determine how suppliers really should trade electronically with them by way of EDI. These guidelines outline the doc or message sorts to use, for illustration obtain orders, invest in purchase responses, invest in order changes, innovative delivery notices and invoices, as very well as when to use them, ie only use if giving immediate to retail outlet or if providing to a DC, alongside with the composition and business enterprise guidelines of every single concept.

With more and much more suppliers deciding on EDI to trade with Woolworths electronically, onboarding suppliers to EDI with the existing means and ensuring suppliers’ EDI paperwork are crafted as for each the MIGs introduced a obstacle to Woolworths’ eBusiness group.

Derong Yu, eBusiness Direct at Woolworths stated, “To help our suppliers, we would elevate take a look at obtain orders and deliver them to the suppliers. The suppliers would will need to deliver again messages, like a obtain get response or an bill for validation. If the messages unsuccessful, we would check out the information and provide precise feedback to the suppliers. The suppliers would then have to have to make alterations on their conclusion and retest it once again – it associated a ton of back again-and-forth and could acquire weeks or even months to complete the stop-to-close EDI accreditation testing”.

Solution

GS1 Australia, a extensive-time spouse of Woolworths Group, partnered with MessageXchange and Colladium to create EDI Certify.

The groups from every organisation labored jointly to decide a streamlined method for suppliers and structure the answer appropriately.

This was based on the latest EDI documents exchanged and small business demands performing with Woolworths which includes various situations these types of as accepting, rejecting or modifying orders, thoroughly or partially transport orders, invoicing and examining logistics labels.

The MessageXchange and Colladium teams configured the EDI Certify process to tutorial suppliers through the Woolworths EDI self-certification process. Enabling suppliers to make an buy with supplier-specific particulars these types of as seller selection and products, as perfectly as validate suppliers’ outgoing messages for Woolworths’ expected scenarios with actual time opinions is a essential attribute. Most importantly, the procedures simulated authentic-everyday living situations. Woolworths also additional in other documentation, together with labelling suggestions, so that suppliers have all the information and facts they involve, in context, and at the time that they require it.

Final results

Woolworths has found big efficiencies in their conclude-to-conclude screening process – what in some cases took months or months, now takes times.

Mr Yu states the EDI self-certification presents Woolworths the self confidence that the suppliers are ready when it comes time for the conclusion-to-end EDI accreditation screening and onboarding.

“We’ve viewed the high-quality of EDI messages for the duration of the stop-to-conclude screening is now considerably better and the EDI accreditation tests system is easy,” he claimed.