Supply Chain Visibility and Compliance Requires Business Rules Management & Analytics

Most suppliers that use Microsoft Dynamics as their primary ERP envisioned a seamless flow of trading documents upon implementation. However, today's suppliers must also comply with an expanding list of unique EDI formats and business rules for each of their customers. The constant pressures of charge-backs and backlogs of frustrated customers wanting to implement EDI are compounded by the ever-growing need to implement more complex collaboration scenarios.

Recently, big-name retailers like Target and Walmart have introduced new rules for their vendor communities in an effort to speed up supply chains and compete with the efficiency of established e-retailers like Amazon.com. Target in May warned its suppliers that it would tighten deadlines for deliveries and could institute penalties of up to $10,000 for inaccuracies in product information, according to a Reuters report. It also hiked late fees from 1-3 percent to 5 percent.

The business impact of these chargebacks on organizations is significant and can include increased cost of operations, decreased customer satisfaction, and disruption of internal business processes.

The burden of success: customer demands

If your organization is struggling with the challenges of managing customer rules, you're not alone. Internal research by DiCentral suggests that by month two of expanding its customer base, the average supplier starts feeling the burden of the retailer's rule book. This burden grows exponentially with each new set of requirements. Oftentimes, the quicker they add new customers, the tougher it is to keep up with implementing and complying with the new business rules. It then becomes only a matter of time before they are penalized with chargebacks.

Of course, this only accounts for the monetary penalties. In the meantime, relationships with each of ...