Developing a plan for implementation

After you have examined your business needs, you must develop a plan for EDI implementation. This plan should be designed by a team of people within your company who are affected by the new EDI system. EDI team members can include:

  • Business area managers

  • IT systems analysts

  • Legal department personnel

  • Auditing department personnel

  • Human resources personnel

  • Your EDI coordinator

The EDI team is geared toward making EDI implementation as smooth as possible. Organizing a smooth transition involves the development of short- and long-term implementation goals and program goals for the new EDI system.

Short and long-term implementation goals

EDI systems are not adopted overnight. Your company may take months or even years to adopt all the EDI transactions it will eventually use. Regardless of the timetable, your company needs to take the time to approach EDI with an overall strategy. By developing a comprehensive plan for adopting an EDI system, your company can gauge its implementation success.

Program goals

To be considered worthwhile, a new EDI system must prove its ability to cut costs. Companies adopting EDI want to see almost immediate financial savings to justify the cost of implementing an EDI system. Developing program goals provides a method for you to judge the cost-effectiveness of your new EDI system.