Product(s): Transaction Manager, Foundry platform
Article link: http://help.truecommerce.com/en/articles/11652745-transaction-manager-partner-to-partner-automated-turnaround
Many businesses with multiple Trading Partner or third party logistics (3PL) relationships manually re-enter data from inbound electronic data interchange (EDI) documents to create outbound transactions. This manual process is often time-consuming, resource heavy, and vulnerable to errors, especially if data must be re-entered across systems, and particularly for teams that use lightweight enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems without built-in capabilities. Additionally, it can potentially result in compliance penalties from trading partners.
Transaction Manager's Partner-to-Partner (P2P) Automated Turnaround function eliminates these challenges and improves speed and accuracy by automatically transforming EDI documents between different Trading Partners. It can be especially helpful for industries such as retail (with drop-ship and vendor-managed inventory workflows), manufacturing (with multi-tier partner fulfillment), and food and beverage (with fast-moving goods that have strict timing windows). It can also be extremely helpful to small to mid-size businesses that run QuickBooks, Fishbowl, or other lightweight ERPs that do not offer integration for EDI documents like Advance Shipping Notices (ASNs/EDI 856s); any business that wants to scale operations without increasing its headcount; and/or non-integrated businesses looking to remove manual entry through cross-reference tables and calculations.
IMPORTANT: P2P Automated Turnaround is different from the P2P Turnaround function in Transaction Manager. Unlike P2P Turnaround, which requires manual steps, P2P Automated Turnaround is fully automated between partners with a streamlined setup via configuration grid and business system plug-in (BSP) cross references and calculations.
See also the 'Manual Turnaround vs. P2P Automated Turnaround' section, below.
Basis of Pricing and Benefits of P2P Automated Turnaround
P2P Automated Turnaround is available for a cost and is based on the number of trading partners a Transaction Manager customer has (up to 5, 5-10, 10-25). For more information on pricing, contact your TrueCommerce Client Manager (You can find your Client Manager information under Account Management > within the Foundry platform Menu.
NOTE: Consolidation during turnaround is NOT supported.
The following bullets list some of the many potential benefits of utilizing the P2P Automated Turnaround function in Transaction Manager:
Manual Labor Reduction - Automates the turnaround of inbound to outbound EDI documents between trading partners, eliminating the need for daily manual processing
Resource Optimization - Guards against delays when key personnel are out-of-office (OOO), ensuring business continuity and timely document delivery
Data Accuracy - Reduces human error from manual re-keying or manipulation, leading to fewer chargebacks, disputes, and/or document rejections
Increased Document Velocity - Moves EDI documents through the system faster, enabling quicker order-to-cash cycles and improved operational efficiency
Supported Business Growth - Adds enterprise-level automation without the need for a costly system upgrade, which can be especially valuable for customers using lightweight ERPs that do not include native turnaround logic
Time and Cost Savings - Reclaims the time via automation that customers can spend (up to 20 hours per week per resource) manually processing turnaround EDI documents
Delays Costly ERP Migration -
Improved Budget Allocation - Customers can invest operational expenditures (OpEx) in automation (smaller, scalable spending) instead of capital expenditures (CapEx) for ERP replacement
Manual Turnaround vs. P2P Automatic Turnaround
Step | Manual Turnaround | P2P Automated Turnaround |
Receive Purchase Order/PO (Target | User manually interprets and copies details | Transaction Manager automatically ingests and processes the PO |
Determine outbound Trading Partner | User identifies Trading Partner B (Walmart) | Rules in Transaction Manger determine the appropriate Trading Partner (P2P) |
Create outbound EDI document (Invoice/ | User manually re-enters the PO data into a new EDI document | Transaction Manager generates the outbound EDI document using mapping and logic |
Validate formatting | User checks the EDI structure, data, and Trading Partner ID | Auto-validation and transformation is applied by Transaction Manager |
Send document | User initiates delivery | Transaction Manager delivers the outbound EDI document automatically |
Manual Turnaround Workflow
P2P Automated Turnaround Workflow
P2P Automated Turnaround Functionality
To access P2P Automated Turnaround settings, perform the following steps:
From the Foundry Menu, click Transaction Manager, then select Trading Partners.
On the Trading Partners page, click your partner to select it.
On the Partner Identifiers page, select Transactions from the Preferences drop-down on the action bar.
If the P2P Automated Turnaround SKU has been purchased, the P2P Automation tab will be available on the Trading Partner Transaction Setup page.
By default, the Status tab will display the Transaction Types and accompanying information.
Click the P2P Automation tab to create the automated turnaround rules for your transaction.
P2P Automation Header
The P2P Automation Header (top) section is specific to the directions for automating the turnaround (transforming your EDI document into another EDI document) for your transaction. This section must be configured first, which will then populate the P2P Automation Details section below it.
NOTE: The only scenario where the P2P Automation Details section will NOT be necessary to complete is for EDI documents with a one-to-one relationship.
Click the +Add Auto P2P Turnaround button and select from the Source Document Type (the EDI Document coming into Transaction Manager that you want to transform into another EDI Document; for example, a Purchase Order/EDI 850 into a Warehouse Shipping Order/EDI 940) drop-down provided.
Select from the Source P2P Map drop-down to alert Transaction Manager about which tokens it will need to match (for the rules that you will shortly set in the P2P Automation Details section). Likewise, select from the following column drop-downs:
Destination Company
Destination EDI ID
Destination Trading Partner
Destination Document Type - the EDI document coming out of Transaction Manager that is transformed when sent out
(can add more to send to other tps... select source doc.. pick PO - w/ acct #
Addition options are available by using the horizontal scroll bar in the Header section for the following checkbox items:
Auto Send - check this box if you do not need to review the document automation settings before the transaction is sent.
If checked, the set transaction will be sent automatically
If unchecked, the set transaction will sit in the Transaction Manager > Transactions > Outbox to allow you to review it and send it when you are ready
Notify On Error - check this box if you or others should be notified via email if/when an automation error occurs
Error Recipients - enter any recipient email addresses that should receive an electronic notification if/when an automation error occurs (separate multiple emails from one another with commas)
Do Not Move to Received Folder - check this box if you do not want the transaction to be integrated into the business system that is connected with Transaction Manager
Turnaround will occur when the document is received by remaining in the Transaction Manager > Transactions > Inbox to be integrated
P2P Automation Details
Use the P2P Automation Details (bottom) section to set the trigger rules for starting the P2P Automation instructions designated in the Header section. When the Field Values in the Details section match on the map you have selected in the Header section, the Header section instructions will activate.
Say, for example, you have three 3PLs that you use to ship products. Each of those 3PLs provides different products for your business that you supply to Trading Partners. If you use Vendor Number as a field to trigger the action, you can indicate to create a Warehouse Shipping Order any time any three of the Vendor Numbers is seen. If a Trading Partner sends you an EDI 850 with a Vendor Number included, Transaction Manager recognizes the Vendor Number and creates an EDI 940 to send to the specific 3PL.
To add a value to the Details section, click the +Add Field Value button and select from the drop-down options provided. In the screenshot, immediately below, the user has selected 'General_DocID - 1054' matching the Field Value of 'p/Prod' for the Warehouse Destination Type, which means Transaction Manager will automatically know that if it receives a PO matching the token value, the document will be sent out.
To secure the P2P Automation Header and Details you have set, click the Save button on the action bar.
Additional Resources