Supplier-side technology vendor RedTail Solutions is bringing together its namesake SAAS EDI/data synchronization solution with the Microsoft Dynamics GP V10.0 midmarket accounting software system.
RedTail announced the out-of-the-box integration March 10.
“Our SAAS [software-as-a-service] platform has all the data transformation needed to map transactions between a supplier and a retailer,” RedTail Solutions CEO Pat Meisner said. “The hallmark of the solution is that we have built a number of specific integrations to middle-market accounting systems.”
Meisner said that by using the RedTail platform, a supplier can support thousands of supply chain transactions per week, a higher transaction volume than can be processed with a Web portal application. She said by providing integration to Microsoft Dynamics GP, RedTail enables suppliers to support the entire order-to-cash lifecycle.
“A supplier can pull an order in to create an ASN [advance shipping notice],” said Meisner. “They can then use that same data for GS1-128 barcode labeling or even for RFID tags.”
She said everything having to do with EDI (electronic data interchange) or data synchronization resides on the supplier’s servers. A client application then provides the interface to the Microsoft Dynamics GP technology. Using the SAAS platform, EDI purchase orders are moved to Microsoft Dynamics GP sales orders. Once items are shipped, data is passed to the client application to generate and transmit the sales invoice from the supplier to the retailer.
Reduces cost of ownership
“It gives suppliers an end-to-end solution,” Meisner said. “The cost of ownership is reduced by more than 50 percent compared to handling tasks like the arcane mapping of transactions and setting up transactions in-house.”
She said suppliers who do not have their own warehouse or in-house inventory system can also employ the integrated SAAS platform to support transaction exchanges with 3PLs (third-party logistics providers).
By the end of 2008, Meisner said RedTail expects to release the next generation of its integrated SAAS platform, which will feature a smart client interface with Web services.
“Once the new user interface is developed, suppliers will have more reporting, inventory visibility, analytics, and business intelligence available,” she said. “It will enable suppliers to link a huge amount of data to POS [point-of-sale] and transportation/logistics applications.”
Lora Cecere, an analyst with AMR Research, pointed to another potential benefit for suppliers.
“The use of the integration on the EDI platform [can] improve product launch commercialization and price management to reduce deductions,” Cecere said.
RedTail co-developed its integrated SAAS data synchronization solution with Binary Stream Software.
Dan Berthiaume covers the retail space for eWEEK. For more industry news, go to eWEEK.com’s Retail Site.