Valora, the Swiss group with a comprehensive foodvenience range, has relied on the electronic exchange of business documents (EDI - Electronic Data Interchange) for over 20 years. A functioning EDI data exchange is essential for Valora to be able to handle the Procure-to-Pay and logistics processes.
“Thanks to the partnership and the 24/7 support, we can be sure that our processes run efficiently and without interruption. This is vital for us to meet the needs of our customers.”
Bruno Dryer, Head of SAP Applications Services at Valora
Challenge: a highly available and secure EDI service
Valora needs a highly available and secure EDI service because the delivery times are short, many goods are offered in the fresh produce section and Valora's logistics work practically around the clock. The goal was error-free processing across the various process stages in procurement and logistics through to automated invoice processing.
Solution: B2B Messaging / efficient EDI communication with trading partners
Descartes STEPcom offers the central EDI service for Valora Retail in Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg for connecting to suppliers and logistics partners. The connection between Valora and Descartes is based on a uniformly defined XML interface, which is exchanged between Valora's SAP system and Descartes STEPcom's EDI Service Center.
As a single point of contact, Descartes STEPcom takes care of the processing of the data in the defined UN/Edifact formats as well as the coordination and connection of the suppliers and EDI partners worldwide. Validation rules for specific content on the central EDI service guarantee high data quality.
Descartes STEPcom provides an onboarding and monitoring portal. The current status of EDI partners and message types can be seen at any time in this access-protected portal. This transparency is a great advantage for a company like Valora.
The data exchange can be monitored in real time via Track&Trace. In the event of any errors, corresponding alerts are sent directly to the responsible departments. The systems are monitored by Descartes STEPcom 24/7. This gives Valora the certainty that everything is running smoothly.
The VAT-compliant receipt of EDI invoices through validation and archiving for Valora in Switzerland is also made available via Descartes STEPcom. Descartes STEPcom also offers support in onboarding EDI partners, in projects, message design and advises Valora on EDI.
The EDI messages used for Valora are: ORDERS (orders), DESADV (shipping notification), INVOIC (invoices), ORDRSP (order responses), INSDES (delivery order), INVRPT (inventory report), PARTIN (information on partner identification), PRICAT (price /article catalogue), RECADV (receipt confirmation), REMADV (payment notification), RETANN (goods return), SLSRPT (sales report) and other formats.
For Valora, the entirety of the EDI services and solutions ensures that the company can guarantee continuity and meet quality requirements, especially for fresh food.
Results
Process optimization - the procure-to-pay and logistics processes run smoothly.
High data quality - the automation ensures that no mistakes can be made and the data is reliable.
Reliable outsourcing - thanks to 24/7 monitoring, Valora doesn't have to worry about this part of the supply chain.
Worry-free connections - an onboarding and monitoring portal is available.
Success Story
Valora
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