MRO and EDI- a Good Match Part 1

  August 19, 2013       By Ray Atia
Investment in EDI implementation is a major expense. Once a company has decided to go ‘Big Data with their EDI program, ongoing attention to new updates and installations is a must. When researching EDI Integration software, make certain that a web based provider hub offers the type of applications and cloud computing integration your business demands. Small to mid-sized enterprises (SME) may require something more streamlined than say a multinational enterprise (MNE). SME typically have some segments of vertical integration (i.e. logistics) within their supply chain. MNE on the often have the potential for total horizontal integration of their operations activities, including material manufacture, inventory control and logistics. For SME the boon is the money saved by linking an EDI program to direct suppliers. Shared information channels boosted by web based data storage and management applications in cloud computing networks, allow for partners to participate at will in designated data streams. Cloud clusters offer much to SME in terms of cost efficiency and migration of data for new purposes. No more re-design at the infrastructural level. EDI platforms integrate external vendor services from cloud so that SME perform like SME. SaaS deployment in SME enable these smaller entities to behave like well-run matrix organizations. With EDI integration, verticals can be run as horizontals; a significant cost cutting and quality control asset to any organization. Assets designated as PPE (plant, property, equipment) are MRO (maintenance, repair, and operational) elements of a company supply chain. PPE values are calculated according to depreciation on the financial balance sheet. With EDI technologies, integration of data on MRO to PPE attributes precise information about current depreciation for accounting audit. SaaS interface enables that data to be analyzed in the interest of sale or purchase of assets no longer contributing to production performance. The advancement of EDI with eProcurement SaaS has received special attention for this reason. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) components within an EDI system require SaaS support to gauge whether a company is in line with sector and partner standards in MRO management. MRO is a less discussed, but potentially significant operational cost that can make or break a business. Automated purchase of technological PPE and other materials and supplies can literally impact thousands of transactions annually. EDI partners involved in web based SaaS agreements benefit from automatic monitoring of supply chain value efficiencies. When automating a supply chain with new eProcurement infrastructure, there are factors to the MRO process that should be considered. First, eProcuremet technologies are not universal. Nor are PPE products designated for MRO investment. For this reason, efficiency in EDI must be measured according to standard business units (SBU) laid forth by the International Standards Organization (ISO) or in compliance with sector regulation.