EDI – Page 2

25 Aug01:29am

Does Your Store Need Automation?

With the amazing speed of delivery and array of products offered by Amazon, and the recent acquisition of Jet.com by Walmart, it is no wonder that we are getting more and more inquiries from small and medium sized retailers about store automation. The bar has definitely been raised on customer expectations in the online shopping world by the leading retailers.

xocbox provides solutions to Woocommerce and Yahoo (Aabaco) stores to automate many processes allowing owners to have products and prices be dynamically updated, and have orders pass through to suppliers for fulfillment.

We recently worked with a Yahoo store owner who requested that we automate as many of the processes in his stores as possible, so we did! Working with his suppliers, the resulting stores we have designed are practically “no touch” stores, as xocbox has eliminated much of the manual work normally required to process orders.

Orders that come in to the Yahoo store pass through to the supplier to be fulfilled via drop ship EDI, and shipping details and tracking notifications are then sent to the customers.

We have set up the process to check inventory, and automatically update complex products which vary not only by size and color, but also have option level pricing. The xocbox system also includes fraud checks, and customer risk assessment and if an order passes all checks, it can be sent directly to the supplier. Alternatively, the store owner can review an order, and approve it via a checkbox in the xocbox backend system before passing it on to the supplier for fulfillment.

If you are interested in learning more about EDI, drop ship or automating other processes in your store, call us today at 858-752-3803, or email info@xocbox.com.

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09 Mar23:41pm

Supply Chain for Small to Medium Sized Business

Supply chain is again one of the hot topics and is predicted to be one of the biggest areas of investment in technology for retailers during 2016.

In fact, the scramble to get ahead by retailers can be seen in the recruitment of new faces to manage the supply chain operation in companies such as Target and Wayfair.

Target announced that they had hired Amazon veteran Arthur Valdez as executive VP and Chief Supply Chain and Logistics officer, while home furnishings etailer, Wayfair LLC, hired Staples veteran, Sharif Sleiman, to lead its supply chain operations (Sleiman has also held managerial positions at Groupon, eBay and Oracle).

At the last ProMat Supply Chain Management show the focus was on supply chain management software, with an emphasis on systems integration, and the ability to fulfill increasingly complex orders.

Many businesses (including some large companies) still rely heavily on manual processes, and according to a report from Supply Chain Insights, managing procurement and supplier relations is still one of the most time consuming tasks they undertake.

Why is supply chain so important to the retailing giants, and how can small and midsized companies compete?

Software integration is integral to an organization’s success. If all the processes required to carry out your business don’t “talk to each other” then a person will have to step in to connect everything together.

A growing number of smaller businesses is now realizing that the investment in technology to solve these problems can greatly improve existing processes, and save valuable time and dollars.

xocbox can help

xocbox offers semi-customized automation solutions for small to mid-sized businesses and has provided EDI solutions to allow communication with suppliers and the electronic placing of website orders for fulfillment, inventory management, and can provide integration with third party products.

A recent project working for a small manufacturer of custom products, allowed orders to be placed via multiple ecommerce platforms and processed through the xocbox management system, and a work-order was then produced from the system to be passed on to the shop floor to make the product.

Previously the work orders had been generated manually, and as the products usually involved more than one trade to complete, had to be generated multiple times by hand. This new process has saved many hours of administrative time, and reduced errors (and frustration).

If you are considering automating a process in your business and are not sure where to begin, contact xocbox to discuss how we may help.

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30 Dec23:04pm

xocbox Offers Ingram Books EDI Compliant Solution

xocbox.com now offers a fully integrated EDI solution for publishers working with Ingram Books.

Working with a publisher who offered ebooks on their own Woocommerce website, and also sold print books through Amazon and Barnes & Noble, xocbox has now enabled them to sell print books directly from their own website through their partnership with Ingram Books.

The Ingram EDI compliant solution offered by xocbox.com means that the publisher can now offer their customers a choice of purchasing an ebook, a print book or a bundle of ebook and print.

The system is managed through the xocbox product manager where all book details, such as ISBNs, retail price, sales price, author information, publish date and book covers can be organized and pushed through to the Woocommerce website.

xocbox makes managing data an easy process, with user friendly screens and drop-downs. The variations screen lets you choose the medium for the book you are selling.

When a customer buys a print book, the order is passed through the xocbox middleware to Ingram and processed for delivery to the customer.

xocbox manages the data ensuring that all transactions comply with Ingram’s EDI guidelines.

Ebooks are fulfilled by the publisher in the normal way, and Ingram drop ships the print books.

Contact xocbox for more information about EDI and Ingram Books, and integration with your website.

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27 Jun20:56pm

EDI and Woocommerce

xocbox offers a fully integrated EDI solution for Woocommerce stores at an affordable price point, and we have been receiving increased interest in EDI and automation of business processes during the first half of 2015.

Whether you are sending or receiving orders, working directly with a fulfillment center or warehouse, or simply need EDI to work with the stringent requirements of a major retailer, xocbox can help you.

Woocommerce is an ecommerce platform that offers flexibility to store owners and web designers alike, and the ability to offer EDI compliant transaction documents with our integrated EDI solution can speed up business processes, and greatly improve efficiency.

If ASN 856, PO 850 and ASCII or X.12 are driving you crazy, contact xobox for more details about EDI and integration solutions for your Woocommerce store.

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28 Oct21:20pm

Improving Supply Chains

In a recent study carried out by Boston Retail Partners that surveyed 500 North American retailers, one of the main areas of concern was supply chain.

Of those respondents, 93% were working towards solutions that would allow them to integrate operations and sales from physical stores, and online sales from desktop and mobile devices.

Ensuring that the flow of products to customers is seamless from the purchase order issued to a supplier, right through to delivery – whether via drop ship or through the retailer’s own store has been made more efficient through the use of electronic data interchange, or EDI.

In fact, many of the major big box stores will not work with smaller suppliers if they do not carry out their operations in this way.

Rigid guidelines and standards must be followed to enable EDI to work smoothly, and universal forms and messaging formats, for example, Invoice 810, Advance Shipping Notice 856, are recognized formats.

There is no question that EDI is efficient as a business to business tool.

However, if you are a retailer trying to respond to customer demand as indicated by social media, Google data or other web signals, you may need additional monitoring tools to meet your company’s demand.

If your company is facing challenges with any aspect of its supply chain, drop ship or delivery, contact xocbox – we would be pleased to discuss your business needs.

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