When your trading partners send orders electronically, DataFlow reads them, maps them to your stock, customers and pricing, and drops each one into Order Processing as if it had been typed in. EDI and cXML PunchOut both land on the same database as your stock and accounts, so there is nothing to re-key.
Partner purchase orders ingested automatically
Buyer-tailored catalogues into procurement portals
If electronic orders still have to be read off a portal or an email and keyed into your system, the trading relationship is slower and less accurate than it should be.
Re-keying partner orders
Purchase orders arrive electronically but still get typed into the system by hand, which is slow and introduces mistakes on lines, quantities and pricing.
Locked out of procurement portals
Large buyers expect you to appear inside their procurement system with a catalogue built for them, and without that you are left off the shortlist.
Different partners, different formats
Each large partner sends orders their own way, so the mapping and validation have to be reworked every time rather than following one settled process.
Nothing flows back to the buyer
Large buyers expect acknowledgements, despatch notes and invoices returned electronically, and when you can only send them by email or post you fall short of the trading agreement you signed.
Overview
Electronic trading, straight into your workflow.
Partner orders arrive, map to your data, and follow your normal process.
Automatic EDI ingestion with TheEdge
TheEdge background service ingests orders over HTTP and TCP sockets. File drops handled alongside the live connections.
HTTP + TCPand file drop ingestion
Autopartner order capture
Mapping to your stock, customers and pricing
Each order mapped to your stock, customer and pricing. Normal validation and authorisation still apply.
Mappedto your stock and pricing
Samevalidation and authorisation
Buyer-tailored catalogues into procurement portals
A dedicated background service serves a buyer-tailored catalogue. Orders raised in Ariba and BravoSolution come back to you.
Ariba + BravoSolutionprocurement portals
Per-buyercatalogue tailoring
Orders on the same database as stock and accounts
EDI and PunchOut both drop orders into Order Processing. The same database carries your stock and accounts.
Onedatabase for stock and accounts
Nore-keying of partner orders
In their words
From decision to going live took about eight weeks, and the changeover was calmer than we expected.
ParsiaFood & trading
Explore more
More ways DataFlow fits.
Built for businesses like yours — the other setups we shape DataFlow around.
How does DataFlow receive orders from my trading partners?
EDI is handled by TheEdge, a background service that ingests partner purchase orders automatically over HTTP and TCP sockets, as well as from file drops. Each order is mapped to your stock, customer and pricing and then appears as if it had been typed in.
Do ingested orders skip our checks?
No. Once an order is mapped it follows your normal validation and authorisation, exactly as a manually entered order would, so nothing bypasses the controls you already rely on.
Can we appear inside our buyers procurement portals?
Yes. cXML PunchOut runs as a dedicated background service that serves a buyer-tailored catalogue into enterprise procurement portals such as Ariba and BravoSolution, and receives the orders those buyers raise.
What happens when a large partner uses their own format?
A large partner can have its own EDI variant where their format needs it, and whichever route the order arrives by it still drops straight into Order Processing on the same database as your stock and accounts.
