What is SPS Commerce?

SPS Commerce is an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) provider that provides brands/merchants connections to a network of trading partners. In order for a brand/merchant to sell their products to (or dropship for) many retailers/trading partners, an EDI provider must be used to connect to the trading partner.

What role does Extensiv Integration Manager play in the implementation?

Integration Manager acts as a flexible communications channel that can automate data exchange between your SPS Commerce trading partners and your back-end system whether it be a 3PL, Order Management System, or Shipping Platform. Our system handles the customized mapping required for each individual trading partner and EDI document and standardizes it to the needs of your order destination. We also work with each new connection to identify potential issues unique to the client's specific order process and collaborate with SPS Commerce's implementations team to create robust solutions. 
 

Most trading partners require a rigorous testing process for each EDI document in the scope for automation. This testing process can take a number of weeks (3-4) to complete per trading partner connection. During that time Integration Manager will work with you to setup, configure and perform end-to-end testing of the connection to insure that you meet the validation requirements of the retailer and are ready to begin exchanging data.

 

What costs can be expected from Integration Manager related to SPS Commerce implementations?

• Read more here: SPS Commerce Project Pricing
   

How much time does it take to implement a trading partner connection?

We typically estimate 4 weeks for the first trading partner connection and 2-3 per additional trading partner connection. This can vary depending on the documents needed per trading partner. After the initial retailer is completed then multiple trading partners can be tested in parallel.
 

Which EDI Documents does Integration Manager support? 
 

• 850 Purchase Order 
  
  • Bulk Import
     
  • Drop Ship
     
  • Multi Store (Split by SPS)
     
  • Cross Dock (Split by SPS)
     
  • Blanket / Release
     
• 855 Acknowledgement 
  
  • Accept No Changes
     
  • Accept non-EDI order
     
• 856 Advanced Shipment Notification 
  
  • Single SKU cartons
     
  • Multi SKU cartons
     
  • Partial Shipment
     
  • Multiple Shipments per order
     
  • Single SKU non-EDI order
     
• 810 Invoice 
  
  • Single Order
     
  • Multiple Shipments per order
     
  • non-EDI order
     
• 846 Inventory Advice 
  
  • All items (default)
     
  • Only changes
     
  • All items per warehouse (Your WMS must also provide Multi-Warehouse Support)
     
  • 940 Warehouse Shipping Order
     
  • 945 Warehouse Shipping Advice
    
     

Dropship vs B2B

Dropship (Direct to Consumer) orders handled via EDI connection are treated just like an e-commerce order. The order will load into your fulfillment system and a tracking number will be passed back to SPS Commerce (and the trading partner). 
 

B2B orders (purchase orders to trading partner locations) have additional requirements. In addition to a standard shipping label (or freight label) a UCC-128 carton label must be included on each carton. SSCC-18 (GS1) barcodes and carton level detail must be provided to SPS Commerce. If your fulfillment system (WMS) is able to print UCC-128 labels and pass the required carton level data back to Integration Manager, Integration Manager can pass that data back to SPS Commerce. Otherwise, UCC-128 labels must be generated in the SPS Commerce interface. If you are unsure if that data is available in your order destination please reach out to support-im@extensiv.com to verify. 

What steps are required to begin the SPS Commerce implementation process?
 

1. Reach out to Integration Manager Support to request trading partner connections via SPS Commerce. Please include the trading partners you'd like, whether they are B2B or Dropship, and what EDI documents you would like to automate.
    
2. Our team will make sure that we can provide you full coverage, help address any potential issues and provide an estimate.
    
3. If not already established with SPS Commerce, Integration Manager will provide an introduction to the appropriate SPS Commerce contact. 
    
4. Let our team know once you've agreed to terms with SPS Commerce and we'll issue a formal invoice for the work from Integration Manager. On payment an EDI developer from Integration Manager will be assigned to your project and connect with you for next steps!