Question of the week February 29, 2008
Posted by Meg Suggs in Inovis Solutions.Tags: electronic transactions, Inovis Solutions, paper transactions
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A few weeks ago, we asked you how many paper transactions you were still working with. Today’s question continues this thought. We’d like to know why you think it is that not all of your transactions are electronic. We’d also like to know what problems you’ve encountered with electronic transactions.
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I missed the question from a few weeks ago…. But then again, can’t relly know for sure how many paper transactions we’re doing regularly that could be handled electronically…. but it’s a lot, I’m sure…
In an EDI group I belong to (EDI-L on Yahoo!), this concept kind of came up in an absract way – in that a question was posed regarding using X12 in banking, vs. using ACH and the costs involved…. A response included if they knew the concept of being “penny-wise and pound-foolish” to which somebody replied with a comment about the bueracracies involved in the banking world….
However, I replied, it’s not something confined only to the banking world…. We all have our heads wrapped around the concepts of EDI and what it can do and what it can’t do and the technology and processes behind it… We all know what EDI can do for our companies…. The problem, however, exists in the “other” people… the non-tech, the non-MIS, the non-EDI people out there… and explaining to THEM the benefits involved from going paperless, more or less…
The company I work for is over 50 years old…. in many ways, a lot of our processes and corporate thinking is also very dated…. it’s not that they’re being “penny-wise and pound-foolish”, as mentioned above, but it’s more the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” way of thinking…..
We started our EDI program back in 98 or 99… we were sending POs only, and only to about 40 of our vendors…. All that changed when I took over EDI in 2003, and now we’re processing the 850 and the 856, as well as the 997 FAs. I’m working with Accounting to finally get them up and running on the 810 Invoice…. but it’s been a long and hard trek to trod….
So, as to why more of our transactions are not done via EDI – “it ain’t broke” – so it is not seen as anything of great importance….
[...] on the Inovis blog – which I read as an Inovis customer – they posed an interesting question today – wondering why it [...]