EDI services have become increasingly relevant over the years because they offer a noticeable competitive edge for any business. But not all companies focus on technology; they have their own industry handle. So, it becomes necessary for them to outsource some of the EDI elements to a third-party expert. Such services follow a very similar rigid structure of long-term contracts. That kind of deal isn’t a problem for big companies because they have a very streamlined operational system, but it is incredibly frustrating for small companies that need to deal with uncertain situations. That’s w ..read more

Retail vendors and Ecommerce businesses are constantly looking for ways to streamline operations, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. One way to achieve these goals is by leveraging existing EDI integrations for non-EDI transactions. EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange, exchanges business documents digitally between two or more trading partners. Businesses with robust EDI logistics in place have everything necessary to fulfill digital orders regardless of whether they are traded as an EDI or a non-EDI exchange. While EDI has been the retail standard for decades, newer marketplaces have div ..read more

Electronic data interchange (EDI) is the simple act of two computers “talking directly to each other” to exchange business transactions without human interaction. This digital “conversation” makes it perfect for automating your routine business transactions. Fulfilling EDI vs Marketplace Orders EDI and Marketplace trading are both considered eCommerce. Where EDI is about routine communication between two businesses with a pre-established buying relationship, Marketplace selling is more about interacting directly with the consumer usually through a 3rd party platform such as Amazon.com or ..read more

To say 2020 has disrupted the way people do business is starting to become an understatement. Interruptions in global trade and logistics, coupled with intermittent lockdowns have permanently changed the landscape of commerce. It’s a plain fact that eCommerce is muscling its way to center stage and the pandemic has accelerated this phenomenon.   Consider that trend, businesses are now taking the necessary steps to steer towards digital platforms. In today’s blog, we’re sharing our insights, particularly some of the prevalent trends, when it comes to supply chain management.   Market ..read more

Who Can Benefit from DropShip e-Commerce? All it takes is a service call to your cable or internet provider to witness a perfect example of the state of decline in customer service we are all experiencing. Usually a maze of automated menus, mandatory self-help procedures, and several minutes of patience are required just to have a hope to connect to a knowledgeable agent.   Where did this decline in the quality of customer service come from? Hosted telephone operations are so feature-rich these days, companies of any size have access to capabilities to easily “filter” calls. Filtering sta ..read more

E-commerce is enjoying an unprecedented boom thanks to the steady migration of consumers from brick-and-mortar shops to online shopping. We’ve seen e-commerce platforms such as Amazon dominate the retail scene, and this leaves us wondering if this is truly going to be the persistent trend for the years to come.   Looking at the data, it seems the trend is moving away from consumers shopping primarily at the mall. E-commerce is here to stay and today’s technology will continue to improve making the online shopping experience for consumers more seamless, convenient, and secure.   If y ..read more

If you were to guess about the biggest challenge in the eCommerce industry, what would it be? Ask any industry giant and they’ll tell you its inventory maintenance.   Keeping a close eye on inventory is the most important aspects of running an eCommerce platform and at the same, it’s also one activity that’s the most challenging, time-consuming, and prone to inaccuracies. This is especially true if your items are listed on multiple eCommerce platforms and if you’re utilizing multiple fulfillment warehouses.   If you’re not effectively dealing with your inventory, two things can happ ..read more

The retail world has been turned on its head during the current global pandemic and has created huge unknowns when we look to the future. There does appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel for the retail industry.   Cracks in some of the retail industry segments have become more noticeable but those cracks highlighted opportunities to further improve some promising trends. Today, we’re going to share some information about the coming e-commerce trends that may make it big in the coming year.   Supercharged Direct-to-consumer Activity   There has been a noticeable shift a ..read more

eCommerce is huge, and it is expected to grow even bigger. Although 2020 is a year that proved difficult in every aspect of life and business, there is one area that prospered. At a time when physical contact and movement were greatly restricted, online buying became the go-to mode for shopping. As people tried to get what they needed, especially across borders, eCommerce grew by massive margins surpassing earlier growth rates. This trend is expected to continue. Although it is not new, eCommerce is the ideal vehicle given its convenience, affordability, and effectiveness in getting what you ..read more

At EDI Options, we’ve been a leading provider of EDI solutions to companies of all sizes for almost 30 years now. Our model has always been intelligent and easy to use products backed up by the best support in the industry. The trend in retail is quickly centering on online marketplaces where drop shipping direct to the customer has been gaining more popularity every year and has just exploded this year with people feeling more comfortable shopping from home. This year we have taken the successful model pioneered on the EDI side of our OptCenter portal and applied it to eCommerce connectivity ..read more