Business to business, or B2B integration is important for any company since the process ensures a smooth operation of the business processes. Therefore, as more and more companies are gearing up to play their best game, it is important to step up to the plate with the right B2B solution to ensure that your business does not lag behind. Here are some tips to keep in mind.
Make sure you have the correct resources in place
It is important to ensure that you have the necessary resources for designing, implementation and management of the integrated platform through every process. It is crucial to have an excellent IT team and support function which can help your resolve any issues that you might face and also be prepared for any future changes without halting your processes. If you do not own the resources it is a good idea to outsource it to an outside vendor who has the necessary expertise, experience and knowledge.
Ensure your B2B integration platform is always available
It is important for the smooth operation of your systems to ensure that your trading partners can readily connect with your integration platform in order to send any information as and when it is needed. Losing your B2B connectivity for even a little while can lead to a delay in relaying of external information from trading partners to your ERP system which could hamper various back office systems as well as downstream production processes. Therefore, you should employ an excellent B2B gateway to connect to your trading partners. Choosing the right B2B vendor can make a huge difference for your processes and improve profits immediately.
Opt for Cloud Based B2B Integration
No company which has been in the field for a while is unaware of the wonders of Cloud computing. The scalability, flexibility and cost-efficiency which is offered by Cloud computing is indeed unparalleled which has resulted in a mass shift to Cloud based systems. The Cloud Integration can be a savior when it comes to B2B integration as well. It offers secure connections while giving you the best value for money in efficiency, speed and productivity. Hence it is a good idea to shift to Cloud based solutions completely.
Check the quality of externally sourced information
Since quite a bit of data entering your ERP system is actually coming from outside the enterprise it is important to ensure the quality and accuracy of the information in question. It is best to intercept via a firewall for ERP before it enters the system to ensure that you do not have to stall your processes for correction. This firewall continuously monitors inbound business documents to identifies any document which does not contain a correct or complete set of data.
Provide a fully scalable integration platform
It is important to ensure a high level of scalability to adapt to the varying needs and surges that your business might go through. From time to time a business can go through a spike or a lag and hence scalability is important for optimal usage of the money invested in B2B processes. It helps a company minimise its time spent on integrating to newer ERP modules and shields users from all the complexities associated with an integration platform.
For optimal results with our B2B integration make sure you pick a B2B gateway which is based off of a browser based, no-code, application where both technical and non-technical users can share and collaborate configurations on how to handle and process EDI and non-EDI data. Using it you can automate transmission, mapping, and integration to any backend system, whether that is on-premise or in the cloud.