How The Briscoes Group Revolutionized Procurement with EDI Technology

Industry: Retail
Solution: EDIStech B2B EDI & Order Management Portal

In an increasingly fast-faced business environment, speed and efficiency in information flow is increasingly important. Companies are constantly seeking ways to optimize their operations, reduce errors, and streamline their processes. The Briscoes Group, a leading retailer in New Zealand, understands this as well as anybody. Faced with challenges in their procurement processes, Briscoes identified some key opportunities to improve their data management and they turned to EDIStech and the power of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to transform their operations. In this article, we’ll explore how The Briscoes Group overcame their business pain points and implemented a game-changing EDI solution, with industry research insights highlighting the broader impact of EDI adoption.

The Pain Points:

Before delving into the EDI solution, it’s essential to understand the challenges that The Briscoes Group was grappling with:

Resource-Intensive Data Entry: Like many businesses, The Briscoes Group was allocating a substantial amount of resources to manual data management including data entry and managing information flow across multiple systems. This not only consumed time but also valuable human resources that could be better utilised in value creation and service delivery.
Data Keying Errors: Repetitive, manual data entry is cumbersome work and often prone to errors. These errors often resulted in reprocessing at the support office, causing delays and increasing operational costs.
Stock Management Woes: Incorrect data entry had a ripple effect on stock management. Wrong stock arriving at stores not only frustrated customers but also disrupted operations.

The EDI Solution:

The Briscoes Group turned to EDIStech who worked in close consultation to design and implement an EDI solution, specific to their needs and that would address these pain points. Here’s how it worked:

Automated EDI Solution for Large Suppliers: The Briscoes Group worked with their largest suppliers to implement an automated EDI solution. This involved suppliers receiving purchase orders directly into their ERP systems, all in a standard file format via EDIStech system mapping and integration. The system acted as an information interchange to translate the file into a format compatible with their ERP systems, completely removing the manual handling of data and ensuring its accuracy across all systems and processes.
Order Management Web Portal for Small Suppliers: Recognizing that not all suppliers could implement automated EDI, EDIStech developed an Order Management Web Portal. In this portal, The Briscoes Group could create purchase orders, and EDIStech would place these orders into the portal. Suppliers would receive email notifications regarding orders available for fulfillment. This streamlined and automated process flow gave all parties visibility and manageability of the purchase process ensuring improvements in accuracy and speed.
Supplier Data Entry and Processing: Within the Allegro portal, suppliers had the ability to enter Purchase Order Response (POR) details. The EDIStech system played a critical role in processing this entered data and generating a Briscoes standard format POR that could seamlessly integrate with The Briscoes Group’s ERP system.
EDI Compliance: A fundamental aspect of this solution was ensuring that all data exchanged between The Briscoes Group and its suppliers adhered to fully EDI compliant formats. This commitment to EDI compliance guaranteed consistency and accuracy in the data flow, improving the information exchange between all businesses.

Industry Research:

According to recent industry research conducted by Fortune, the global Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) software market is projected to reach 1.98 billion USD in 2023 and grow to over 4.52 billion USD by 2030.

“The growth of the market is primarily driven by the rising preference of large organisations toward in-house processing and digital transformation and process automation.”

The Briscoes Group Embrace Technology To Drive Success

The Briscoes Group’s journey from resource-intensive data entry to an efficient, error-reducing EDI solution is not an isolated success story. It aligns with the broader trends seen in various industries. EDI technology is proving to be a game-changer, enhancing efficiency, reducing errors, and improving supplier collaboration across the board.

In today’s competitive landscape, businesses can’t afford to be bogged down by manual processes and errors. The Briscoes Group’s adoption of EDI technology showcases how innovation can drive success and customer satisfaction, echoing the trends seen in industry research. It’s a story that reminds us all to embrace technology as a tool for growth and efficiency in our own endeavors.