Hey everyone, Jim Gonzalez here with EDI Support LLC.
Today’s topic: how business workflows shape a successful EDI implementation.

EDI and API are here to automate business processes you already understand.
If you can’t do it manually, you won’t be able to automate it properly.
Think about your day-to-day process without EDI — how would you print labels, send invoices, receive orders, and handle credit or term checks?
If you can’t map that manually, your EDI setup won’t work either.

The Cost of Skipping Workflow Planning

[02:00]
Skipping workflow planning is costly.
If your ERP doesn’t have all your customers set up or company codes created, you can’t simply “turn on” EDI.
Many projects fail because the business hasn’t defined what happens after a document is exchanged.

A PO hits your EDI inbox — who receives it internally?
How is it turned into an ERP order?
Who confirms the shipment or invoice?
That’s not something the EDI provider handles. Providers know file formats like X12, CSV, XML, and transport methods like AS2 or FTP — but how it connects to your ERP or WMS is up to your workflow.

Understanding Your Document Flow

[04:00]
A strong EDI provider should always ask, “What does your internal process look like?”
Who manages your NetSuite, WMS, or TMS?
How do your ERP and warehouse systems communicate?

We encourage clients to bring in their ERP or WMS experts early.
They’re the ones who know how orders move through accounting, inventory, and fulfillment.
Without that input, you end up with an integration that doesn’t fit your business.

The right EDI conversation starts with:

• How does a PO move through your business?
• Who approves invoices before they’re sent?
• What happens if you short ship or cancel?

If your provider doesn’t understand that, they can’t build an integration that truly supports your operation.

Align Departments Before Software

[07:00]
You need every department involved — accounting, operations, sales, IT.
Each handles different documents and needs visibility.
Too often, companies let one department pick the EDI platform in isolation. Then everyone else is surprised after go-live.

Alignment first prevents resistance later.
Finance, sales, operations, and IT should all agree on the workflow before selecting or configuring EDI software.

Visualizing and Mapping Your Workflow

[08:00]
Map your workflow like you would a flowchart.
Understand the bidirectional flow — inbound and outbound — and where checks and balances occur.

Example:

• Partner sends a PO → Elevate picks it up → Elevate translates X12 to JSON → ERP ingests the order and creates a sales order.
• ERP sends an ASN or invoice → Elevate transmits it to the trading partner.

Ask:

• What triggers each document?
• How do you prevent duplicates?
• Who verifies data accuracy before it’s sent?

These questions form your rules of engagement.

Use tools like Lucidchart, Miro, PowerPoint, or even whiteboards to diagram this.
Label your data owners, integration points, and exception rules.
When that’s clear, EDI becomes an extension of your process instead of a separate task.

How Clear Workflows Save Time and Money

[12:30]
Clear workflows reduce mapping revisions, internal back-and-forth, and those “we didn’t realize that” surprises post go-live.
They lead to better vendor communication, predictable timelines, and cleaner ERP data.

You’ll also uncover outdated steps — things your company does “because we always have.”
Workflow reviews expose those inefficiencies and let you modernize processes before EDI amplifies them.

Pro Tips

[15:00]

• Don’t design your business around an EDI system — design EDI to fit your business.
• Make EDI configurable and flexible to match your manual processes.
• Don’t rely on printing labels or entering data inside an EDI platform if it can be automated via integrated systems.

Scalable EDI means your platform quietly supports your operations instead of creating new bottlenecks.

Closing Thoughts

[17:00]
Your EDI system should fall in line with your workflow — seamless, invisible, and efficient.

At EDI Support LLC, we built Elevate with that mindset: an EDI platform that adapts to your business, not the other way around.
We encourage you to subscribe, comment, and join the discussion on YouTube, Reddit, or Discord.