Logistics EDI to boost your supply chain performance
26 June 2023
26 June 2023
Logistics EDI enables you to optimize your supply chain. The aim is often to find the best ratio between service rate and cost reduction. Setting up standardized EDI flows is a logistics solution that can improve both these points, and in this way bring you greater profitability and productivity. As you can see, your logistics performance will be significantly improved.
Find out how to use Electronic Data Interchange as a performance lever in your supply chain management with EDI logistics.
Identification standards are essential for automating your flow management (IT and transport flows). They enable you to track products throughout the supply chain.
Logistic units and consumer units are identified at source, using a barcode, and are associated with a batch or serial number if required.
By establishing links between these codes, you ensure reliable traceability from the beginning to the end of the chain.
The Global Trade Item Number (often called the EAN code) is the identification code for consumer units. It is
composed of 13 digits, and is represented as a barcode on labels.
An EAN code can also be used to mark packages and cartons. In this case, it must be different from the EAN code for finished products.
Tip : to avoid rejection, your customer must be aware of any GTIN creation or modification before the goods are delivered.
The Serial Shipping Container Code is the identity card for logistics units. This 18-digit code complies with an international standard. It uniquely identifies crates, pallets and packages.
The SSCC code can be transposed into a GS1-128 barcode or an EPC/RFID label for computerized identification and tracking of shipping units.
Tip : in the case of subcontracting or logistics services, the SSCC code is assigned by the creator of the shipping unit.
The Global Location Number is used to identify locations.
This 13-digit code enables you to identify, without any possible confusion, the various players in your supply chain (factory, warehouse, head office, logistics platform, service providers). In fact, it appears clearly in your logistics EDI.
The shipping label brings together all these codes. It is divided into 3 parts: product information, customer information and shipping/transport information. Scanned at various stages of the supply chain, it enables products to be unambiguously identified and their movements traced. This also makes it possible to estimate exact delivery times.
The use of the GS1 standard to edit labels enables them to be read and reused by all players in the global supply chain.
Tip : opt for an automatic printing and reading system for logistics labels. Precise rules exist for optimal legibility of your labels and barcodes, to avoid errors, delays or disputes.
Automating information exchanges from your information system (ERP or WMS) is a real added value. It saves you time and increases reliability. All the more so as it is indispensable for improving your customer relations, and for delivering your goods in the best possible way.
The DESADV is the Electronic Dispatch Notice. It describes the contents of the delivery. It’s the key to simplifying and streamlining
export deliveries. It is usually sent “at the back of the truck”, i.e. when the shipping doors close.
This EDI message contains detailed shipment information, and lists the SSCC codes actually shipped. It informs the recipient of what he’s about to receive, and enables you to prepare the invoice. All that’s left to do is scan the logistical units on receipt of the goods to reconcile them.
With EDI and standard labels, shipping units are scanned and uniquely identified. This saves considerable time at receiving: no more manual data entry, no more relabeling, and controls are automated.
Trucks are unloaded more quickly: the average time for a receipt goes from 1 hour with manual processing to 30 minutes with EDI! (According to GS1)
Information feedback to the client is more accurate and reliable. The logistics label ensures the link and coherence between the flow of goods and the flow of information. Marking shipping units and cartons makes it easier to break down just-in-time goods at reception, especially for heterogeneous and allocated pallets.
To keep pace with market demands, the logistics and road haulage sectors are constantly being exposed to new technologies. This, combined with an optimal logistics EDI system, boosts the performance of logistics chains. Warehouse stock levels are more visible. Service is more transparent and faster for the end customer, who can save on costs. EDI messages ORDERS, HANMOV, INSDES, DESADV, RECADV, IFCSUM, IFTSTA and INVRPT provide total visibility of the global supply chain.
Tip: for better inventory management and control of logistics flows, consider setting up EDI flows between ordering party, logistics service provider and transport company (carrier).
EDI and coding standards are essential for optimizing your supply chain, particularly in the context of a Just-in-Time (JIT) approach. The exchange of reliable information in real time, often 24/7, provides visibility, flexibility and reactivity to guarantee greater customer satisfaction and reduce supply chain costs. It’s an indispensable element of your logistics management!
Tenor has been helping you set up your logistics EDI and all your flows for over 30 years, thanks to its EDI solutions and EAI software.
Contact us to discuss your EDI needs with our experts.