Web Edi [PDF]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Chapter 1

Contents

Page

SYNOPSIS

1

1.1

Objective

2

1.2

Definition of EDI

3

1.3

Traditional Document Exchange

4

1.4

The EDI Alternative

6

1.5

The Need for EDI

7

1.6

The Competitive Advantages of EDI

9

1.7

Raise of Web EDI

13

1.8

Web EDI

16

1.9

Direction for EDI

17

RESEARCH DESIGN`

19

2.1

Traditional EDI

20

2.2

Research problem

21

Chapter 2

2.3 2.4

Need for the study: Why Internet EDI

22 24

2.5

Sampling method and sample size Techniques used for Data Analysis

2.6

Hypothesis

27

2.7

Validity and Reliability

26

INDUSTRY PROFILE

29

3.1

Company Profile

30

3.2

Mission, Vission and Value Statement

33

PROJECT OVERVIEW

34

Choosing Best WEB / Internet EDI provider

35

Chapter 3

Chapter 4 4.1

26

1

4.2

Choosing the Right EDI Partner for Your Business

35

4.3

Determine the Specific EDI Needs of Your Business

35

Chapter 5

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA

39 40

5.2.1

Findings and discussions Proposed System The Automotive Industry Metric

5.2.2

J COM

49

5.2.3

Covisint

50

5.2.4

CovalentWorks

51

5.3

WEB EDI Sample Solution

56

5.5

How it Works

66

Findings Conclusions And Recommendations

67

6.1

Findings

68

6.2

Conclusions and Recommendations

70

Annexure

72

7.1

Bibliography

73

7.2

References

75

7.3

Questionnaire

76

7.4

Graphs

77

7.5

Glossary

92

5.1 5.2

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

45 46

2

List of Tables & List of Figures

Figure

Contents

Page 4

1.2

EDI Definitions EDI Concepts

1.3

EDI process

7

2.1

Research Model

26

6.1

Traditional Vs Web EDI

69

1.1

Tables

6

Contents

Page 40

5.2

Frequency Analysis Mann-Whitney U Tests

5.3

Means of EDI influencing factors

43

5.4

Mean Comparisons

44

5.5

Mean Comparisons

45

5.1

41

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Executive Summary Internet Electronic Data Interchange (WEB EDI) is the automated transfer of standards-based, structured, business data. Because it can speed the flow of information and pass data automatically to other automated applications, Web EDI is a powerful tool for improving business processes. The importance of WEB EDI will grow in the future because it can help in major transitions that are going on in manufacturing: smaller, but deeper supply bases, more valueadded activity contracted to suppliers, shorter product life-cycles, agile manufacturing, and network based bidding/contracting procedures. To provide value, WEB EDI requires that members of a supply chain alter internal business systems, change inter-organizational business relationships, and adopt new information technology. To further complicate matters, many of the companies involved are small and ill-equipped to deal with socio-technical change. Those companies will need help. For help to be effective, assistance programs must be based on systematic information about the benefits of WEB EDI, the conditions under which those benefits are manifest, and the difficulties that stand between implementation and payoff. In order to obtain this information a questionnaire was developed to represent Cooper standard India suppliers. To assure a relevant set of respondents, mailings were chosen with the assistance of fifty Suppliers:

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Recommendation: Specific, effective implementation methods must be supported by WEB EDI assistance programs. The data identify a number of specific tactics which are particularly useful for helping to establish WEB EDI with trading partners. Because we know these tactics work but there is also a scope of future research on expanding to tire two suppliers.

5

SYNOPSIS

6

Information systems are a foundation for conducting business today. In many industries, survival and even existence is difficult without extensive use of information technology. Information systems have become essential for helping organizations operate in a global economy. Organizations are trying to become more competitive and efficient by transforming themselves into digital firms where nearly all core business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, and employees are digitally enabled. Businesses today use information systems to achieve six major objectives: operational excellence; new products, services, and business models; customer/supplier intimacy; improved decision making; competitive advantage; and day-to-day survival. From a technical perspective, an information system collects, stores, and disseminates information from an organization’s environment and internal operations

to

support

organizational

functions

and

decision

making,

communication, coordination, control, analysis, and visualization. Information systems transform raw data into useful information through three basic activities: input, processing, and output. From a business perspective, an information system provides a solution to a problem or challenge facing a firm and provides real economic value to the business.

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1.1 Objective

Within the broad group of interorganizational systems, electronic data interchange (EDI) seems the most important application with a far reaching impact on the way business is done. It is usually defined as the exchange of structured electronic documents between computer systems of two or more organizations. Unlike traditional applications of information technology (IT), EDI potentially affects relationships between organizations as well as their internal structures. The objective of this research is to investigate the impact of EDI on the coordination and control of activities and resource transactions in the automotive industry. Electronic data interchange has resulted in the boosting of profit and productivity for business. Companies are able to be competitive by migrating from a paperpencil driven society into an electronic media civilization. However, the electronic media world is looking to make another change. In this ever growing and maturing age of information, more and more people are implementing computers to communicate with one another. Now, people all over the world, have the capability of connecting to other computers anywhere on the globe. The purpose of this project is to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the traditional electronic data interchange system versus the Internet electronic data interchange system and to recommend best practice to Cooper Standard on implementing the web based EDI Solution to its supplier.

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1.2 A Definition of EDI:

What Is EDI? In its simplest form, Electronic Data Interchange, or EDI, is the computer-tocomputer exchange between two companies of standard business documents in electronic format. There are two key elements in basic EDI. First, electronic documents replace paper documents. Second, the exchange of documents takes place in a standardized format. Using these two basic concepts, any business can enter the world of EDI and begin taking advantage of the speed and economy of electronic commerce. Above definition is showed in below Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1 EDI Definitions In today’s fast-paced business world, your business may already be moving in this direction. Customers or suppliers may already be approaching you to begin trading information electronically. To the newcomer to EDI, it may seem a very confusing topic. This Primer will provide you with an overview of what EDI is, how it can benefit your business,

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and what the steps are that you will need to take to become an electronic trading partner. 1.3 Traditional Document Exchange

Let’s take just a moment to look at an example that highlights some of the differences between traditional paper document transactions and Electronic Data Interchange. One of the first places that many businesses implement EDI is in the exchange of a purchase order (PO). In the traditional method of processing a purchase order, a buyer or purchasing agent will go through a fairly standard procedure to create a purchase order, consisting of these steps: • A buyer reviews data from an inventory or planning system. • The buyer enters data into a screen in the purchasing system to create a PO. • The buyer waits for the PO to be printed, usually on a special form. • After the PO is printed, the buyer mails it to the vendor. • The vendor receives the purchase order and posts it in their order entry system. • The buyer calls the vendor periodically to determine if the PO has been received and processed. When you add up the internal processing time required by the sender and receiver, and then add a couple of days for the mail, this process normally takes between three and five days. This assumes first that both the sender and receiver handled the PO expeditiously, and that at every point along the way there are no errors in transcribing data from a form to a system. 10

Figure 1.2 EDI Concepts 1.4 The EDI Alternative

Now, consider the same document exchange when a company places its purchase orders electronically using EDI. • The buyer reviews the data and creates the purchase order, but does not print it. • EDI software creates an electronic version of the PO and transmits it automatically to the sender within minutes. • The vendor’s order entry system receives the PO and updates the system immediately upon receipt. • The vendors order entry system creates an acknowledgment and transmits it back to the sender to confirm receipt. What took up to five days with paper and the postal system has just taken less than one hour. By eliminating the paper handling from most of the stages of the process, EDI transforms the traditional paper process to look like in Figure 1.3

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Figure 1.3 EDI process This fairly simple example illustrates just one of the many ways that businesses can profit by the implementation of Electronic Data Interchange. In the following section, we’ll look at some of the reasons why EDI is becoming a necessity for conducting business in today’s economy. 1.5 The Need for EDI 1.5.1: The Business Need

Replacing paper documents with electronic ones will necessarily require changing the way you do business. In the simple example described above, replacing a paper purchase order with an electronic one will provide several obvious benefits. It will also have an impact on the way you order your supplies. It will mean replacing your current paper system with a very different way of doing business. Since changing the way you do business is not a task you will undertake casually, you might wonder at this point why you should upset a process and procedures that work well. In today’s global economy, every business faces constant pressures to improve the quality of its products or services, while at the same time tightly controlling or reducing costs. While computer information technology has automated or streamlined many internal processes, in many businesses the external processes of exchanging information with customers and suppliers still 12

lag far behind the internal procedures. The need for speed and accuracy in these external processes is becoming ever more critical. 1.5. 2: The Need for Speed

Speed, whether in the increased velocity of moving products from design to the market place, or in the rapid response of a supplier to customer demands, is vital to success. Increased speed can benefit a business in several ways: • Shorten lead times for product enhancement or new product delivery. The market advantage of months or even weeks can have a major impact on profitability. • Do more with less. Staff reductions, commonplace in many businesses, require that fewer people accomplish more work. Handling exchange of data electronically may be critical to survival, giving employees the tools to be more productive while reducing overhead. • Reduced delivery cycle times mean reduced lead times and lowered inventory carrying costs. 1.5

.3: The Need for Accuracy

Accuracy in the exchange of business documents is always important. The traditional paper document exchange requires information transfer through transcription or data entry, and any such information transfer will introduce errors into the process.

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Increases in speed are often difficult to attain because of the need to avoid transcription errors. As speed increases, so does the likelihood of error. Advantages gained by increases in velocity may be easily offset by the high cost of error correction. There are several obvious cost savings that will result from increased accuracy of information transferred to suppliers and customers: • Increased customer satisfaction • Reduced overhead required either to detect or to reprocess erroneous documents • Reduced costs to expedite goods or services that are late or lost 1.6

The Competitive Advantages of EDI

EDI is the tool that can enable businesses to achieve dramatic increases in speed, while they realize at the same time the benefits of improved accuracy in the transfer of critical information. Documents transferred directly from computer to computer move in orders of magnitude more quickly than paper documents, with no loss of accuracy. Because paper documents have been replaced with electronic transactions, it is easy to maintain electronic logs or audit trails of document handling activity. From this, businesses gain a substantial increase in the ability to track status and measure performance throughout the entire process.

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Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits of the example mentioned above to highlight the advantages of the electronic process over the traditional paper process. • The process takes minutes or hours instead of days. • The PO goes from the buyer’s computer through a network to the vendor’s computer with no human intervention. There is no need to copy or transcribe the PO upon receipt, eliminating the possibility of data entry error. • The electronic document has not been handled by any mailroom staff, postal or delivery service, or data entry staff. It will not wait in any in-basket, and it won’t have to wait while staffs are on the phone. • The buyer receives rapid confirmation of PO receipt. These facts can translate directly into cost savings resulting from reduced cycle times, reduced overhead, and improved accuracy. In today’s business environment, companies cannot afford to ignore these benefits. 1.6.1: EDI Provides Speed

Using EDI will provide specific and measurable increases in the speed of document transfer, with accompanying decreases in document cycle time. • Sending an electronic message across the country or around the world requires only seconds or minutes as opposed to days. Such transmissions typically occur at over 1000 characters per second.

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• Data is available immediately for use in internal applications. Data, once received, needs only to be translated internally into the specific format required by the receiver’s application software, and it is ready for use. • Reduced business cycle times provide a competitive edge in any business. 1.6.2: EDI Improves Accuracy

Electronic transfer of data eliminates the need for copying data from one paper document to another, or for keying the data into a business application screen. Every time data is transferred, there is opportunity for error. In the typical manual purchase order, a person enters or copies information from the paper form at least once. With EDI, improved accuracy is obtained in several different ways: • Electronic data is usually derived from a database, where data has been subject to prior validation; • Electronic documents are transferred accurately regardless of size. If transmission of a large document is not successful, users can invoke retransmission procedures rapidly; • Even if several different parties process the electronic document, with each party adding data to the existing document, none has the ability to alter previously entered information.

1.6.3: EDI Reduces Costs Your business may obtain a variety of cost reductions as a result of implementing EDI. These reductions can include both cost savings and cost avoidance. These points summarize just a few of the more general types of savings you can expect: 16

• Reduction of overhead costs by eliminating human handling in such areas as mailroom sorting and circulation, clerical document preparation, and data entry. • Substantial cost savings can result from reduced error rates. These savings include savings in labour costs normally used to search for errors, and in lowered expediting costs. • Reduction of inventory costs through shortened order processing and delivery cycles, and generally lowered inventory levels. Lowered inventory levels result in corresponding reductions in carrying costs. Inventory costs can, in some businesses, account for as much as 90 percent of total product cost, so even modest reductions in this area can result in dramatic savings. 1.6.4: EDI Is Flexible A business can implement EDI transactions in a phased-in approach, allowing a business to target specific areas for immediate improvement, while migrating gradually to full implementation. 1.6.5: EDI: An Integral Role EDI has become a powerful management tool for increasing velocity and achieving benefits of speed, accuracy and cost reduction. Many companies are requiring their vendors and suppliers to enter into electronic information trading relationships. 1.7

Raise of Web EDI

EDI Still Not Universal: Automotive OEMs and their Tier One Suppliers have adopted EDI globally, nearly universally. In Western Europe, the industry has 17

approached this ideal largely because of early pressure from OEM(s) in the 1980’s, but new implementations stalled in the late 20 th Century among lower-tier suppliers in North America. New implementations remain stagnant. What we call “Traditional EDI” works well for OEMs and large suppliers, due to economies of scale, but Traditional EDI is complex and expensive. In 1996, the North American OEMs made an effort to push Traditional EDI through the entire Supply Chain. Many Tier Two and Tier Three Suppliers resisted due to considerations of cost and complexity (or, some might say, due to perceptions of high cost and complexity). In addition, as the North American Automotive Industry Acton Group (AIAG) pointed out in the January/February 2013 issue of its magazine Actionline, Data Managers had other priorities during that period, e.g. especially the Y2K situation. Not Multiple EDI Transaction Standards Even within Traditional EDI, multiple standards persist. We are stalled far short of the ideal of a single global standard. For example, General Motors uses automotive subsets of the EDIFACT standard globally, but most other North American OEMs, including Asian Transplants, use the AIAG’s automotive subset of ANSI ASC X12. German OEMs use the VDA standard, and much of the rest of Europe has classic ODETTE or the ODETTE subset of EDIFACT. In practice, any supplier who works with (say) Ford, GM, VW, and PSA must work in four separate EDI standards. And even when different OEMs use the 18

same standards, each OEM has its own distinct EDI “flavor.” Each flavor often behaves very much as a separate standard. This has created excess mapping and back-end business system integration costs. Within the EDI community, we go back and forth with discussions and judgments about which standards may be obsolete, but ideas about obsolescence conflict with other ideas about practicality and time-testedness. Although we have made a global commitment to EDIFACT’s automotive subset, we are not making significant progress toward that goal. Pushes to EDIFACT will occur with stances such as the VDA organization freezing the VDA standard by not allowing any extensions/ updates or any new messages to be developed support this global commitment.

Multiple Communications Protocols The “plumbing” for EDI, the hardware and technology, is a diverse mixture rather than any approximation of ideal commonality. For example, much North American EDI data moves through HTTP and FTP protocols, while European EDI uses other protocols such as OFTP X.25 and ISDN. So a supplier might have to use several different communications protocols in dealing with different OEMs. And again, we seem to be stalled. There is no substantial movement toward global protocol commonality in recent years. This topic is subject to the same debates about obsolescence as the topic of standards, but it is a hollow 19

debate. Lack of progress is a fact. For whatever reason, the ideal remains out of reach 21st Century Sourcing Practices EDI works (or worked) well in a 20th Century Auto Manufacturing environment. When OEMs and suppliers have close geographic and cultural ties, EDI enormously facilitates lean manufacturing. However, when sources are distant and cultures diverge, other considerations begin to overwhelm the sorts of ordering and planning efficiencies that EDI can provide. The logistics of moving components through intercontinental JIT supply chains, simply to keep production running, can outweigh Just-In-Time theory. This is not the sort of problem EDI by itself can solve. We need to combine EDI with new Logistics, Inventory, and Manufacturing solutions in new ways.

XML With the rise of the internet, XML arrived with great promise. XML brought new ways of thinking and new ideas. Most Traditional EDI messages now are available as XML messages, but justification for moving legacy-traditional dayto-day EDI over to XML is a tough business case. When businesses think about the operational aspects of making such a move, internal impact outweighs data format. XML adoption will come as new initiatives and new processes are introduced in the industry. So far, we have seen this put into action in aftermarket and quality, 20

and for catalogues. For instance, the STAR (Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail) initiative in the US implemented XML over two years ago. Europe has implemented QDX (Quality Data Exchange), a quality program using XML, and a set of XML messages for electronic catalogues called BMEcat (Standard for the Exchange of Electronic Product Catalogues). 1.8

Web EDI

At that time, many Tier Ones made accommodations for their lowertier suppliers. Proprietary and in-house alternatives to Traditional EDI became available. Many Tier Twos and Tier Threes were able to use certain EDI functions or EDI-like functions without committing to full-blown Traditional EDI. In Europe, ODETTE provided a web- EDI standard known as e-Forms and any non-compliant suppliers were requested to comply with an e-Forms solution. These developments coincided with, and were aided by the explosion of internet functionality, and the World Wide Web. So, we now call this whole category of EDI alternatives, “Web EDI.” [A note on jargon: Our term “Web EDI” can be misleading. Even though Traditional EDI began before the www came into play, Traditional EDI can use the Web. But we still say, “Web EDI” when we talk about alternatives to Traditional EDI.] The many variations of Web EDI vary in functionality. Often they do not communicate fully with Traditional EDI, or with ERP systems, or with each other. As a result, a large segment of Auto Manufacturing is not fully connected with the global EDI framework. And, a goodsized (though not reliably measurable) segment still is not really even automated. The Chinese automotive industry provides numerous examples.

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Please bear in mind that integration is extremely important. EDI’s effectiveness is not just in transmitting data, but also in providing useful, usable data for back-end business systems. If EDI and back-end business systems cannot talk together, we have not reached our real goal. This situation falls short of the ideal common Supply Chain communication system. And, based on our experience in the past ten years, we probably never will achieve that ideal. Rather than continuing toward the original goal of commonality, we expect that more alternatives will emerge. 1.9

Direction for EDI

1. We may embrace the current diversity in EDI Implementation, Standards, and Technologies by concentrating on solutions that accept diverse input and provide diverse output, with flexible, practical, broad connectivity. Such products already exist, and this is a promising field for further development. It appears certain that this approach will yield much greater returns than continuing to push for the traditional ideal of global commonality. 2. We may provide relatively simple, relatively inexpensive EDI (Web EDI) for lower-tier suppliers, as long as we make sure that our simple approach integrates fully and communicates properly, and that it can expand as lower-tier users demand higher functionality and complexity. This approach probably will serve suppliers in China and Eastern Europe very well over the next few years. 3. Simplify Communications. Globally, we may embrace EDI over IP where security, service and operational impacts are managed for trading partners. Immediately, IP based EDI could benefit Europe by offering a less complex and cheaper solution for OFTP X.25 and ISDN.

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4. We must now combine real application systems (Logistics, Inventory, and Manufacturing) globally with current EDI practices. Such a combination is necessary for dealing in a truly global marketplace where long distance crosscultural sourcing has introduced new challenges. Existing efforts at combining other disciplines with EDI show success. or in providing specific compliance and security implementations. This appears to be a much better choice than pursuing proprietary Web EDI systems that only talk to them. The capability to connect with multiple back-end business systems and the rest of the Supply Chain is crucial. This is a Promising area for further investment and development

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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2.1 Traditional EDI EDI is a communication standard that enables electronic transfer of routine documents, such as purchasing orders, between business partners. It formats these documents according to agreed-upon standards. An EDI implementation is a process in which two or more organizations determine how to work together more effectively through the use of EDI. EDI often serves as a catalyst and a stimulus to improve the business processes that flow between organizations. It reduces cost, delays, and errors inherent in a manual delivery system of documents. EDI has the following special characteristics that differentiate it from e-mail messages:  Business transactions messages. EDI is used primarily to electronically transfer repetitive business transactions. These include purchase orders, invoices, approvals of credit, shipping notices, confirmations, and so on.  Data formatting standards. As EDI messages are repetitive, it is sensible to use some formatting (coding) standards. Standards can shorten the length of the messages and eliminate data entry errors, since data entry occurs only once. In the United States and Canada, data are formatted according to the ANSI X.12 standard. An international standard developed by the United Nations is called EDIFACT.  EDI translators. An EDI translator converts the data into standard format. EDI has been around for almost 30 years in the non-Internet environment. It is a system that standardizes the process of trading and tracking routine business documents. EDI translates these documents into a globally 25

understood business language and transmits them between trading partners using secure telecommunications links. To distinguish it from Internetbased EDI, we call EDI on the non-Internet platform traditional EDI. 2.2Research problem 2.2.1Limitation of traditional EDI Traditional EDI has evolved over time from a point-to-point digital communication media to a comprehensive tool that allows large companies to reengineer their supply chain systems. For example, a traditional EDI allows for a continuous replenishment by suppliers or for instant payment upon delivery. However, despite the tremendous impact of traditional EDI among industry leaders, the set of adopters represented only a small fraction of potential EDI users. In the United States, where several million businesses participate in commerce every day, fewer than 200,000 companies have adopted traditional EDI. Furthermore, most of the companies have had only a small number of their business partners on EDI, mainly due to its complexity and high cost. Therefore, in reality, many businesses have not benefited from EDI. The major factors that have limited the use of traditional EDI are:  Significant initial investment is needed, and ongoing operating costs are high.  Business processes must be restructured to fit EDI requirements.  A long start-up time is needed. 26

 Use of expensive, private VANs is necessary.  The system is inflexible; it is difficult to make quick changes, such as adding business partners. These factors suggest that traditional EDI—relying on formal transaction sets, translation software, and VANs—is not a suitable long-term solution for many corporations. Therefore, a better infrastructure is needed. Internet-based EDI coupled with XML and extranets is such an infrastructure. 2.2 Need for the study: Why Internet EDI When considered as a channel for EDI, the Internet appears to be the most feasible alternative for putting online B2B trading within reach of virtually any organization, large or small. There are several reasons for firms to create EDI ability over the Internet:  The Internet is a publicly accessible network with few geographical constraints.  Its largest attribute, large-scale connectivity (without the need for any special company networking architecture), is a seedbed for growth of a vast range of business applications.  The global nature of the Internet offers the potential to reach the widest possible number of trading partners of any viable alternative currently available.  Using the Internet can cut communication costs by over 50 percent.

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 Using the Internet to exchange EDI transactions is consistent with the growing interest of business in delivering an ever-increasing variety of products and services electronically, particularly through the Web.  Internet-based EDI can complement or replace many current EDI applications.  Internet tools such as browsers and search engines are very user friendly, and most users today know how to use them.  Internet-based EDI has several functionalities not provided by traditional EDI, which include collaboration, workflow, and search engines. 2.3Sampling method and sample size Cooper standard has almost 80 suppliers and out of 80 we have randomly selected 50 and they were sent mail regarding the study of Web EDI and they intension on using the same at present , future. Since it is corporate policy not to disclose the supplier name I have not disclosed their name but there correspondences to our survey have been shared in annexure.

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2.4Techniques used for Data Analysis: There are many procedures for gathering information required for developing and completing academically or practically oriented thesis. The two most popular and useful methods are both interviews and document collection which are well known as primary data and secondary data source, respectively. 2.4.1 Primary Data Collecting primary data can be done in two ways, either from the personal conversation and interviews or from the telephone interviews and e-mail. There are both upsides and downsides when using each of these methods. The upside of applying the personal conversation and interview method are the great satisfaction and quality in receiving responses, since there are opportunities for the interviewer to continuously present spontaneous and complementary questions related to the subject in question. The interview method will reduce the degree of misinterpretation of respondents due to the fact that the interview process can be more controlled. Besides, more complicated questions can be raised which in turn leads to high precision in the received feedback. As downsides of using this method, the difficulties in arranging interview times and subjective responses can be pointed out. Since the responses obtained from the interface communication are based more on the individual thought and values rather than the viewpoints of all persons within organisation, it can result in that the responses from the interviews become more subjective.

2.4.2 Secondary Data 29

As mentioned above, the second alternative for collecting primary data can be done through telephone interviews and e-mail. On the one hand, telephone interviews would contribute to a higher frequency of answers as well as facilitating the process of follow-up questions. On the other hand, the transparency of questions related to telephone interviews should be taken into consideration, since there are no slides for presentation or any features of bodily communication in order to get the respondent to completely understand the subject in question. E-mail can be considered as a good way of collecting information when the available questionnaire contains many alternative answers. E-mail can also be applied as a follow-up method in combination with a telephone interview.

As a target population for this study, a total of 80 suppliers will be drawn from Cooper Purchase team. From the 80 manufacturers, 50 were randomly chosen. The questionnaire will be distributed to the chosen manufacturers and six rounds of follow-up will be executed via e-mail to ensure the substantial return rate. The collected questionnaires will be analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) to produce more reliable results. I have downloaded SPSS form IBM which is a trial Version for this project. IBM® SPSS® Statistics Base is statistical analysis software that delivers the core capabilities you need to take the analytical process from start to finish. It is easy to use and includes a broad range of procedures and techniques to help you increase revenue, outperform competitors, conduct research and make better decisions.

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Influencing factors were measured based on five-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree); this study emulates Bergeron and Raymond (1997) for influencing factors. Level of integration was measured based on ordinal scale (1=poor and 3=high); this study emulates Emmelhainz (1994) for WEB EDI implementation level. Type of users and firm size were measured based on nominal scale. Reliability and validity tests will be performed on the data collected. Construct reliability will be assessed by computing Cronbach’s alpha where items used for the analysis would be tested for an adequate level of reliability with their alphas amounting to 0.95. Content validity was enhanced by using the measures already validated in previous studies and by conducting the pilot test among potential respondents. Convergent analysis test will be performed using the principal component factor analysis on items that measured WEB EDI influencing factors. With reference to the research model, the following hypotheses were proposed and showed in Figure 2.1 2.4.3 Hypotheses H01: There is no difference in EDI implementation level by type of users. H02: There is no difference in EDI implementation level by firm size. H03: There is no difference in EDI implementation level by influencing factors. H04: There is no difference in influences from internal factors by type of users. H05: There is no difference in influences from external factors by type of users. H06: There is no difference in influences from internal factors by firm size.

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Figure 2.1 Research Model 2.5 Validity and Reliability Before sending out the questionnaire to the relevant persons, I decided to make an interview with Mr. Sankar Anand as production Manager in Cooper Standard, and Mr. Vijay Kumar as EDI Chief in Cooper Standard, in order to make sure that the structure of the questionnaire was crystal clear. Another factor that enhanced the validity of our research was that I managed to have telephone conversions with all responsible persons for EDI in 50 medium/ big companies, and get them to understand the purpose of our thesis. During the conversation, I tried to describe our questionnaire in order to avoid any misunderstanding later on. Therefore, I can claim that the questionnaires have been filled in by experienced and skilful persons in the EDI area. The last phase of our project was dealing with analyzing the responded questionnaires from the companies. In order to perform data analysis, I have 32

applied statistical formula and econometrics models into our data sample. Since applying any inappropriate econometric models could have resulted in misinterpretation or errors in our study result.

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INDUSTRY PROFILE

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3.1 Company Profile

Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc., headquartered in Novi, Michigan, is an automotive supplier specializing in the manufacture and marketing of systems and components for the automotive industry. Products include body sealing systems, fluid handling systems and NVH control systems, which are represented within the company's two operating divisions: North America and International. Cooper-Standard Automotive employs approximately 22,000 people globally with more than 70 facilities in 19 countries around the world. Integrated Solutions Technology leadership, combined with broad product expertise and capabilities, enables us to find solutions to customer challenges. Global Resources We have design, engineering and manufacturing expertise and engineering resources in all major automotive markets, ensuring support of our customers throughout the world. Operational Excellence We are committed to excellence in every aspect of our operations, with a focus on quality and lean initiatives, supply chain management and capacity optimization.

Our People 35

From our experienced management team to our expert engineers, manufacturing and professional staff, we consistently deliver results in today's ever-changing environment. Fuel, Brake and Emission Systems Cooper Standard has a successful track record and deep expertise in fuel and brake delivery systems, and emissions management technologies. As an industry leader in the development of fuel and brake products and systems, the company offers a highly automated assembly process that is proven and efficient. Working in the traditional fuel and brake market, while at the same time driving new innovations – such as direct injection fuel rails components, technologies and connection processes – Cooper Standard ensures that all of its components are expertly designed and manufactured to exceed industry and customer standards while providing unheralded benefits to the ultimate consumer. Body Sealing Systems No other company in the world designs and sells as many solutions to keep noise, dust and water away from vehicle occupants. With wind noise due to ineffective sealing often cited as one of the top driver complaints, Cooper Standard continually develops quality sealing technologies that provide the greatest benefits to our customers. The company's extensive engineering, testing and custom design capabilities ensure that its sealing products fulfill the critical role of increasing driver comfort and vehicle aesthetics. As a result, Cooper Standard has garnered 260 global patents, as well as numerous industry honors for its body sealing advancements. 36

This includes a number of Premier Automotive-Suppliers' Commitment to Excellence (P.A.C.E.) Honorable Mentions for its innovative technologies, such as its Safe Seal™ (formerly ODS), Thermoplastic Rear Door Assembly and Day Light Opening (DLO) System. Thermal Management Systems As one of the world's largest full-service suppliers of thermal management components and systems, Cooper Standard provides complete heating and cooling management systems for hybrids, electric vehicles and internal combustion engines and powertrains. Cooper Standard's integrated systems approach provides many unseen benefits to the driving experience. From single components to integrated assemblies, Cooper Standard's thermal management technologies work to maximize thermal efficiencies within a system. The company's innovative engineering team develops and manufactures complete customer-specific thermal management solutions for today's complex powertrain routings and performance requirements. Anti- Vibration Systems Dedicated to continually optimizing occupant comfort and vehicle handling, two key elements of a driver's satisfaction, Cooper Standard offers a complete range of anti-vibration control products. As a systems provider, the company is a specialist in the development of complete powertrain and bodymount systems. Cooper Standard's expertise lies not only in its customized products, which offer 37

numerous benefits for customers, but also in its extensive engineering analysis and testing capabilities to create expertly tuned systems that meet customer requirements. As a result, Cooper Standard products can be found in more than 80 global programs. 3.2 Mission, Vision and Value Statement Mission Statement 

Provide outstanding service, support and innovative solutions to our customers benefiting all stakeholders of Cooper Standard.

Vision Statement 

To become one of the 30 largest global automotive suppliers while delivering superior results.

Value Statements 

We create value through innovative solutions



We are committed to our customers



We strive to continuously improve



We encourage teamwork and mutual respect



We have bias for action and superior performance



We act with integrity in everything we do



We are good citizens committed to community, safety and the environment

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PROJECT OVERVIEW

39

4.1 Choosing Best WEB / Internet EDI provider All above data has leaded us to choose a Web EDI provider for Cooper Standard India and use the same to replace the traditional EDI system. To choose a Web EDI provider below are the point to be considered. Electronic Data Interchange Explained To accomplish this, there’s a lot of data and documentation that must be exchanged between you and a retailer. From Orders and Invoices to Remittance Advices and Advance Ship Notices, there are hundreds of business documents that can be exchanged between trading partners. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has become the preferred method of exchanging this data between B2B buyers and sellers. In simplest terms, EDI is a data pipeline that’s established between a supplier and a retailer, and data needs to flow in both directions. The aforementioned business documents flow from buyer to seller. Other data, such as standing inventory levels, sales reports, purchase orders, invoices and many other pieces of information flow from the seller to the buyer. In today’s Just-In-Time (JIT) retail environment, many retailers will only deal with suppliers who can provide data via EDI, and suppliers with any kind of sales volume generally find transmitting data via EDI solves a lot of internal data management headaches. But how do you choose the EDI solution that’s best for your business? 4.2 Choosing the Right EDI Partner for Your Business There are currently about 150 different EDI providers doing business in North America. Yes, that’s well over 100 possible solutions to our needs! It is important to choose the right EDI solution provider because they will truly become a partner in our business, acting as a liaison between us and our trading partners, facilitating the daily communication of business documents.

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Deciding which one’s best could be a pretty daunting task, but everything starts to become a little clearer if you follow these selection criteria to narrow down the EDI provider field: 4.2.1 Determine the Specific EDI Needs of Your Business Where are we now? And where do we want to be in 5-10 years, answering these questions will help to hone in on the extent of our future data management requirements and the levels of EDI transaction volume you’ll likely have. Not every EDI partner will be able to scale up (or down!) to meet your current and future demands. 4.2.2 Stability of the EDI Partner A lot of these are the same questions we will ask when screening any service provider. How long have you been in business? What sort of environment (office) do you have? Tell me about your data security standards? What is your system uptime record? If you’re not a techie, you may not understand all the jargon but at least you’ll have it to compare and ask those who do know. 4.2.3 How Accessible is Your EDI Partner when You Need Them? The geography of our EDI partner is an interesting point. Yes, EDI operates in the same fashion as the internet. Yes, data can be transferred from one side of the world to the other in a flash. So, technically, the location of an EDI partner’s offices shouldn’t matter. But what if you need tech support or operational help? A partner located three time zones away may not be available when we need them. At a minimum, find out about a provider’s customer support policy and hours of operation. 4.2.4 Industry-Specific EDI Partners Some EDI providers focus on very specific industries, product lines or even individual retail chains. Their entire business is based on servicing that niche and they’ve become very effective at dealing with the nuances involved. They can be a fantastic partner if you’re actually in their target industry but they probably won’t do business with our if they’re not. 4.2.5 EDI Scalability As mentioned in the first point, some EDI providers focus exclusively on SME 41

suppliers who only deal at a regional level, while others will only partner with high volume, international suppliers. Only about 25% have the scalability in their platform to effectively do both. Keep this in mind if you’re starting small but have plans for world domination. 4.2.6 References/Testimonials for Your Selected EDI Partner Just as if we were hiring a builder, accountant or any other specialist, ask for a list of current clients to whom you can actually speak. And don’t accept a “no” on this request. Get their opinion on the platform’s usability, stability and functionality, as well as the partner’s customer service. 4.2.7 EDI Suggestions from Retailers While they’re often hesitant to hand out pure recommendations, the industries we are, or are aspiring to, deal with often have lists of EDI partners they know of or have worked with in the past. Conversely, while retailers may be able to make some recommendations, they may just be comfortable with their current provider and not realize that there are better options available. As a result, it is probably best to seek out additional recommendations as well. 4.2.8 Wide Area Network (WAN) A Wide Area Network (WAN) is the system of gateways, switches and routers that connects the WEB EDI data sender with the receiver. While there are about 150 EDI partners in North America, only a few manage their own VANs. Those that do are somewhat akin to suppliers who not only offers the phones (the WEB EDI software) but also control the phone lines (WAN), as well. Providers that do not have their own WAN have to buy capacity on other providers’ networks. Web EDI partners with their own WAN have total control over transmission routing, system stability, data security and other integrity issues. Aligning with a partner that controls their own WAN goes a long way toward ensure our WEB EDI functionality will always be there when you need it. 4.2.9 Does the EDI Partner Offer GDSN Compliant Services? Compliance with the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) is an emerging trend in supply chain management. Basically, the GDSN is a set of worldwide data formatting standards created to ensure there’s a common structure 42

used by the thousands of buyers and sellers sending EDI data around the globe. Most large, international retailers now mandate that their suppliers be GDSN compliant, and it will become the industry standard over the next decade. If you want stay ahead of the curve, partner up with an EDI partner who’s already a GDSN certified data pool provider. There are only two in North America right now and they are on the leading edge of the future. 4.2.10 Software as a Service (SaaS) EDI Solutions Do you want your EDI software and database to be hosted on our own internal computers or stored remotely and accessed anytime we need them via the internet? If you chose the latter, you need to source out an EDI partner who offers a SaaS EDI solution. We may have heard of Software as a Service (SaaS) and its close relative, “cloud” computing. Right now, about 50% of North American EDI providers offer a SaaS-based EDI platform. Because SaaS platforms are hosted remotely, they require no IT support from our end, no additional hardware, and can be accessed from anywhere there’s an internet connection. Plus, if your computers go down for any reason, our data is backed up and available on the partner’s servers. The entire software industry is slowly heading in this direction so, again, if we want to be ahead of curve and ready for the future, a web-based SaaS solution is the way to go.

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ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA

44

5.1 Findings and discussions Respondents of this study comprise 76.9% of mandated users and 23.1% of selfinitiated users. Of 50 respondents, 64.8% of them are large organizations and 35.2% are SMEs. Meanwhile, only 8.3% of respondents implement WEB EDI at high level, while 92% implement WEB EDI at poor and average level (Table 5.1). Chi-square test was performed on the type of users and firm size. Pearson Chisquare value of 1.703 with high p-value of 0.192 signal that there is no relationship between type of users and firm size. This finding is in contrast with findings of past literatures that claimed firms which were imposed to implement EDI are likely to be SMEs as they have inadequate resources (Seya and Rahim, 2006; Fillis et al., 2004; Parker and Swatman, 1997). Category

n = 50

%

Types of EDI users Mandated Self - initiated

38 12

76.9 23.1

Firm Size Small and medium Large

18 32

35.2 64.8

Level of EDI implementation Poor Moderate High

34 12 4

68.5 23.2 8.3

Table 5.1 Frequency Analysis

45

Null hypotheses 1 (H01) and 2 (H02) Mann-Whitney U tests were employed to examine the differences in level of WEB EDI implementation by type of users and firm size (Table 5.2). For type of users, as mean rank for self-initiated users (88.73) is significantly higher than the mean rank for mandated users (45.21), it indicated that self-initiated users implement higher level of EDI than self-initiated users. Low p-value=0.000 indicates that there is a significant difference in level of EDI implementation by type of users; thus, H01 was rejected. It can be concluded that self-initiated users implement EDI significantly higher than mandated users. Inherently, users who were mandated to implement EDI are likely to reluctant to further integrate EDI as they might not have sufficient resources or could not quantify actual EDI benefits (Elbaz, 1998; Leng Ang et al., 2001; Parsa and Popa, 2003). Meanwhile, high p-value=0.536 indicates that level of EDI implementation is similar for SMEs and large organizations; thus, H01 was not rejected. This finding is in contrast with findings of past literatures that claimed large organizations tend to further integrate EDI than SMEs as they have adequate financial and technological resources (Zhu et al., 2002; Chau, 2001). Variables

n = 108

Mean Rank

p

Z

Type of Users Mandated

83

45.21

Self-initiated

25

88.73

0

-7.431

Firm Size Small and medium Large

38 70

57.58 54.36

0.536

-0.619

Table 5.2 Mann-Whitney U Tests Null hypotheses 3 (H03) 46

Table 5.3 lists WEB EDI influencing factors with mean and standard deviation (sd) value based on descending order. Top management support, financial resources and imposition by government were found to be the most significant factors for WEB EDI implementation. These findings are consistent with findings of many past studies, e.g. Seya and Rahim (2006), top management support; Leng Ang et al. (2003), financial resources; and Ngai and Gunasekaran (2004), imposition by government. Meanwhile, personnel acceptance and trainings or education for personnel were found to be least significant factors that influence EDI implementation. This finding is in contrast with findings of several past literatures which claimed personnel acceptance and WEB EDI training or education (Arunachalam, 1995; Parker and Swatman, 1997; Jun and Chai, 2003) are important in order to ensure successful WEB EDI implementation. As there were more mandated users, they might just obey the instructions and thus implement WEB EDI without considering personnel acceptance. Logically, personnel resist because of the discomfort of using new technologies or they are afraid that WEB EDI would replace them. At this stage, education and training prior to and during implementation are very significant as these can enhance personnel understanding towards WEB EDI and will help increase acceptance rate. Means were again computed on the overall internal factors and external factors. Internal factors (mean=3.48) were found to be most significant influencing factors than external factors (mean=3.22). In order to examine the differences in WEB EDI implementation level based on influencing factors, Kruskal-Wallis test was performed. Findings (χ2=9.817 and p-value=0.007) indicate that EDI implementation level differs based on influences from EDI influencing factors; thus, H03 was rejected. Previous studies found that internal factors positively influence decision to adopt EDI while external factors negatively influence decision to adopt EDI (Iacovou et al., 1995; Elbaz, 1998). 47

Thus, all influencing factors should be taken care as improper management or inadequacy of these factors would impact the level of EDI implementation which is positively related with extent of received benefits (Emmelhainz, 1994; Parsa and Popa, 2003) Factors

Mean

sd

Top management support Financial resources Imposition by government Internal technical persons

4.45 4.05 3.8 3.4

0.51 0.94 0.83 0.94

Compatibility with existing systems Requirements from trading partners Influences from competitors Ease of use EDI Personnel acceptance Trainings and educations for personnel

3.35 3.25 3.25 3.05 2.8 2.6

1.04 0.91 0.72 0.76 1.4 1.35

Table 5.3 Means of EDI influencing factors Null hypotheses 4 (H04) and 5 (H05) Independent sample t-tests were employed on influencing factors and type of users in order to examine the differences in influencing factors based on the latter variable. Results indicate that both internal factors (p-value=0.033) and external factors (p-value=0.001) were found to vary based on type of users; thus, H04 and H05 were rejected. In order to determine the most significant factors for each group of users, mean comparisons were computed (Table 5.4). Results indicate that, relatively, internal factors were found to be most significant factors for both mandated users (mean=3.71) and self-initiated users (mean=3.29) than external factors. As there were more mandated users, it is expected that external factors would be the most influencing factors yet the findings (Table 5) are in contrast with the presumptions. 48

Type of Users

Value

Mandated

Mean sd Mean sd

Self-initiated

Internal Factors External Factors 3.71 0.25 3.29 0.51

3.56 0.44 2.94 0.29

Table 5.4 Mean Comparisons Null hypotheses 6 (H06) and 7 (H07) Independent sample t-tests were employed on influencing factors and firm size. Results indicate that both internal factors (p-value=0.122) and external factors (pvalue=0.657) were found to be similar for both SMEs and large organizations; thus, H05 and H06 were accepted. This signals that respondents of this study receive similar extent of influences from external and internal factors despite their firm size. The analysis was furthered with means comparisons in order to determine the most significant factors for each group of users (Table 5.5). Results indicate that, relatively, internal factors were found to be most significant factors for both SMEs (mean=3.86) and self-initiated users (mean=3.33) than external factors.

49

Internal Factors

External Factors

Firm Size

Value

Small and medium

Mean sd

3.86 0.12

3.33 0.25

Large

Mean sd

3.41 0.47

3.2 0.51

Table 5.5 Mean Comparisons 5.2 Proposed System Web based EDI is often referred to as EDI INT, meaning EDI over the internet. Companies are finding new uses for the internet all the time, and being able to use a technology as effective as EDI via the internet is one of the more valuable benefits. Numerous companies are considering EDI for the first time because Internetbased EDI is more cost effective and easier to put in place than other systems. There are many businesses that provide EDI services, so to be sure to shop around to get the EDI solution best suited to our company we used below yard sticks they are:



Lower initial and on-going cost



No software upgrade issues (bugs, incompatibilities, etc.)



Less training required and less of a learning curve



Monitored EDI infrastructure



Quicker EDI implementations



Connect to an existing network of Trading partners 50



Multiple integration options to connect to your applications



No expensive hardware requirements

5.2.1 The Automotive Industry Metric Two metrics were developed within the automotive industry, to investigate whether analysing a supplier-customer pair would provide additional information on the same supply chain. The first metric was derived from the cost/benefit analysis conducted at Cooper standard Automotive Limited, while the second was developed from the cost/benefit analysis carried out at YONEI & CO., LTD , an automotive components supplier to Cooper standard Automotive Limited. The procedure involved in deriving the metrics was the same as that of, that is by identifying the costs and benefits in each case (although these costs and benefits may differ from one company to another). The two metrics are summarized in the following sub-sections. (a) Cooper Standard Automotive Limited We conducted the EDI cost/benefit analysis for the accounts payable system of the company. I also differentiated the cost/benefit analysis metric for the first year of operation from that of subsequent years: The First Year of Operation

51

The Subsequent Years

The “Reduced Workforce Savings” are the total salaries of the eliminated personnel. The intangible costs and benefits were not directly included in the metric due to the difficulties of quantifying them in dollar terms, but were taken into consideration in the cost/benefit analysis process YONEI & CO., LTD We conducted the cost/benefit analysis for the manufacturing and dispatch system of the company. He incorporated the intangible benefits of the EDI project under investigation by ranking them from 1 to 10 on the basis of the value they have to management

52

Cost of the Paper-Based System

The “TransmissionPaper“ is the transmission cost of paper documents in the paper-based system and the “Labor Paper “ is the labor cost to generate paper documents. The “Storage Paper” is obtained from multiplying the floor space needed to store files by the average cost per square foot plus the security cost of such storage. Cost of the EDI-Based System

53

Based on the above outcome we are proposing Cooper standard to use Third party Web EDI partner, for better understanding we are taking the current web edi partner J Com as well as we are comparing covisint and MyB2B EDI service from CovalentWorks. 5.2.2 JCOM J-Forms Web EDI is the complete, user-friendly Internet based EDI solution with no EDI experience required. J-Forms allows a buyer to quickly and efficiently bring their suppliers to EDI compliance. As a Web-based, hosted solution, j-Forms eliminates the requirement of the supplier to install, support, and maintain expensive translation software. J-Forms gives you all the sophistication of a desktop application, without any of the complications. Unlike other solutions, J-Forms Web EDI goes beyond traditional EDI software to virtually eliminate errors when creating a document. J-Forms Web EDI built in validation checks your documents against both standard EDI guidelines and your specific business requirements. Should any document fail to pass validation, the system automatically shows the user where, and how to correct the information.

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J-Forms Web EDI Features at a Glance 

Intuitive, user friendly interface



Supports any transaction type



Connects to any trading partner



Ability to create master document templates



Multiple users at any time



Access your documents from any location



No software or hardware to purchase



Automatic notifications



Complete history of all documents sent

5.2.3 Covisint Covisint gives your users the right information through rapid, secure and flexible data exchange, Our data integration service layer automates business processes, improving time to market while reducing cost. Leveraging Covisint's identity services platform, Data Exchange Services works across platforms to provide information to end-users, whatever the origin of the data, and whatever the device on which the data is received. Covisint Data Exchange Services enable rapid, secure, and flexible integration, insulating companies from the cost and complexity of changing document types, formats, communication protocols, network connections and system integration needs. Providing a solution for companies regardless of size or technology, Covisint offers machine-to-machine options, managed file transfer, web EDI and .csv 55

document-to-EDI options. In addition, Covisint uses state-of- the-art mapping, routing, translation and network interconnectivity to drive real-time, secure, reliable communication. 5.2.4 MyB2B EDI service from CovalentWorks EDI implementation - connect, collaborate, and cut costs with MyB2B MyB2B seamlessly integrates the exchange of EDI business documents with your customer's computer systems. MyB2B securely and reliably sends and receives EDI business documents such as electronic Purchase Orders, Invoices and Shipping Notices. Web hosting is used to give you access to your EDI documents from wherever you have an internet connection in your office or at home. EDI documents under your control are secure, accurate and delivered quickly.

MyB2B improves your efficiency and your customer's efficiency. Customer purchasing and supplier sales, shipping nd accounting processes flow more smoothly through more efficient order input, acceptance, fulfillment, invoicing and payment. Expensive EDI software, maintenance and VAN charges have been a barrier in the past to improving efficiency. Implementing EDI processing with customers can be a costly undertaking if you do it yourself.

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MyB2B provides an affordable alternative. CovalentWorks takes care of everthing and implements your company in complete conformance with your customer's EDI implementation guides. 12 reasons to choose MyB2B EDI service from CovalentWorks: 1. MyB2B EDI service makes sending and receiving EDI as easy as email® 2. Use MyB2B from any PC, Mac, tablet or smart phone in the world that has internet access. 3. All of your EDI transactions are available to you whenever and wherever you need them through a secure on-line web portal. 4. EDI compliance and any electronic format your customers choose are fully supported. All document types and versions in ANSI X-12 and EDIFACT are included. 5. All versions of UCC-128, GS1-128, EAN-128 barcode labels are fully supported according to your customers' shipping requirements. 6. Customer costs are reduced by eliminating manually-processed paper documents. You will build closer relationships with customers and help win their business. 7. Electronic Purchase Orders arrive at your desktop. Purchase Order Acknowledgements, Advanced Shipping Notices and Invoices are as easy to send as e-mail replies. 8. Add an optional interface to QuickBooks, Peachtree, MAS 90 200 500, NetSuite, or your warehouse system or almost any other system as your business grows. 9. MyB2B takes care of the headaches commonly associated with EDI. Everything you need is included.

57

10.There is no software or hardware to buy or maintain. All mapping of transactions is done for you. EDI VAN or AS/2 connections with all your customers are included at no extra charge. 11.All you need is an Internet connection and e-mail. 12.No EDI expertise is required Orders (850) 

Any order type – multiple locations, stores, sub-line items



New incoming orders updated every 5 minutes



Orders available on-line 24 X 7 except Sundays 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.



Print order, packing slip/pick lists as needed



Print batches of branded packing slips without manual data entry



Orders sent to users anywhere, ex. your offshore manufacturing facilities



Automatic 997 functional acknowledgment of order receipt



Purchase Order Acknowledgment (855) supported if customer requires it



Integration with your system available

Orders and third parties (850) 

Orders sent to your third party warehouse or logistics provider (3PL)



Orders can be translated into 940 warehouse shipping orders



Warehouse can send you warehouse shipping advices



Brokers can be cc’d for orders



Integration with your system and your third party's system available

Purchase Order Acknowledgments (855) 

Send purchase order acknowledgments (855) with one click



Edit quantity, unit price or any other field 58



Scheduled ship date optionally auto-populated with current date or with a date based on your rules



Automatic send of purchase order acknowledgment if you always ship the full order as requested



Integration with your system available

Advance Ship Notices (856) 

Can be prepared on-line or off-line



Data entry minimized - data from PO copied to advance ship notice with one click



Advance ship notices can be also be pre-filled with data from planning schedules sent by your customer



One click packing - choose Pick and Pack, Automatic Pack, One Item per Carton, Fixed Quantity per Carton or Single Line Item number



Multiple advance ship notices can be sent at once



Hard-coded values reused from advance ship notice to another



Send as many advance ship notices as needed for one order



Send one advance ship notice for multiple purchase orders if needed



Advance ship notices are supported even if customer does not send you purchase orders



Any advance ship notices structure required by your customer supported



Both ANSI X-12 856 advance ship notice and DESADV EDIFACT supported



UCC-128, GS-1, and EAN-128 shipping labels are pre-filled with data from advance shipping notices



Integration with your system and your third party's system available

59

Invoices (810) 

Data entry minimized - data from PO copied to invoice with one click



Data needed on invoice but not on PO optionally hard coded, ex. if terms not on PO, terms can be hard coded so you do not have to enter them



Send as many invoices per PO as needed



Change any field on the invoice except the PO number



Use your invoice numbers or our default invoice number



Multiple invoices per PO automatically generated if customer requires invoicing by destination but customer sends multiple destinations on just one PO (an SDQ type PO)



Customer special case requirements supported including multiple allowances and discounts



Create multiple invoices for multiple PO’s at the same time



Invoices supported if you do not have a PO first (PO faxed to you or called in)



Invoices for review and edit have your catalog item numbers, description and pricing to minimize data entry



Integration with your system available

Acknowledgments (997) 

Acknowledgments sent automatically for incoming transactions such as orders



On-line view of acknowledgments indicating that your customer has received advance ship notices



On-line view of acknowledgments indicating that your customer has received invoices

60



On-line view status of acknowledgments indicating errors, or rejected transactions



Integration with your system available

5.3 Below is the Sample procedure while using the Web Edi solution. 5.3.1 Requirements The address of the internet platform is www.sample webedi . In order to take part in the Web-EDI system the Internet Explorer and the Adobe Acrobat Reader must be installed, each with the latest version. In addition the Barcode Fonts have to be installed. This is described in the course of this documentation.

5.3.2 Log In On the starting screen of the Web EDI system please enter your user name and password. You get these dates from your contact person

61

5.3.3 Start menu

62

5.3.4 Delivery Instruction Delivery instructions are sent to the internet platform. An e-mail is automatically sent to the supplier within 12 hours. In order to see the delivery instructions please press the “delivery instructions” button. The following window is opened

63

64

5.3.5 Create a new shipment

65

5.3.6 Handling Shipment

5.3.7 Choosing a pack unit 66

5.3.8 Commit the delivery

67

5.3.9 Send order

68

5.3.10 packing slips EDI Delivery notes

69

5.5 How it Works 70

71

Findings Conclusions And Recommendations

72

6.1 Findings Based on the primary data and secondary collection we have seen the below are the need for cooper to change its method of Edi connectivity from traditional to Web EDI. The major factors that held back more universal implementation of traditional EDI include the following: 1. Significant initial investment is needed, and ongoing operating costs are high. 2. Business processes must be restructured to fit EDI requirements. 3. A long start-up period is needed. 4. EDI requires use of expensive private VANs. 5. EDI has a high operating cost. 6. Multiple EDI standards exist, so one company may have to use several standards in order to communicate with different business partners. 7. The system is difficult to use.

73

Major benefit of Web Based EDI is shown in below figure 6.1

Figure 6.1 Traditional Vs Web EDI

6.2 Conclusion and Recommendation 74

In conclusion, there were more mandated users (76.4%) where 91.8% of the respondents implement Traditional EDI at poor and average level. As suggested by previous researchers, these users probably would not receive enhanced benefits from EDI due to poor implementation and thus ultimately they would stall EDI implementation at infancy stage without further integration. However, the findings have failed to prove that there is a difference in EDI implementation level between SMEs and large organizations. Top management support, financial resources and imposition by government were found to be the most significant factors. Furthermore, findings have indicated that influencing factors have significant impacts on WEB EDI implementation level. These factors were also found to vary based on the type of users but were similar for both SMEs and large organizations. Relatively, internal factors were found to be the most influencing factors than external factors. Thus, it can be concluded that although there is imposition from external factors, organizations will only implement WEB EDI if they have sufficient internal sources as they are afraid that inadequacy of internal sources might be harmful and ultimately may be inhibitors for the entire WEB EDI implementation process.. However, this study is expected to contribute to the Cooper Standard India Management as well as being a starting point for further investigations. This study has demonstrated that the type of EDI users has significant impact towards WEB EDI implementation, thus this study recommends for future research to further examine the impacts of Supplier WEB EDI users’ type with different WEB EDI scope and to examine implications of WEB EDI implementation and their relationship with WEB EDI implementation level. Research should also be conducted across different economic sectors nationwide. Further, both quantitative and qualitative methods are suggested to produce comprehensive findings. 75

Annexure

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7.1 BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS 

Alexis Leon , “ERP Demystified” ,ninth print 2004, Tata Mac Graw hill Publishing company limited



Shelly & Cashman , “System Analysis and Design”, Fourth Edition 2000 Course Technology,a division of Thomson Learning.

  

Gary Schneider , “ Electronic Commerce “, 1st Edition 2012, Paperback Limited Russel A. Stultz ,”Demystying EDI” ,3rd Edition 2000, Wordware Publishing Inc Mark Beckner, “Biztalk 2013 EDI for Supply Chain Management”, 1 st edition



2013, Apress Limited. Australian Department of Finance (1991). Handbook of Cost/benefit Analysis.



Canberra,Australian Government Publishing Service. Barker, P. and K. Button (1979). Case Studies in Economic Analysis 2: Case



Studies in Cost Benefit Analysis. London, Preface Ltd. Bloch et al. (1996). Leveraging Electronic Commerce for Competitive Advantage: a Business Value Framework. The Ninth International Conference



in EDI - IOS, Bled, Slovenia, Moderna Organizadija Kranj, Slovenia. Boucher-Ferguson, R. “Writing the Playbook for B2B.” Wilson Internet, January



29, 2002. Witte, C. L., M. Grünhagen, and R. L. Clarke. “The Integration of EDI and the



Internet.” Information Systems Management (Fall 2003). Aguila-Obra, A.R.D. and Padilla-Melendez, A. (2006). Organizational factors



affecting internet technology adoption. Internet Research. 16(1): 94-110. Angeles, R., Ravinder Nath and Hendon, W.D. (1998). An empirical investigation of the level electronic data interchange (EDI) implementation and its ability to predict EDI system success measures and EDI implementation factors. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics. 28(9): 773-



793. Arunachalam, V. (1995). EDI: An analysis of adoption, uses, benefits and barriers. Journal of Systems Management. 46(2): 60-64.

77



Behrens, S., Jamieson, K., Jones, D. and Cranston, M. (2005). Predicting system success using the technology acceptance model: a case study. 16th



Australasian Conference on Information Systems. Nov 9 – Dec 2. Sydney. Bergeron, F. and Raymond, L. (1997). Managing EDI for corporate advantage:



a longitudinal study. Information and Management. 31: 319-333. Brandyberry, A. A. (2003). Determinants of adoption for organizational innovations

approaching

saturation.

European

Journal

of

Innovation

Management. 6(3): 150-158.

78

7.2 References 

Timothy Szal, “Web Based EDI”, Sr Consultant, Network Services



S.C.Gupta , “Fundamentals of statistics”,Third edition 2000 Himalaya Publishing



House. White paper, “Beyond Traditional EDI”, Caroline Chan, “ EDI Implementaion: Broader Perspective”, School of Business and electronic commerce, Monash University, Australia.



AT &T, “EDI Implementation Guide” , 811 Transaction set.



Arul Murugan, “EDI Implementation” Founder & CEO , Enrich IT

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7.3 Questionnaire Based on Size of Firm 10 11-100

Select the size of firm which are using EDI

3

To communicate Supplier Select the following purpose for which EDI is used

To communicate Customer

Less than 1 KB

How much users in firm are using EDI

28

2

2 101-1000

25

Invoice Details 6

33

>1MB

11-100

Supplier Schedule

9

Neither of above

Both a & b

1kb – 1 MB

12

>1000 28

8

20

1 – 10

What type of Information in carried in EDI

10

7

Size of file transferred in EDI

101-1000

>1000 11 Neither of above

Both a & b 7

2

36

1

Below are the response from our survey and the result are shown in graphical format

80

81

82

83

Web EDI VS Traditional EDI

Can the traditional EDI can be worked without the support of any additional 3rd party like Gentran etc

1

2

3

48

2

0

50

0

0

23

11

16

48

2

0

12

14

24

Does the EDI information in traditional EDI is flexible Are the EDI information in Web EDI are custom based Does the traditional EDI can be accessed in public network Are the web EDI have to be configured in our system based on users rights like in traditional EDI

84

85

86

87

About Present EDI

Whether the users are finding the traditional EDI as friendly one Does the cost of traditional EDI is affordable for small and medium enterprises Does the technical support for the traditional EDI are available all time Does the traditional EDI are compatible with recent security and software in market

1

2 3

4

5

24

8 7

7

4

13

16 6

8

7

29

14 2

5

0

14

19 5

8

4

9

12 3

20

6

Whether the users are ready to migrate from traditional EDI to Web EDI based on the key benefits of web EDI

88

89

90

Importance of WEB EDI very important requested by partner process quality flexibility competitive position time savings cost savings

30% 10% 10% 50% 20%

rather important 20% 40% 30% 30% 45% 45%

rather not relevant unimportant important 20% 60% 15% 10% 5% 50% 10% 35% 20% 5% 5% 25% 5% 5%

91

Need for WEB EDI sales force natural rebate individual supplier negotiations incompatible data impossiblity of direct sales no MMS interface

32% 19% 23% 13% 10% 3%

92

PO VS Suppliers Fraction of EDI Purchase Orders Number of Suppliers 0-10% 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% 41-50% >50%

8 5 6 2 2

93

Internet is insecure internet offers cost savings X.400 is sufficient

inexpensive future-proof business partner functionality

Major reason for Change I I agree I partly agree I don’t Know I partly disgree disagree 5% 25% 45% 25% 30% 20% 35% 10% 5% 20% 10% 40% 15% 15%

Importance of Web EDI very rather rather important important relevant unimportant unimportant 20% 40% 30% 10% 50% 50% 25% 25% 25% 25% 10% 90%

94

95

7.4 Glossary AAIA Agnostic AIAG AMDX

American Aftermarket Industry Association A network that does not inspect data payload Automotive Industry Action Group Automotive Manufacturing Data Exchange

B2B BOD BPEL

Commerce Hub An Application Server that interfaces and conducts transactions between parties Business Object Document Business Process execution Language

Canon, canonical CCITT CCM CLOBS DSN EDI EDI Gateway EDIINT ERP IFR ITU MOM OAG OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer RSN SDO – SME SOAP VAN XML

A data structure carefully engineered to be as broadly applicable to as many users as possible without modification Committee Consultative International Telephone et Core Component Model – defines the OAG business processes and states Capital Line of Business System Dealer Service Network Electronic Data Interchange A system that aggregates thousands of EDI connections from trading partners EDI over Internet Enterprise Resource Planning Intermediate Format of Record – a transient International Telecommunications Union Message Oriented Middleware – systems that ensure Open Applications Group Original Equipment Manufacturer Regional Service Network Service Data Object A trusted agent that moves services from behind Small and Medium Enterprise Simple Object Access Protocol – the lowest level of Web Services Remote calling layer Value Added Network Bedrock data format standard

96