Electronic Ordering (EDI) enables you to process Purchase Orders with an EDI trading partner (such as Pubnet, Baker & Taylor, etc.) electronically, with no need for phone calls, faxes, and the like. All EDI POs in [i] Merchant will be processed via FTP.
Before Electronic Ordering can work, you will need to set up initial parameters for every EDI trading partner you want to use in the EDI Properties box. Following is a guide that explains how to do that. Many of the fields in EDI Properties are specific to a particular trading partner and are, in fact, provided by the trading partner. Other fields specific to a particular trading partner may not be provided by the trading partner, however. To assist you with the setup, at the bottom of this page, there is a list of EDI trading partners supported through [i] Merchant. Clicking on any one of these partners will take you to a new page that details the specific information you will need to set up the parameters for any particular trading partner.
There are several ways to get to the EDI parameter program. . .
From the main [i] Merchant Desktop, select Modules-Purchasing-EDI. The EDI work screen appears. To access the parameter program, click on the EDI Parameters tab. The EDI parameter program appears.
Or . . .
From the main [i] Merchant Desktop, select Tools-Administration. From the list of parameters that appear on the Administration screen, select EDI. The EDI parameter program will display.
Or . . .
From the Vendor Properties program, click on the arrow at the right of the EDI field. The EDI parameter program will appear.
Once you have accessed the EDI parameter program, you will be at the basic Find screen, where a list of EDI trading partners (ones whose parameters have already been established) will appear. You can either select an existing trading partner from the list, or you can create a new one. Either way, you will be taken to the EDI Properties page. This is where you set up the necessary parameters for EDI to function for this trading partner. Once you set up the parameters of an EDI trading partner, you should not need to change them at a later time (though, if you need to, you can).
The top two fields of the EDI Properties screen are the standard Code and Description fields. Simply key in the desired values. For example, you may want to use a code of BT for Baker & Taylor; and the Description, obviously, would be: Baker & Taylor.
The EDI Type field is a pulldown field--click on the arrow at the right of it and select the appropriate EDI Type for this EDI trading partner. The pulldown list will include the trading partners supported by [i] Merchant. Simply select the right one--it will usually match what you have in the Description field. If you are setting up parameters for a smaller trading partner whose name does not appear on the pulldown menu, you can select "Other" from the menu.
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If you choose an EDI Type of "Ingram with Labels," a field called "Ingram Labels" will appear to the right. The "Ingram Labels" field will not appear otherwise. |
The EDI trading partner will supply you with their Vendor SAN number. Key the number they supply you with in the Vendor San field. (Note, there is no Vendor SAN for Pubnet.)
Key in your Store SAN in the Store San field.
Key in your Ship To SAN in the Ship To SAN field. This field tells the vendor where to ship the books. It can be the same number as your Store SAN, but if you operate a multi-store system, the Ship To SAN allows you to have a separate Ship To SAN while simultaneously retaining the corporate Store SAN. If you are a single-store operation, the Ship To SAN field can just have the same value as the Store SAN. There would be no need to differentiate the two fields.
Fill in the X12 First Stamp and X12 Second Stamp fields for each trading partner according to the trading-partner-specific information accessed by using the links at the bottom of this page.
In the Days to Cancel field, select the number of days you are willing to wait for a product from this EDI trading partner before canceling the order for the product in question. For example, if you choose 10 days, the order for any products on the PO that you do not have within 10 days will be canceled.
The Backorder field is a pulldown field, which, obviously, pertains to how you want backorders to be handled. There are four selections to choose from. Select the one that makes the most sense for you.
Send in ISBN 13 format is a checkbox field. If you check this field, the electronic files you send to this trading partner will use ISBN 13 product numbers. If you leave this box unchecked, the files will be sent using the 10-digit ISBN format (as opposed to the 13-digit ISBN). Be sure to check with the trading partner in question before checking or unchecking this box, to make sure you and the trading partner are on the same page.
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This ISBN-13 checkbox field is not connected to Product Properties. That is, if you have a 10-digit ISBN in the product number field for a product in Product Properties, but you check this ISBN-13 field here in EDI Parameters, the product will be sent in the 13-digit format. The reverse is also true. If you have a 13-digit ISBN in Product Properties, but you do NOT have the 13-digit ISBN field checked here in EDI Parameters, then the product being sent in the EDI transmission will be formatted as a 10-digit ISBN. |
The Process ASN Files field is also a checkbox field. If you check this field, [i] Merchant will process ASN (Advanced Shipping) files, enabling you to tie the Preliminary Receiving function to EDI ASN files. If you leave this field unchecked, ASN files will not automatically be stored in the Preliminary Function program.
Include UPC Items is another checkbox field. If you check this field, UPC product numbers are allowed to be sent electronically. If unchecked, UPC product numbers will not be able to be sent electronically.
If you selected an EDI Type of "Ingram with Labels," an Ingram Labels button will appear at the right of the EDI Parameters screen. Click on this field to set up the Ingram labels. You can design the last three lines of the label.
Choose which line you wish to edit in the "Choose line to edit" field at the right of the screen. Beneath this field, you will see the "Choose Product to display" field, which enables you to select a product as a sample, allowing you to see how the fields you select will appear on the label. (The display portion of the screen is at the top left.)
To add a field to the line you are designing, click on the "Add Field" button. This will call up a pallette. Drag fields from the pallette onto the work screen, keeping in mind that you have only 30 characters available per line. You can adjust the number of characters per field as needed. To delete a field, highlight the row you want deleted, and click on "Delete Field."
Repeat the above process for Lines 1, 2, and 3 of your Ingram label.
The lower portion of the screen deals with the FTP information.
The Remote Host field is the FTP site for the EDI trading partner in question.
The Remote User field is the user name given to your store by the EDI trading partner. Use this name to log into the trading partner's FTP site.
The Remote Password field is the password provided to your store by the EDI trading partner. Use this password when logging in to the trading partner's FTP site.
The Remote Port field is the port number for the EDI trading partner's FTP site.
The Remote In Directory field is the directory to use on the FTP site for placing files that need to be retrieved by the EDI trading partner. Not all trading partners require this.
The Remote Out Directory field is the directory to use on the FTP site for picking up files sent to you by the EDI trading partner. Not all trading partners require this.
The Remote Out Directory Ext field consists of the required file extension for files to be picked up on the FTP site. Not all trading partners require this.
The Full Local Path field indicates what directory all saved files (both sent and received) will be stored. If left blank, the system will default to the [i] Merchant temp folder. The ideal storage place, however, would be a shared folder on the PC server.
Proxy Host, Proxy User, and Proxy Password are only needed for Pubnet.
At the bottom of the EDI Properties screen, there is a button labeled Test FTP. Once all the parameter fields have been filled in, it's a good idea to click on this button in order to test the functionality of the FTP connection. If everything checks out okay, the system will tell you. If there is a problem, the system will indicate that, too. Nothing in the test session is actually sent to the trading partner; it is strictly a means to check the efficacy of the connection.
One of the icons on the toolbar at the top of the EDI Properties screen needs mentioning here. Clicking on Map opens the EDI Problem Response Mapping window. Essentially, in this window, you will select which of the status codes from the trading partner (such as OP-Out of Print, PA-Partial Shipment, etc.) you want to attach to Problem Codes that have been set up within your [i] Merchant system. If you do not choose a particular status code, then it will simply not be attached to a Problem Code, and [i] Merchant will do nothing with it. In other words, your selection of status codes is a custom list you are creating for each trading partner.
To map a status code to a Problem Code:
Select File-Add Mapping from the menu at the top of the EDI Problem Response Mapping window. A new row appears in the window.
In the EDI Responses field, click on the arrow at the right and select the EDI status code you want to attach to one of your store's Problem Codes.
In the Problem Code field, select the Problem Code you want to attach to the status code you just selected.
The Complete PO field is a checkbox field. If checked, the products that come back on the PO with the indicated status code will be marked as being complete on the PO. If unchecked, such products will not be marked as complete. Whether or not the products in question will be set up for automatic reorder, etc. is determined by the attached Problem Code.
To apply the mapped status code, click on the Apply button at the top left of the EDI Response Mapping window. If you just click Cancel, the status code will not have been mapped.
If you want to map another status code to a Problem Code, repeat the above procedure, and a second row will appear. Continue mapping (and applying) status codes until you have mapped as many as you want. When you are finished, close the EDI Response Mapping window.
Following is a list of EDI trading partners compatible with the [i] Merchant system. Click on any one of them for specific information regarding several of the fields referenced above . . .