ecFax Fax-to-EDI capability provides an efficient and cost-effective way to trade electronically with your fax-ready business partners, regardless of their size.
The implementation of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has helped companies achieve tremendous benefits through the elimination of manual/paper processes. However, many of these same companies are still dealing with a large number of inbound paper documents (i.e., orders, invoices, claims, etc.) to accommodate their small to medium-sized trading partners that are not EDI compliant.
The Fax-to-EDI service automatically converts information from trading partner's faxes into electronic data and then delivers this data ready for integration into your ERP or other enterprise applications. The result? Your faxed documents can now be processed just like your electronic ones.
ecFax is a component of the InterTrade managed services offering which provides you with secure and efficient B2B exchanges with all your trading partners. Allowing all trading partners to be handled using one single B2B process flow not only reduces business complexity but also significantly lowers supply chain management costs.
Simplify internal processes and lower costs
When choosing a B2B solution provider, you search for a solution which can enable as many trading partners as possible. InterTrade offers a complete solution portfolio that provides trading partners with a comprehensive set of technology alternatives, from major ERP connectivity to Web portals to Fax. It also gives all parties the added benefit of a single trading hub that can provide added business value through the use of shared Key Performance Indicators.
From a technology perspective, using a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution also means that your company minimizes its hardware and software investments. Since InterTrade always stays at the forefront of technology evolution, you are ready to support new B2B protocols or data standards in no time.
With ecFax, faxing does not mean the old fax paper roll machine any more. InterTrade transforms old technology in another group of EDI/B2B enabled trading partners, improving your B2B compliance level, simplifying your internal processes and bringing up to speed trading partners who are technology laggards.
Centralized B2B transaction visibility
With TradeLinks, all B2B transactions flow through the same B2B platform. ecView provides visibility on all these business documents with one single window. This means that regardless of what platform is used (fax, Web, traditional EDI), you get to see all that action through a single tool that allows you to feel the pulse of your trading relationships.
ecView is a Web based user friendly tool, efficient for EDI coordinators, IT specialists and lines of business users. It has been designed to facilitate everyone’s lives, whether you are technology savvy or not. It also gives different views whether you are interested in coordinating traffic or looking for all invoices related to a specific purchase order. ecView is easy to search, provides real-time access to data and visually flags exceptions for immediate action. Basically, ecView makes it easy to service your customers and monitor your supply chain activity.
How ecFAX works
Starting with a standardized form that we map, your trading partners fax their documents to a new 800 number. Using the latest in OCR/ICR technology, each image is read by our system and the result is data capture by a “Quality Control Operator”. Data is then extracted, translated into your preferred B2B/EDI transaction format and delivered through TradeLinks. The result is what looks like an EDI document that can be imported directly into your internal systems.
Trading community management
The other important aspect is in the management of the on-boarding process. Implementing B2B within a community of low-tech suppliers is much more than sending emails. The InterTrade professional services team helps its clients by planning and executing a well-thought-out change-of-procedures operation, which can take into account all levels of supplier capabilities, EDI, Web and fax.