Over on the Inovis blog - which I read as an Inovis customer - they posed an interesting question today - wondering why it would be that all of your transactions are not done via EDI. Obviously, we’re talking about EDI-able transactions to begin with… But it then brought to mind a question posted on another group (over on Yahoo!) about specs and the value of X12 specs (vs. the banking standard of ACH) and somebody mentioned being penny-wise and pound-foolish when discussing the costs involved and another post referenced the bureaucracies and internal politics involved.

In My case, it’s not really any of these 2 reasons, but rather a process that is rooted in history… and another old saying:

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

And this truly is the reason I find that we’re not doing MORE EDI transactions and we’re still pushing around little bits of paper here and there.

Chances are - especially if you’re reading this - you’re somehow involved in the processes of EDI. You’re connected to it…. You are not EDI-Challenged…. So, to you, the benefits of EDI are a no-brainer…. You grasp the savings in dollars and cents, you get the man-hour savings involved, the error reduction and the whole thing…. You understand how EDI works and what it can and can’t do… You’re an EDI king….

But now, explain it to that supervisor or manager over in accounting…. or to that VP of buying…. maybe to the guy receiving carton after carton after carton, truckload after truckload, of the product you order for your business…. Explain how EDI can save them money…. can cut down on errors…. can give them more free-time…. Chances are, you’ll get a blank look - think deer in headlights.

Then you get the questions…. or THE question - WHY? What will EDI do for us?

You’ll also encounter that “ain’t broke, don’t fix” thinking…. “Well, we’ve always done it this way” and “why mess with what works?” The “what’s in it f0r me?”

They’ll have concerns about having to learn a new way to do things… a new way to think. Now they’ll have to be trained on what to do and how to handle this new information in the new format they’re getting it.

That’s more of a problem than the cost issues… it’s the ingrained resistance to change. You can show and prove - until the cow jumps over the moon, the spoon runs away with the fork and the 3 little pigs live in peace and harmony with the big, bad wolf - how well EDI will fulfill their needs. But, until they can even understand that need even exists, nothing will matter and you’ll be facing that uphill battle.