In today’s competitive retail landscape, efficiency isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential for success. Manual processes, prone to errors and inefficiencies, not only waste valuable resources but also hinder growth potential. Automation, in this case, powered by Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), has become the cornerstone of modern retail operations, offering a solution to streamline orders, processes, minimize errors, and elevate customer experiences.

EDI, or electronic data interchange, enables companies to send information digitally from one business system to another using a standardized format. It replaces outdated paper-based order processes, transactions, and communications, providing an automated workflow in business processes. Through EDI, retailers can exchange digital information and transactions with other businesses for greater accuracy and speed of communication. For instance, purchase orders, invoices, advanced ship notices, and other documents can be digitally transmitted via EDI instead of more manual methods like portals or emails.

This article explores how automation, facilitated by EDI from SPS Commerce and seamlessly integrated with Teamwork Commerce, revolutionizes retail fulfillment, fostering enhanced efficiency and success. By harnessing the power of EDI, retailers can eliminate manual errors, boost productivity, support scalability, and promote sustainability in their operations. Don’t let outdated processes hold your business back – embrace automation with EDI and propel your retail operations into the future.

The Imperative of Automation in Retail

Manual tasks like order processing and inventory management can be time-consuming and error-prone, risking customer satisfaction. Embracing automation isn’t just about convenience – it’s about survival in a competitive landscape. By automating processes, retailers can save time, reduce errors, and achieve sustainable growth.

The Dynamic Duo: Teamwork Commerce and SPS Commerce

Disconnected systems create operational silos, hindering efficiency and accuracy. The integration of Teamwork Commerce and SPS Commerce breaks down these barriers, streamlining data exchange and automating order transmission. Retailers can place and track purchase orders to suppliers within Teamwork Commerce using the SPS Commerce EDI capabilities and workflows. This integration saves time, reduces errors, and allows employees to focus on strategic initiatives and exceptional customer service.

Unlocking the Benefits of Integration

• Eliminating Manual Errors: Automation ensures accurate data and seamless fulfillment processes, enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
• Boosting Productivity: Automated tasks free up employees to focus on engaging with customers and driving sales and growth.
• Supporting Growth & Scalability: Automation enables retailers to adapt to market changes, expand into new markets, and scale operations efficiently.
• Expanding Trading Partners: SPS Commerce also facilitates the discovery of new trading partners. For instance, if a supplier fails to meet deadlines, retailers can explore a wide range of existing vendors in the SPS network, enabling seamless transitions to alternate suppliers.
• Promoting Sustainability: Transitioning to electronic data interchange reduces paper waste and supports environmental sustainability.
• Ensure Compliance: Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) assists retailers in sticking to industry standards by guaranteeing the precise and prompt exchange of important business papers like purchase orders, invoices, and shipment notices. Adhering to EDI standards doesn’t just make transactions smoother and more accurate; it also helps retailers keep up positive connections with their trading partners and prevent compliance.

Transforming Retail Operations for the Future

Efficiency is essential for retail success. By leveraging automation and integrating solutions like TWC and SPS Commerce, retailers can streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive sustainable growth. Don’t let manual processes hold your business back – take the first step towards retail excellence today.

Contact [email protected] or visit www.spscommerce.com to learn more and embark on your journey towards streamlined retail operations. Together, we can transform retail for the future and achieve sustainable success.

The retail industry has undergone significant changes and growth in recent years. Strategies like buy online, pick up in-store, the boom in e-commerce (both global and domestic), and the rise in multi-channel and marketplace selling have created new challenges for businesses. Alongside these changes, sales tax rates and rules are in constant flux, adding complexity to compliance efforts.

Staying on top of compliance for a retail business involves several steps, including determining nexus, registering where you sell, calculating taxes, preparing and filing returns, and managing compliance documents. These tasks become more complicated with multiple sales channels, such as marketplaces and global e-commerce.

Accommodating Growth

Global e-commerce is projected to surpass $7 trillion by 2025. Businesses that have adopted new sales channels or expanded their customer base may find it challenging to keep up with sales tax jurisdictions, regulations, and managing VAT. The retail industry doesn’t have just one busy time of year; as soon as one seasonal event ends, businesses are gearing up for the next one. This leaves little time for tax compliance tasks, such as tracking sales tax rates, adjusting for returns, and staying on top of sales tax holidays. Manual processes can result in lost time and resources.

Avalara AvaTax provides tax rates delivered at the time of sale, considering geolocation and product taxability. It addresses state sales tax holidays and helps businesses avoid the manual entry of new sales tax data for out-of-state customers or sales tax holidays. Automating tax compliance can save valuable time and resources.

Enhancing the Customer Experience

Customers expect a seamless checkout experience across all sales platforms. However, not all stores can calculate tax accurately in buy online, pick up in-store events, and not all sales channels or marketplaces can collect exemption certificates or calculate the correct taxes and duties. These failures can harm companies’ reputation with customers and expose them to costly fines for noncompliance.

Avalara Avatax and Teamwork Commerce Point of Sale Integration

The integration of Avalara AvaTax with Teamwork Commerce Point of Sale Solution enhances the seamless checkout experience by ensuring accurate tax calculations across all sales channels. Retailers can efficiently manage sales tax compliance within their POS software, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reducing the risk of errors.

The partnership between Teamwork Commerce and Avalara offers solutions to help businesses navigate the evolving retail tax landscape. Tax automation tools like Avalara AvaTax for Retail seamlessly integrate with Teamwork Commerce POS solution, providing businesses with the tools they need to stay compliant.

Explore Avalara options here or contact your Teamwork Commerce account executive for more information.

Retail has increasingly become a network of collaborative platforms – each operating with connectivity to drive an engaging customer experience driven by seamless purchasing across retail channels. In-store experiences are supported by effective payment tools, integrations, and loyalty integrations. Customers expect a high level of consistency across channels allowing them to benefit from customized experiences and seamless transactions.

With the advancement of omnichannel retail solutions, retailers are able to solve a wide set of challenges derived from customer interactions. The unified commerce approach simplifies sales across all channels, enabling flexibility in purchasing and control of a self driven customer experience. Customers are recognized in store, online, and able to access loyalty benefits, rewards, and benefits at all sales locations.

Contactless Payments Are Accelerating

62% of contactless card holders were already using it for tap to pay purchases at the start of 2020, but it is important to realize that touch-free payments will be a critical element of the unified commerce experience. With integrated payments in membership applications, or contactless cards, checkout flows can be effectively managed to create targeted commerce experiences centered on seamless, easy-to-use payment experiences.

The customer experience has to be at the center of the purchase experience, and payments plays a large part in speeding up the checkout experience and removing downtime in the store experience. With mobile POS solutions, retailers can directly take payments from customers as they try products or generally anywhere else in the store. Online retailers need to design targeted retail experiences with payment simplicity at the center. Through Adyen, customers are able to easily leverage seamless payment experiences designed around ease of use.

Seamless Payment Processing

Most payments service providers are not easily alterable. A specific payment processor with assigned hardware and associated integrations can take time to effectively develop and implement. Additionally, the further pressure of eCommerce and application payment opportunity drives up the complexity in developing a considered approach to payment management. With a channel-agnostic, connected payment platform retailers can benefit from a seamless reconciliation and settlement process, reducing the burden for other teams and creating a single source for payments and transaction data.

With a seamless approach to payments, retailers can benefit from an agile approach, enabling the ability to quickly transition around current challenges in the marketplace. A great example of this has been the Coronavirus crisis driving many retailers to create targeted eCommerce experiences directly enabled by an integrated approach to payments across retail channels. With an additional connection to a wide reaching Customer Relationship Management Platform or the opportunity to leverage customer behavior, interactions and communications across channels.

Expanding Sales Channels

Over-the-phone orders can be problematic. In addition to the introduction of EMV technology, CNP fraud represents a $6.4 Billion dollar loss for U.S businesses. However, Adyen’s Pay by Link technology enables a targeted, customized, and secure link that can be sent directly to a customer. This provides a greater level of sales channel opportunity, customers can be easily connected and through this tool, retailers can access greater flexibility in reaching customers everywhere.

Customers will likely still be uncertain about large in-person shopping experiences, especially directly interacting with store associates or spending a significant amount of time around other people in retail stores. Retailers are already using platforms like Facetime, Zoom, andSkype to communicate with customers, providing more engaged retail experiences. Through these types of retail experiences retailers are able to provide contingent and targeted customer experiences with payment directly from Facetime, Zoom, or text.

Enabling Frictionless Commerce

Recent statistics from 451 Research show that contactless payment technology is becoming more prevalent as part of the retail experience. 46% of consumers agree that skipping the line and paying directly with a sales assistant’s mPOS terminal would increase their likelihood of completing a purchase. This is why we see a close to 20% increase in the mPOS segment through 2024. Retailers are rapidly adopting mobile payment solutions to drive more engaging customer experiences, centered around the core offering of the store or retail space.

When a customer is trying on shoes or an outfit, retailers can take advantage of staff members assisting the customer, with a mobile POS tool retailers can source any additional items and variants, take the transaction right there, or order the product for fulfillment at a later point. This enables a seamless experience for the customer:

Browse – Try – By

No dead time, no friction and no lost sales. The unique collaboration of Teamwork Commerce & Adyen can enable this level of seamlessness at the point of sale. Learn more: https://www.adyen.com/

The Teamwork ecosystem is the brain of omnichannel retail, creating a complete visibility into the omnichannel process and enabling connection across every point for customers and staff across channels and optimizing the purchasing experience for retailers everywhere. The goal of Teamwork Commerce is to build an expanding approach to the marketplace, leveraging existing legacy solutions and combining these tools with an innovative and complete overview of the retail landscape. The cloud functionality of the system enables efficiency with integrations and a unified approach to connecting with customers.

Our recent partnership with ShippyPro is critical to taking this mission to the next level. The ShippyPro tool takes a direct approach to overcoming this challenge, integrating with some of the most important fulfillment services across the globe. With 87% of consumers starting their shopping journey from a digital device (Salesforce) it is essential that retailers can effectively provide a clean, seamless and convenient experience for customers across channels.

Driving Streamlined Operations

Real-time availability across channels is a requirement to compete with large eCommerce retailers. Customers desire the ability to instantly purchase, or identify a channel for them to purchase at their convenience. Product visibility across channels allows retailers to fulfill a sale wherever the customer wants.

Research by customer experience experts Zendesk shows that 87% of customers believe that brands need to put more effort into providing a more seamless and consistent experience across all channels.

An effective order management system is critical to simplify this process, the unique combination with the ShippyPro tool allows retailers to take this a step further. Managing the fulfillment process with simplicity and complete visibility at every point. Keeping customers aware of their status and engaged in the purchase process.

A Simple Solution For A Complex Problem

Integration of tracking pricing technology, advanced API’s and a complete architecture that works around the TW system to evolve and drive brands forward in the industry across the globe. For Teamwork adding ShippyPro into the integration architecture enables increased flexibility for retailers enabling them to easily fulfill orders and have complete control over the delivery process.
Simplicity is critical on both sides of the purchase process. Data from DHL shows that retailers that provided a faster shipping service grew on average 1.6 times faster. With 62% of employees being brand champions for companies that have a simplistic approach to the marketplace. On the consumer side 61% of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand that has a simple approach.

Simplicity in the fulfillment, and purchase process is integral to the Teamwork solution. The TW & ShippyPro integration is representative of the Teamwork ecosystem as a whole, Omnichannel is a challenging ask, demanding complete synchronization into their approach to the marketplace.

Understanding The Customer

Retailers have to work harder to build relationships with customers across multiple channels. With such a wide range of visibility it is critical to have a comprehensive view of customer history and orders across channels. The Teamwork ecosystem is focused on designing a connected approach to the Omnichannel retail landscape. This connection goes more than skin deep. There has to be a significant connection between customer behavior, purchase history, order status and the retailers perspective. Cross channel fulfillment can’t be flaky, this leads to friction, and ultimately loss of customers within the purchase funnel.

Want to learn more? Watch the full ShippyPro & Teamwork Webinar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceDdp-6ASRA&feature=youtu.be

The Tax Barrier

Taxation has become increasingly more complex over the past few years. Market intelligence provider International Data Company (IDC) notes that technology providers are moving to provide solutions and leveraging the latest developments to simplify the tax process. AI is already being leveraged to automatically calculate taxation at the point of purchase across the U.S as well as easing the process for tax professionals to forecast and conduct risk analysis around tax issues.

Leveraging Data

Big data & analytics tools are also being used across the industry to provide professionals with insights and offer opportunities to optimize the tax decision process. IDC notes that big data and analytics will be a must have for tax software end users. Combining an existing tax software with deep dive analytics & a range of information around customer purchases.

Cloud Connectivity

The cloud will also be integral to tax trends in 2020, while tax compliance has been outpaced by other developments in cloud computing, IDC expects cloud tax software to be a critical part of business operations in the years to come. With current industry events, and the work of retailers to continue to pivot their business, brands need to be prepared for these changes by proactively investing in effective taxation solutions and utilizing a range of technologies at the point of purchase.

Modern Tax Automation for Unified Retail

Teamwork Commerce has partnered with Avalara, the leader in cloud-based compliance automation, to give you a sales tax solution that is robust and easy to configure. With a pre-built integration to Avalara, you can leverage the work we’ve completed to automate burdensome (and often error-prone) sales tax management, including calculations, certificate management and returns filing. And with over 700 integrations, you can have one tax solution across all of your retail channels and platforms. Avalara is also one of a handful of providers certified in the Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) program, meaning you may be able to qualify for free services in up to 25 states!

Find out if you are eligible for the SST program or to learn more about Avalara and how they can help your business manage the ever-changing sales tax landscape more efficiently.

What is EDI Electronic Data Interchange?

A paper based exchange of business documents has represented the way business has been run for many years. But, it also comes with significant limitations, postal mail takes several days, faxes several minutes and this paper approach is error prone. Electronic data interchange is the computer to computer exchange of business documents in a standard electronic format between internal or partner resources. This electronic approach enables increased flexibility, reduced cost, increased speed and improved communication between operators. This might seem like a lot of jargon, but EDI is essentially a succinct backend process that provides for the seamless relationship between systems.

Why Does EDI Matter For Retailers?

How many retailers want to continue to use manual processes? Or physically track orders? Or keep track of relationships with suppliers?

For retailers EDI can make a significant difference, eliminating the need for basic procedural elements in the retail transaction process. Transactions can be completed with greater speed & accuracy, vital for today’s fast-moving retail landscape. EDI also ensures that systems can work together, allowing systems to communicate effectively.

EDI assisted retailers, whenever you place an order with a supplier an electronic purchase order is created within your system, with an EDI solution behind the scenes an EDI purchase order is created and sent to the supplier. Even though the supplier uses a different system their order system will be able to translate and receive the information automatically, ensuring that systems are synchronized even as requirements or information are tweaked.

After the order is ready to ship, the supplier sends an advanced shipping notice & an invoice which matches the original order. The process is reconciled within a few keystrokes, the process is automated and orders are quickly matched to ensure accuracy, consistency and timeliness within the order.

Improving The Workflow

EDI is a foundational tool for automated order processing and backend workflows. The goal of this software is to streamline and improve the workflow while enhancing supply chain predictability. But, EDI also helps to reduce friction in the operations process:

Implementing Electronic Data Interchange

EDI can be outsourced or retailers can choose to invest in their own on premise systems. Both options have their benefits, but, for most retailers outsourced cloud-based EDI is more proficient.

Internal EDI has a high level of initial investment, requiring: Software installation, hardware installation, maintenance support, map development… with outsourced EDI all of these elements are managed externally with the benefits provided to retailers & customers at the endpoint. While creating an external system might seem like creating a silo, it actually helps to break down the walls between existing silos. Cloud based EDI tools allow intercommunication between e-commerce, ERP, WMS, accounting and Point of sale. This inter-communication of tools and software allows for complete visibility of business management and assists retailers in managing the complexities of operations.

A Flexible Solution: Teamwork Commerce + SPS Commerce

SPS commerce can help retailers to integrate with most retail software’s, allowing businesses to achieve multi-system integration through EDI producing a seamless exchange of data across systems. SPS works to connect all retail systems, from legacy to eCommerce their EDI solution can help businesses to create a focused, and efficient backend process that supports retail operations.
www.spscommerce.com