FFI Tackles Warehousing and EDI Challenges

A large manufacturer of office supplies needed to provide a major U.S. retailer with ongoing product replenishment, with heavier shipments during back-to-school season. Economical storage rates and a flexible workforce were the main reasons FFI was chosen as this manufacturer’s fulfillment partner. But the retail customer required specialized EDI integration and shipping documentation. Although FFI provides EDI services as needed, in this case the most practical approach was to use the existing EDI structure. The challenge: how to maintain security for both the supplier and the retailer while sharing network and software resources.

FFI systems staff worked with our customer to develop a plan that protected each network while allowing effective communication. Orders would originate at the manufacturer, be securely transmitted to FFI for picking and packing, then would be transmitted back to the originating system for EDI documentation. FFI personnel would generate all EDI documents and ensure compliance with all packaging requirements. The result was a system that was transparent to the retailer, yet allowed our customer  to concentrate on its core business. FFI provided 99.7% performance on accuracy and on-time delivery despite seasonal volume fluctuations. EDI documents were created and transmitted seamlessly, prompting commendations from the retailer for flawless performance at FFI.