The above is with all due respect to the Milk Advisory Board and their advertising campaigns.  But, the other day, I came across this wonderful bit of news online… And I thought – wow…  Take a read…

 Bank Robber Hires Decoys on Craigslist, Fools Cops

By Caroline McCarthy, CNET News

In an elaborate robbery scheme that’s one part The Thomas Crown Affair and one part Pineapple Express, a crook robbed an armored truck outside a Bank of America branch in Monroe, Wash., by hiring decoys through Craigslist to deter authorities.

It gets better: He then escaped in a creek headed for the Skykomish River in an inner tube, and the cops are still looking for him. “A great amount of money” was taken, Monroe police said, but did not provide a dollar value.

It appears to have unfolded this way, according to a Seattle-based NBC affiliate: Around 11:00 a.m. PDT Sept. 30, the robber, wearing a yellow vest, safety goggles, a blue shirt, and a respirator mask went over to a guard who was overseeing the unloading of cash to the bank from the truck. He sprayed the guard with pepper spray, grabbed his bag of money, and fled the scene.

But here’s the hilarious twist. The robber had previously put out a Craigslist ad for road maintenance workers, promising wages of $28.50 per hour. Recruits were asked to wait near the Bank of America right around the time of the robbery–wearing yellow vests, safety goggles, a respirator mask, and preferably a blue shirt. At least a dozen of them showed up after responding to the Craigslist ad.

“I came across the ad that was for a prevailing wage job for $28.50 an hour,” one of the unwitting decoys, named Mike, said to the NBC station. As it turns out, they were simply placed there to confuse cops who were looking for a guy wearing a virtually identical outfit.

Authorities eventually found the getaway inner tube (a getaway inner tube!) and suspect that accomplices may have picked up the robber in a boat. According to the NBC affiliate, police hope to track him down by figuring out who posted the Craigslist ad in the first place.

Craigslist founder Craig Newmark was not immediately available for comment.

So, you’ve decided to come back for more, eh?  Glutton for punishment, I guess.

This time around, we’re going to cover the concepts of the “STANDARDS” and also the SYNTAX and the Content of your EDI Document.  Now, again, I’m coming from a background in retail and using the ANSI/ASC-X12 standard.  And we use version 4010, which is, arguably, a few versions behind, but that’s not truly important.  I know that UN/EDIFACT and TRADACOMS have their own standards and documents, but, again, I’m just dealing with what I know – X12.

For each industry that uses EDI and the standards, there are different forms that can be used.  The book on My desk for the X12, v 4010, is the size of a dictionary.  And it’s printed on that same super thin paper in tiny little type-face.  And it’s almost 1800 pages of that tiny type.  But not every document is used in every industry that may use EDI and use the X12 standard.  Some are strictly for retailers; some for real estate; some for insurance, for banking, for hospitals.  Some of the documents MAY be used across the industrial lines, but some are very specific and specialized.

 Within that X12 standard, there are literally HUNDREDS (at least 300 by My count) of documents that can be traded – from the 850 Purchase Order, the 810 Invoice, the 860 PO Change, the 852 Activity Data to the 262 Real Estate Information Report, the 255 Underwriting Information Services and 249 Animal Toxicological Data.

Wow…  Who knew?

With TRADACOMS (the Standard used in the United Kingdom for most retailers), there are a couple of dozen.  I’m not sure how many documents are in use for the UN/EDIFACT standards, but I’m sure there are a few.

For each document, there are then a series of hierarchy loops – levels, basically – of the information structure.  These levels – the hierarchies – lay the data out in a defined pattern, so that you can have similar data “grouped” with similar data.  Within those levels, you will have the SEGMENTS and the ELEMENTS we touched on last time.  And you can have segments in multiple levels and even repeated within a level, as needs require.

Still there and with Me?   Good.

When you come to the hierarchies, they’re going to – GENERALLY – follow a structure or a pattern.  Kind of like the e-mail analogy I used last time, where we had a TO, FROM, SUBJECT, BODY and CLOSE, the hierarchies will follow a similar kind of pattern.   For example, an 856, the ADVANCED SHIP NOTICE – or ASN – will follow a particular pattern.  A very common pattern is called SOPI.   SOPI stands for SHIPMENT, ORDER, PACK, and ITEM.

The SHIPMENT hierarchy is all about just what it says – the SHIPMENT information and data.  In this hierarchy loop (or level), you’ll find information about the ASN Number, shipment date information, some ship to or ship from information, a bill of lading or tracking number and more.  You can specify the kind of container that is being used (corrugated cardboard) and the name of the shipping company, the weight of the shipment, the number of cartons, and so much more information about the SHIPMENT.

Following SHIPMENT, you’ll generally find the ORDER hierarchy loop.  This contains information and data, as it pertains to the order information.  You’ll find some date references – order date, ship date, arrival/anticipate date, the Purchase Order Number, maybe vendor identification (number, etc.).  Again, this hierarchy loop is all about the ORDER information.

Next up, you’ll generally have a PACK loop.  Most times, this is a pretty small bit of data.  In the ASN spec I use, it’s all about the marks and numbers – the carton label number – for that box.  That’s pretty much it.  In here, however, there could be any data that refers to the packaging of the products ordered.

Then we’ll see the ITEM hierarchy loop.  This is where you’ll find all the data, as you guessed, about the ITEM being shipped in the ASN.  Widgets…  Shoes…  Apples…  Whatever…  This is all about the goods being ordered and shipped.  Everything that’s in that shipment should be listed on the ASN and this is where the item specific detail goes: colors, sizes, quantities, UPCs, SKUs, the works.

Within each hierarchy loop, there are a number of SEGMENTS that contain the elements and the data.  Each segment has a name – an identity.  Within the ASC X12 standards, it’s generally a 2 or 3 character code that identifies what data should be contained in the SEGMENT.  For example, there’s the TD1, TD3, TD4 and TD5 segments.  This is where you would – generally – find the information pertaining to the CARRIER DETAIL.  Things like who the trucking company is, any routing transit time, special handling, hazardous materials information and more.  Or there can be the SN1 segment.  This is all about the item detail – the shipment.  This segment is where you put in the information – the details – about the item being shipped.  Here’s where you can have UPCs, Item Numbers, SKU numbers, Item Descriptions and more – as long as it’s all about the item being shipped.

The SEGMENTS are further split up into DATA ELEMENTS.  This is the nitty-gritty detail of the shipment.  This is where your content really comes into play.  And the STANDARDS also come in here, as the STANDARD lays out what SEGMENTS fall into which hierarchy loops or levels and what elements and data can be included in the segment. 

The ELEMENTS are all about the actual detail of the shipment: quantities, PO numbers, costs, UPCs, item numbers, carton sizes, and more, are all displayed in the ELEMENTS in the SEGMENTS.  This is the level where you really need to have a keen eye for details, as there may be any one of a dozen possible elements to use to identify the data being sent.

Let’s assume you’re working at the ITEM level and the LIN (Line Item Detail) segment.  And you’re trying to get across a VENDORS STYLE NUMBER or designation.  There are a number of choices – looks like 4 in the copy of the X12 Standard I use.  You can use VA (Vendor’s Style Number) or you can use VC (Vendor’s Catalog Number); or how about VP (Vendor’s Part Number), VN (Vendor’s Item Number) or even VU (Vendor’s Basic Unit Number).  Hey!  That’s five!  Of course, then I also see XA (Preferred Part Number), the MG (Manufacturer’s Part Number) and more and more and more.

In this same SEGMENT, you can also have all the information related to OTHER numbers and information related to the item being shipped – the UPC, the SKU, and so forth.  Truly, however, this qualifier (known as the Product/Service ID Qualifier) could be for use in many documents and many segments.  It could be used for financial records, medical records, educational records… 

This can be where many people who create EDI translation documents have to be really careful.  Since there are a lot of codes and qualifiers that could be used to relay the data and information you’re trying to get across, you need to be sure of what you and your trading partners will recognize.

In a previous blog, I talked about the concepts of EDI being replaced by XML; how there’s the DTD/Schema that tells you want the data being transmitted is.  Well, that DTD/Schema basically functions as the formal “STANDARD” of the document, even though there isn’t any formal STANDARD with XML…  The only “RULE” in XML is that you have a set of tags around each bit of data you’re sending.  The DTD/Schema then tells the receiver what it is that this TAG means.  Think of the TAG as the ELEMENT QUALIFIER in the SEGMENT of an X12 document.

Even with all of the potential for confusion that can be found in any of the standards, having that standard and set of rules makes EDI something that’s not exceptionally difficult.  It can be easy to master, as long as you pay attention to the details and work with your trading partners on the documents you’re trading – from syntax to content – to be sure that the data you’re trading – sending back and forth – is clean, reliable and usable.

Author: Craig Dunham - EDI Coordinator
Read more about Craig here: http://editalk.com/contributors/

Maybe what the Jackson Five were to sing back in the 70s (but the song was released by The Osmonds, instead) – when they were dominating the charts – much like young Michael would do many years later until he got too … eccentric … and started with skin-lightening, reclusive living, sequined gloves and nose-jobs – doesn’t seem like it would have too much to do with EDI, but stay with Me; you know I can deliver on the goods…

Or, maybe better yet, I could have used Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust”… There’s another fitting analogy.

What got Me started on this concept was a simple breakdown of a simple part.  Or, rather, the simple part’s interaction with another part…

If you don’t know (or even don’t care), I live in Southern California.  However, I live in the desert regions of Southern California – near the resort areas of Palm Springs.  And, as you might imagine, it can be HOT there.  Like 115 degrees in the shade – if you can find the shade…  OK, maybe it’s not THAT bad, but even in September – on the 15^th – just a week shy of the first official day of autumn – we can still be in the 100 to 110 degree range.  But it’s nice, as the humidity is only 12%.  What’s the old adage?  It’s a DRY heat…?

Well, to help combat the heat of the desert, we all tend to have multiple ways of keeping cool – from centralized AC systems, window and portable AC systems to this wonderful device called the Evaporative Cooler.  Or the Swamp Cooler, if you so desire.  I like Evaporative better…  It’s got a bit more … class … and style.  Evaporative coolers are simple enough – they’re a big box that is attached to the side of your house.  Inside, there are few moving parts – a pump, a motor, and a fan.  On the three exposed sides – the fourth side is attached to your house – you have intake vents that are lined with pads.  These pads are made from different materials, but think of them as being big sponges – lots of little crevices and holes for air to pass through.

The concept is simple enough – if you add some moisture to the air, it will “feel” cooler and help to cool the air inside your home.  The mechanicals are pretty simple too.  A motor turns the fan, which sucks air in through the vents and the pads.  The pump in the bottom of the unit takes water and moistens the pads that the air flows through.  The fan then pushes the air into your home through a hole in the wall.

Are they effective?  You bet!  Just ask anybody that lives in a desert climate – or even through the swampy hot and humid Eastern Seaboard!

Evaporative coolers can drop the temp by (usually) at least 10 degrees and even as much as 20!  That’s nice…  And it’s cheaper to run than your central AC, and it’s operating on lower voltage current.  There are some drawbacks, however.  They DO use water – some can use as much as 5 to 10 gallons PER DAY of precious H2O.  And the more humid it is outside, the less effectively the cooler works.  There’s a thing called “DEW POINT” which greatly impacts the ability of the cooler to work properly.  It’s some strange formula that takes the humidity and the temperature and the concept of “moisture in the air” and combines it all together and creates a DEW POINT that’s expressed in degrees.

Now, I rely on My evaporative – OK, that’s just getting TOO long to type over and over…  I rely on My Swamp cooler to keep My house cool and comfy on those hot summer days (and nights!)…  As I said, it’s cheaper to run than A/C and does a great job…

Well, Sunday night, My swamp cooler was having problems – BIG problems.  The fan would bind up and stop, causing the motor to overheat and shut down.  So no motor, no spinning fan, no air flow and cool air…!  YIKES!  Not a good scene, at all.

Woke up early on Monday and started to see if I could figure out what was wrong.  HA!  Everything LOOKED normal.  The fan WOULD turn (at least by hand!) and the motor would kick on.  The pump was working, water was there…  All should be working.  But it wasn’t.  Called in “the professional” – an HVAC company that works with the coolers – to take a look and tell Me what’s wrong…  And he found nothing.  He suggested oiling the bearings some more, and playing with the fan to spin it and get the oil all over the bearing and lubed up.

No luck.  Still it would kick on, work for about 30 seconds and shut down.

Called another guy; he came and took a look – and noticed that the belt – the simple rubber belt that connects the drive motor to the fan – seemed a bit … too tight … and was looking a bit worn.  This is the same kind of rubber fan belt you have under the hood of your car.

Turns out, that the last time somebody serviced the cooler, they noticed the belt was slipping.  Of course, this was because the belt was wearing out and needed replacement.  But instead of spending a few bucks on a new belt, they just pulled the motor back a bit and tightened the belt.  However, the extra “snugness” of the belt would put too much friction on the motor and the fan and the fan would stop and the motor would stop and … well, you know what happens – no air flow.

An hour or so later, a new belt is in place, the fan is spinning, the motor is running and the water is pumping and the air is cooling.  Now, even though it was up to 93 degrees INSIDE My house, the cooler quickly dropped the temp to about 83 and then it continued down to an overnight drop to 68 degrees!  AH, now THAT is nice and cool!

Of course, I was panicked, thinking I would have to replace the whole unit – the entire cooler – because of one bad part.  “Don’t let one bad apple…”…

Now, what does all of this have to do with EDI…?  Stick with Me, the payout is on the way…

Take a look at your EDI system and program.  It’s there, working away, providing comfort to your users and your trading partners.  Everything is cool.  But then somewhere along the line, somebody does something – tweaks a library, changes a communication setting, deletes a record – something – and now you’re “PRODUCTION DOWN” – “Another one bites the dust… and another one gone and another one gone, another one bites the dust…” – data is not flowing, documents are not trading and people are not happy.

Things are NOT cool.

Now, it COULD be something easy to see and right there in front of your eyes.  For example, if My cooler’s belt had broken, I’d know – QUICKLY and EASILY – what needed to be done to fix the problem.  Same with EDI – somebody unplugged a modem line or the T1 or whatever you use to communicate over.  Easy fix – plug it back in!

But now, what if somebody did something else – cleared a record, moved a library, changed a comm. setting or port…  Now the broken part isn’t right there – it’s not easy to spot and fix.   It’s the same as My slipping belt being tightened and putting too much pressure and friction on the fan bearings.  Somebody did something minor – and not visible to the naked eye – and now you’ve got nothing…  No data flow and nothing good is happening.

And yet, just a simple fix – a new fan belt – a new comm. port setting – and you’re back in business and things are working.  The point is, that even with a major production down scenario, it could just be a simple fix – a single, simple part – that needs to be looked at and put back into place.

Now you can be singing “I’m Alive” (by ELO or Celine Dion, take your pick!) again and you’re too cool for school!

Author: Craig Dunham - EDI Coordinator

Read more about Craig here: http://editalk.com/contributors/

But one of the things that Tim was ALWAYS looking for was “MORE POWER!” from his tools - and just about everything else in his life.  Tim’s tinkering with tools would often lead to disastrous results - with an over-powered tool that did far more than it should and was usually pretty destructive.

The other day, I wrote a bit about the power of DETAILS in our EDI world.  But this morning, I was reminded that - even with all the details in the world - we’re nothing without the tools to use them.  And how our actions and all the details we can monitor and provide, how they’re for nothing if the users don’t use the tools we provide them.

This concept of TOOLS and how we should use them was pushed to the forefront of My head this morning, on My drive in to work.  Here in California, we have a newly enacted law that requires the use of “hands free” devices for your cell phone when you’re driving.  Doesn’t matter if you use the phone’s built-in speakerphone abilities (if applicable), a wired headset that plugs in or one of the wonderful Bluetooth devices - whether an ear piece, a clip-on speaker or the one installed in your car (if you’ve got it).  I know that a lot of the “high-end” car companies offer this option in their models.  Lexus, Mercedes, Jaguar, BMW and more have a Bluetooth “kit” built into many of their cars.

Well, this morning, driving on I-10, making My way from Rancho Mirage (home) to Riverside (work) - about a 50 mile trip - I was being passed by a recent generation Lexus LS - the top of the line sedan.  After the Lexus passed Me, I noticed that she started slowing down and … jiggling … a bit in her lane.  When I pulled alongside (she’d slowed by about 5 to 10 MPH), I could see that she was doing something with her arms - moving them around quickly.  Then, a half-second later, into her hand comes her cell phone.

Now, we all know that cell phones are tools - and can be very good tools; very useful when used properly and to our benefit.  Of course, like a 3 year old with a hammer, sometimes tools are abused - like when some … youthful … person is texting messages to their pals - all the while driving down the road at some speed and (obviously) not paying attention to the details of driving. 

But here’s a great instance of a wonderful tool that’s not being used.  The Bluetooth (or other hands-free device).  If that driver in the Lexus had used the device she’s got - and chances are, she’s got SOMETHING to use her phone hands-free - she wouldn’t have had to fish around in her purse or a pocket or wherever her phone was and her attention to the details of her driving wouldn’t have suffered.  She wouldn’t have nearly swerved into My lane.

There are a lot of other tools we can use in our EDI daily lives, too.  And there are great tools we can provide to our users - those accounting clerks and supervisors, those buyers, those warehouse receivers, and all the others.  We can provide them with EDI Invoices, EDI Purchase Orders, EDI Shipment Notices.  We can provide them with records and forms and documents and other forms of data that can be used by them to help make their jobs just a little easier…

We have other tools in the shed that can be used to great benefits by us, our users and even our trading partners, vendors and suppliers.  We can offer solutions for nearly any question or problem - from changing a PO automatically in the system (the 860 in X12-world), provide activity/sales information (the 852), and more.  All of these tools can help us - and our users - to make work easier, better, and - very importantly - more accurate and with less errors.

We can use the 832 - Vendor Catalog - or one of the outsourced catalog website (Inovis and SPS Commerce both have them) to download and - even - automatically update our product management system with the latest and greatest information from our vendors and suppliers - size runs, color availability, UPCs, style numbers and more.  We can keep our systems up to date with product information and changes.

Another example is that it’s often important for a retailer to provide some kind of reporting to their suppliers and vendors as to how a certain product or line is doing in their stores.  These days, it’s become even more important for a buyer and a seller to work more closely together and “fine tune” the product mix in the stores and carried on the shelves and stored in the warehouse.  Retailers are having to pay more attention to their bottom line and the big picture and keep inventories to a more controlled size so they’re not saddled with left-overs come the end of a selling season.

In house, we have a reporting system (called The Eye) that can help our buyers look at trends and see how products are doing, based on sales history and comparisons of different sales periods - whether weekly, monthly, yearly or for a specific advertised sale.  However, because of the large number of products we carry - over 10000 active SKUs and many thousands more that may no longer be carried and in stock - and the large number of stores - over 400 in 10 states - tracking all of that history creates some VERY large databases for The Eye to keep track of.  So we limit some of the levels of detail available to be viewed - we don’t track each item, for example, to the store level, but keep track of the classes.  Or at the Style level of merchandise, we only can see how well that style is doing over the entire chain.

Kind of limited tools.  These tools need “MORE POWER!”

Additionally, our buyers may want to work more closely with a vendor rep on some products or lines and need to provide them with the information on how Widget X is doing in our chain and what we can do to maximize sales and limit overstock levels and all the rest.  And there are many ways that we can get that information - tools we can use - to share that with our suppliers.

If we want to do just the EDI route, we can use the 852 Product Activity document.  By creating this document and trading it with our suppliers, we can provide them with a snapshot of how well the product(s) are doing in our stores and provide them with the appropriate data that they need - and data that we can see, too - so that we can come to a better understanding of our needs and how they can help us to meet those needs.

We could also just send paper reports - or e-mails - to the rep and do it that way, as well.

There are also a number of 3rd party sources that we can use to give access to that data.  Tools that we can provide to our suppliers and that we can use with them to better understand how well a product is doing.

We recently started using Edifice as a 3rd party provider for POS Activity data reporting to our vendor community.  Every week, we compile reports on how well products are selling - or not! - in our stores and the stock levels we have and send the information - via FTP - to Edifice.  They then work with that data and create reporting that our vendors and suppliers can access (if they subscribe) to view that very same information.  Additionally, we can view that same reporting that they’re viewing, so that our buyer and the company rep can be looking at the exact same numbers and data.  They can be comparing apples to apples instead of grapes.

It’s a great tool.  And it’s got “MORE POWER” than our in-house system because Edifice can give the detail down to the size and color - the individual item or SKU - and also down to EACH store in our chain.  And the reporting compares this year to last year, and can also compare seasons and months and a lot of other points of interest.

Right now, about 2 dozen of our suppliers are subscribed to this reporting from Edifice.  And our buying department can see that exact same data.  But here’s where it all falls down - like a house of cards in a strong breeze.

Remember My tale about the Lexus driver and how she didn’t use a great tool - her Bluetooth (or similar)…?  Well, it was a case of not using a tool that can make life better.  Well, the same can hold true for this kind of Activity Data reporting - it’s a great tool - but only if the buyer - and the supplier - can open up that tool box and pull it out!  And, of course, they have to use that tool, too.

That’s really something we all can relate to in the world of EDI.  As I’d mentioned earlier, we have some great tools in our shed that we can provide to our users.  We’ve got some great ways of trading data back and forth with our vendors and suppliers - some great tools - but it’s getting our users to actually use those tools that will suddenly reap the benefit and the rewards from that hard work.

MORE POWER, indeed.

But, let’s face it - EDI isn’t sexy. It’s not glamorous… We’re not going to get many invites to black-tie-and-beaded-gown-red-carpet-fancy events. There are no EDI “Oscars” or “Emmys” or “Tony Awards” or anything like that. There’s just data. And details. Lots and lots of details.

And they do say that “the devil is in the details”…

And do I know a thing or two about details! I’ve often been told that I sometimes put in TOO much detail. When I was taking some creative writing courses in college, one teacher was always fascinated and enthralled by the amount of details I’d provide in a story and another always warned Me about too much detail - to let the reader create the image in their mind, of their experiences. If you’ve read much of My work on EDI Talk (or My latest blog over at Inovis), you’ll know I do tend to go into some details - and, yes, sometimes get a bit off track with them…

Now, where were we…?

OH! Yes. Details. And not the men’s fashion magazine!

Truly, however, it is just those details and our attention to them that can make or break our EDI career. How well we provide those details to our trading partners in our outbound documents and how concise we can make our EDI Document specs, the better documents we can receive from our trading partners in return.

In a lot of ways - whether related to our work, our homes, our personal relationships, our cars, whatever - if we do not pay attention to the details, we can lose track of something that can - and usually and probably will - create havoc a bit later on. Take the driver on their cell phone… They’re so into that conversation, that they seem to neglect the details involved in driving… So they don’t stay in their lane; they run that red light or stop sign; they sideswipe some car on the road or cause some other kind of accident.

True, it doesn’t happen all the time. But the opportunity is there for disaster. That recipe has at least an ingredient or two and just needs a few more to be complete.

The daily newspaper and the evening news always have stories of issues or disasters or problems - and oft times you can see that if somebody had just paid attention to a detail or two, the situation may never have gotten out of control. Remember the bridge collapse in Minneapolis in 2007? How about the plane exploding just after take-off in Madrid in 2008? These disasters - and may others - may have been prevented if somebody had just paid attention to the details.

Years ago, I was taking a Carribbean Cruise. 10 wonderful days aboard the SS Rotterdaam, in the Holland America fleet. I was living in Northern California at the time and had to fly to Fort Lauderdale to meet the cruise. And, of course, the travel agent couldn’t seem to find space on a non-stop flight and so I had to swap planes in Dallas-Fort Worth. At the time, DFW Airport had 2 sets of runways - one for all Eastbound flights and one for all Westbound flights.

So, here I am, all snug in My 727 as it’s zooming down the runway and beginning to lift off. Now, if you’ve ever flown on a 727, it’s an experience, as they tend to build up all of their speed on the ground and - seemingly - LEAP into the air, with a quick and very angled climb. Only then, after they’re so many feet into the air, do they begin to level off. Back to My flight, the nose was lifting and you knew it was just a second or two before the back wheels would lift and we’d be in the air…

Just a milli-second before the rear wheels left the ground, a warning light flashed on the dash and the pilot put us back down, stopped us and turned us around and headed back towards the terminal. He told us, as we were heading back, about the light and how he wanted to get it checked out so to be sure it was nothing.

An hour later, we all find out that the bulb socket is what caused the problem and it wasn’t related to the systems it covered. Never did know what system it covered… But a new socket was installed and the light bulb replaced.

Of course, now that we’re an hour later, there’s a stormfront moving in from the west and the Eastbound runway is backed-up with other planes on their way out. Luckily, our pilot talked to a tower controller and got permission to fly out Westbound - where there was far less traffic - and turn around and head east. We were up and flying again in minutes, rather than sitting on the tarmac, waiting in line to take off.

That pilot was paying attention to the details. Because of his attention to details, we were only marginally late in arriving in Florida, but we also all arrived safe and sound. Never knew if the warning lamp COULD have been a big issue and could have resulted in a disaster. But because of a detail oriented pilot, disaster was averted.

Hmmm… where was I…? RIGHT! DETAILS…! DISASTER…! Aversion therapy…

WHAT?

But truly, it’s those details that keep us going. By getting the right information to our vendors and suppliers and customers, we can avert disaster. Or, in the very least, we can avert some problems and issues that could arise later on.

One of the things I’ve always mentioned - in blogs and comments here and on other sites - is how wonderful EDI is at helping to curb errors and mistakes. You don’t get keying errors from an AP clerk or a Customer Service clerk that types in the wrong information and your order for 100 widgets becomes 1000 widgets. Or the invoice for $568.00 becomes 5680…  You miss the errors where somebody wasn’t paying attention to the details and “Oops!” - an error happens.  Hopefully somebody catches that error, but…

And what about the details of our translation specs..?  They matter a lot too.  It makes much more sense if we put an “order quantity” (from the PO1 segment of an X12-850 Purchase Order) into the correct field in our ERP, rather than just put it any ol’ place.  It matters that we pull the total dollar value of the invoice - the amount we’re looking to get paid for the productds or services we’ve rendered - from our accounting application and put that in the TDS segment of the Invoice (or similar, based upon the standard you’re using!) so that when the customer gets the invoice, they pay us the right amount.

Those details matter. Those details can be the difference between “No problemo!” (Terminator 3) and “Houston, we’ve got a problem!” (Apollo 13). 

Those details make it so we have the right information in our systems and can do the right thing with that information; from filling an order to creating that order; paying an invoice to setting up items to be ordered to be put on that invoice.  Details are truly important cogs on the gear wheels we use in every day life.

Details are not sexy. 

Details are plain, dull and ordinary. 

But details matter; details get the job done.

Freedom, however, in something as strict and regimented as EDI may seem like a far fetched notion, but it’s there.  Sure, we’ve got those lovely guides - those HUGE books - of standards and “rules” for the data we’re sending - depending on the document - that tell us what we can send and how it should be formatted and all the rest.  Those standards tell us we should send this information in this loop in this segment in this element and it should be between 2 and 30 characters in length.

But in that rigidity - in that structure - there’s still some freedom.  Just look at the last sentence in the above paragraph - we’re given some freedom in the data - that it can be between 2 and 30 characters.  So there’s some freedom right there.  Then there’s is such a plethora of data and information we can include - information and data that just may not seem like it belongs in the document we’re using.  But we can include it.

We can even have some freedom in what we use to separate our data - whether an element seperator, a segment terminator or whatever.  We have a choice of characters we can use and put into the data flow to show where this piece of data ends and the next begins.

Then, of course, we have a wonderful MSG segment - in which we can include all sorts of “free form” data that can be anything we want to include.  Again, more freedom.  More abilities and places to put information that doesn’t “fit” any one of the stricter and defined elements and segments of the document.  We can send anything - and I mean ANYTHING - in an MSG segment that may be of use to us (as the sender) or to them (our trading partner - the receiver)…  It could be a “please pack in pretty pink boxes” or “have a happy Friday” or “this information is solely for the use of the receiver” or … well, you get the idea. 

And that freedom is an important part of EDI.  Just as freedom is an important part of nearly every aspect of our lives - from where we live, what we do for a living, who we love, what we drive, what we wear and so on.  However, there are times that those freedoms can be curtailed.

Maybe your employer enforces a dress code - you can only wear dark colored slacks, white shirts and simple, mono-chromatic ties.  You can’t have facial hair.  You have to wear black shoes.  You can’t have any personal stuff on your desktop.  Shades of “9 To 5” - an 80’s-era gem of a movie with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton…  Where the workers rebel against their boss and take control of the division and suddenly life is good and it’s a better place to work!  Ties back into that freedom that William Wallace (Gibson’s character in “Braveheart“) wanted so desperately for his fellow Scots.

These attempts at conformity can truly alter - and not always for the best - the way that the job can function.  If, for example, that MSG segment wasn’t allowed in EDI - and if it was confining and restrictive - we wouldn’t be able to send some of the information to our trading partners that ARE important.  For example - we request that many of our vendors apply pricing stickers to our products.  And we request a certain format and that they include certain information - such as our internal CLASS of the item - on that price tag.  And we use a MSG segment to get that information across to them.  We send, in the PO Item loop a MSG segment with that class number as the data - and we even use another MSG segment to let them (our trading partners) what that MSG segment contains - the data needed for “TICKET ID”.

Sure, I could probably find something in the PO1 line item that I could use to get that data transmitted from My side to theirs, but it’s just … easier … to use the MSG segments, instead.  Maybe there’s not a perfect fit in the existing standards that will “match” up to our CLASS code.  There may be similar things - but maybe I’d rather have the freedom to use that element or data code later on.  Maybe I’ll suddenly have to start sending some other piece of data that the “similar” element was originally intended for.  Where’s the freedom in that?

By putting forward too many restrictions - too many rules - too many standards - you limit what you’re able to do.  You limit what can be done with the data or what you’re sending.  You limit your ability to effectively communicate - and to effectively work - and to effectively get your ideas and points across.  What if I wasn’t able to use movie quotes and song lyrics in My thought process?  You’d not be reading this blog - or - worse yet - it would be boring, dry and as exciting as a textbook on “Analyzing Algorithms about Data Trends in Modern Day Accounting” or something just as … exciting.

Some people have claimed that XML is the “NEW FUTURE” for EDI and that we don’t need standards and we don’t need rules and governing … committees … to tell us what we can and can’t send and how to format it.  They see EDI standards as … constricting … and they can’t see the freedom that is allowed them.

There is freedom all around us in EDI.  The trick is to find it and take it.

“It’s all for nothing if you don’t have freedom!”

“I’m working through a client situation where multiple internal SKUs correspond to a single customer item number. Before I get on my high horse and insist that they always ship a complete customer item in a single shipment I thought that I’d ask if it is possible to send a valid ASN or Invoice in this case.

To be specific:

Client offers internal item numbers P0001a, P0001b and P0001c for sale as A0001. It is murphy inevitable that the shipping department will eventually ship P0001a, P0001b and P0001c in separate shipments (on separate days). Is it even possible to:

send an ASN that 1/3 of unit A0001 shipped on June 16, 2008

or

send an Invoice that 1/2 of the cost of unit A0001 is now due for that 1/3 A0001″

Now, here’s the thing to consider - how was it ordered…?  If the trading partner sent a PO for 100 of P0001a, 100 of P0001b and 100 of P0001c, then you need to ship 100 of each item.  If the trading partner wants all of them to ship together - then you need to follow the partner’s shipping instructions or requirements. 

And the same can be said for invoicing, as well.  Don’t invoice a partial shipment of a partial product.  Chances are quite good that you won’t be paid until the full shipment of the entire order (especially if it’s a COMPONENT set - more on that below!).  There are some fine lines here that can and may be crossed, but BOTH sides of this TRADING PARTNER RELATIONSHIP need to communicate about what is going on and what is expected.

One of the answers given over on the EDI-L group was about the possibility of ASSORTMENTS and CASE PACKING issues that are relatively common in the apparel industry.  In some cases, it may be called a “MUSICAL PACK” in which you have a single style of something - a shirt, a shoe, shorts, underwear, whatever - in assorted sizes in a single case.  For example, you’d have a case-pack of 24 and that 24 would be broken down by size, all the same style and color:

• 5 Small
• 7 Medium
• 7 Large
• 5 X-Large

That musical pack (or here’s the concept of assortment) could be broken down by color, instead of size - so that you’re ordering t-shirts, and they’re also packed in cases of 24, but all of a single size, but multiple colors - either pre-set selections or not:

• 3 Black
• 3 White
• 5 Blue
• 5 Red
• 4 Green
• 4 Yellow

Of course, that case could just be “here’s 24 shirts in colors” and whatever the order picker pulls from the shelf is what’s in the box - and it could be ANY quantity of colors - from 23 black and 1 yellow to 12 of a color and … well, you get the idea.

But it all comes back to shipping and invoicing what the trading partner has ordered or requested.  It still all goes back to the relationship (there’s that word again!) you have with the trading partner and what solutions have been worked out to take care of situations like this - either before they happen or on the fly as they occur.

One of the things I mentioned above was the concept of a COMPONENT set.  This CAN happen a LOT in retail - depending on the product line.  For example, in the sporting goods world, it’s quite common to have a weight set - barbells, dumbells, weight plates and so on - be packaged in 3 or 4 boxes.  But it’s a single COMPONENT that the sporting goods retailer sells.  In apparel, you could have a warm-up set (jogging pants & sweatshirt) or even a 3 piece men’s suit (slacks, vest, jacket) and when you order them up from the factory in ________, you order 100 slacks, 100 vests and 100 jackets and you combine them into 100 complete suits.  When you sell these to your trading partner, you sell them as a complete suit.  But someplace along the line (in your own systems, probably) you’ve converted those 3 seperate and unique - although related - items into a single item - a single SKU or UPC or Item Number.

That’s what we do when we’re ordering those previously mentioned weight sets.

Let’s assume that ACME Weights and Bars is selling a 100 pound weight set.  There are 4 five pound plates, 4 ten pound plates and 2 twenty pound plates.  Plus then you have the long and short bars that you hang the weights from and then you have the locking ring or collar that holds them on the bars.  And you package all of this in 4 boxes - 1 box for the collars, 1 for the long bar, 1 for the two short bars and 1 more box for the 10 plates.  Chances are, however, that the collars and the bars are probably universal and you would use them for nearly all of your weight sets - whether 100 lbs, 150 lbs, 200 lbs or whatever.  So you probably don’t limit the item name/number to just be with the 100 lbs set.

Anyway, now Willy’s World of Weights orders ten of your 100 lb sets.  And when they order them, they have to order 10 of item A (100 lb plates), 10 of item B (bars long), 10 of item C (collars) and 10 of item D (bars short).  But when Willy’s World of Weights SELLS those sets, they sell them all under one item number or SKU.  It’s now up to Willy’s World of Weights to convert those 4 different items into 1 item for sale.

That’s what we do when we order weight sets - we order them by four unique SKUs and Item Numbers (which are also 4 unique UPCs).  The vendor ships them - hopefully all at once (more on that below) - and we receive them.  Then we assemble them (virtually) by transferring all of the ordered and received stock of Items A, B, C and D into our single SKU 100 LB Weight set.

Now, one of the other questions or concepts posed by our poster is the concept that it is “inevitable that the shipping department will eventually ship P0001a, P0001b and P0001c in separate shipments (on separate days). “  This, however, falls on the fault of the vendor.  It then becomes the issue of the vendor (supplier) to be sure to quickly and accurately - and with GREAT COMMUNICATIONS - alert the trading partner to this dilemma.

In the retail world, it’s not such a huge issue if you have parts of a component set ship and have back-orders for the other parts; you just hold on to parts A, B and D until part C arrives and then you can sell them. 

Where this can and WILL cause problems, however, is in the manufacturing sector.  Take a look at the coat or jacket you wore today (or just have hanging around your desk, office or cubicle.  There are probably a few different kinds of material involved - there’s the outer shell (say 100% cotton) and then there is the inner shell or lining (nylon or polyester) and then there may be cuffs and collars (50% cotton, 50% Lycra) and then maybe even more in a liner/filling (50% cotton, 50% polyester).  And then there are the plastic buttons or metal zippers and the possible sewn on decorations….  and then there are the labels and the … again, you’re getting the idea? 

Well, let’s say that Cozy Coat Mfg is making that line of jacket.  And they’re ordering all of the supplies to make that jacket from FM Fabrics and Materials Inc.  Of course, common sense suggests that Cozy Coats isn’t ordering the materials in the just-in-time way of thinking - that they’re going to make 1000 jackets an order the materials - just in time - to put those 1000 jackets into production.  No, chances are they’re going to have mounds of the filling, boxes of buttons, bolts of the fabrics and … z … z … what’s a container that starts with z…?  Anyway, they’re going to have much of it around and in stock to produce what they need.

But still, if they’re ordering enough materials and parts to make their finished product, they’re keeping most of it on hand at any given time to not have any production delays that will result in their Summer 2008 line of jackets getting out late and not being in the stores until November of 2008 - thereby missing the concept of seasons…

But back to partial shipments - and the poster’s question - the answer to his question would be an almost absolute NO - but with some qualifications and possibilities of a “yes”.  It all comes back to communicating the problems - beforehand or as they occur - with your tading partner and coming to an agreement or compromise that benefits both parties.

And watch out for those 20 pound weight plates - they’re killers on the toes!

                                   “Still don’t know what I was waiting for..“

That’s something we hear a lot in the EDI world - once somebody finds out how well EDI can help them.  They don’t know what they waited for - or balked against - when given the option of EDI.  Once they’ve seen-the-light, it suddenly becomes a no-brainer.  But at the time, it was strange and unknown and a change.  And we all know what people can be like when it comes to change.. Don’t we?

• Change is hard!
• What’s wrong with the way we’ve always done it?
• Oh, great!  Now what do I have to learn?

Right now, I’m working with our Accounting group in getting them to embrace and accept the 810 EDI Invoice.  And, for the most part, I’m lucky that they’re open and willing to “face the strange” and go with it..  However, where it’s making My life a living hell is that they expect everything to be done.  Now.  2 Minutes ago.  Yesterday.   ASAP.  Jump!  Jump!  JUMP!!!

Think about the time that you first began to become a part of the EDI world  You probably came from some kind of MIS position - either an operator or a programmer or an analyst or .. Or, you came from another group that your EDI program touches - either the accounting group or the buying group or the warehouse group  or .. Well, you get the picture.

                                        “Embrace the change..“

And think about the changes (Ch-ch-changes) that you encountered along the way.  Think of how you had to ch-ch-change the concepts that you held and others kept of the way things were and how they were going to be.  Think of how you and others in your organization had to ch-ch-change the way you did things - things that had been done “that-way” for years (or even longer?)..

Some of the pods of flesh on this planet are pretty adept at change.  Others - well, not so much.  No, they’re like the stubborn mule in the old Western-Comedy, leaning back, digging in their heels and not budging.  It takes a lot of force to get that immovable object to take that step forward and “embrace the change”..

Then you sometimes have to try and keep up with those changes..  In recent articles, we’ve touched on many of the changes coming to and infecting EDI as a concept.  Things like AS2, XML, E-Catalogs..  Ch-ch-changes, indeed. 

But are any or all of these changes going to help or hurt you..?

And how good are you at accepting and going with change..?  How good are you at accepting change and working with it and finding the solution to the newest ch-ch-change coming at you..?  Think about your daily commute to and from work.  There’s an accident at this highway and that street.. or the road is closed because of “police activity”..  Or there’s some guy protesting ________ (the war in Iraq, China’s hosting of the Olympic Games, gays in the military, our government’s failed policies, the new Wal*Mart coming to town, whatever - fill in the blank) from that bridge, hanging a sign over the highway..  How quick are you to think - “hmmm.. I can detour here at Main Street, go down 3 blocks to Fifth Avenue, hang a left and be back on the freeway beyond that problem”..?  Or do you just sit there with a bunch of other commuters, waiting for your turn to squeeze through the half open lane to pass by the wreck, not willing to deviate from the norm?

How well you handle change means a lot - both professionally and personally.  Change is an integral part of life.  It’s something that creeps up on us on little tiny quiet feet or comes barrelling into the china shop and disrupting lives all around.  But change is inevitable - just like death and taxes.

And change is big in EDI - no matter how static and stable the platform and concept may be.  There are - and will always be - changes to the way we do things.  Standards are often being updated.  Segments are added or deleted from the document specs.  Suppliers and buyers are often requesting new information to be sent or received.  New applications are added to your back-end systems and now you have to map this segment/element to this other file and record over there.   The PO box you use to receive payments or invoices has been altered, and the data in your documents (POs, Invoices) must reflect that new alteration.  You’ve adjusted your factor or payment “lock-box” location or service provider.  You’ve signed up with a new VAN/Network and have a new qualifier and ID..  All of these are ch-ch-changes.

               “I watch the ripples change their size But never leave the stream..“

These are just a few examples of the ch-ch-changes you may face.  And there will be many more, too.  I’ve had our EDI program up and running - well - WE’VE had our EDI program up and running since the very late 90s.  About 5 years ago, we changed our translator (upgrade) and then added a new document (the ASN) and added and expanded our trading partner count by .. well .. multitudes.  Then we added some information to our PO (requested by some of our suppliers) and changed a terms code and .. well, you get the idea.

Ch-ch-changes are important and everyday.  Expect them, plan for them and implement them.  And do not be afraid of them. 

Has anyone else made the Gentran to GIS jump?

Most of the responses to the post all suggested that he copy and post all of the segments and data from the document… others tried to guess at what the sender was requesting…. Then there was a lone voice that asked “ask the sender”… and I agreed.

One of the things that I’ve noticed in My years of EDI - both online - with groups and boards and discussion groups - and off - with My trading partners and vendors - is that most people tend to fall into one of two groups - Communication or No Communication. Some people seem to think that, with the advent of EDI communication, that we no longer need to communicate with our partners with “other” forms of communications - the phone call, e-mail, etc..

Sometimes it seems like people - EDI people - seem to forget what the P in TPR - Trading PARTNER Relationship - means.

PARTNER

In any kind of PARTNERSHIP - be it romantic, economic, business, school project, whatever - if you forget that you’re PARTNERS in the issue, then the relationship falls apart. And this ties in with another aspect of the Trading Partner Relationship - the RELATIONSHIP…..

There is a RELATION between the partners involved. I send out a PO to company A for product. They receive that PO and fill My order - maybe even generating their own POs for the “ingredients” to the product I’ve ordered - allowing them to sell off product (or, as mentioned, manufacture it) and makes money for them and keeps them in business. By receiving their products and selling it (I’m in the retail industry), it allow Me to make money and stay in business…. We benefit each other and help each other along.

But by sending those documents and transactions via EDI, it’s not eliminating the need to communicate - to have relations - between us - but it’s just another tool to help us in better communications and bettering our relationships….

What’s the slogan that Home Depot (or was it Lowes?) used to use:

“You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers.”… or something like that…?

I say the same thing - if you have questions regarding a document I send you via EDI, please, ask…. I’ll see what I can do to find out the answer for you….

The other day, I got a call from one of our vendors - one of My trading partners - about a PO that they received via EDI and how a faxed revision - we can’t send revisions via EDI because of our internal systems - had a lower quantity. The vendor had created the shipment and sent the ASN from the original PO, but with the revised quantities, as the revision (via fax) had shown. But he had a question about what to do about the PO that was still in his system (he uses a web-based EDI solution) because his EDI system will still show the order as OPEN (based upon the original vs. shipped quantities) and what do to….

In his situation, I suggested he call the EDI provider and find out how to “close” the PO with the partial shipment. But, what he did, though, was CALL Me and ask Me questions about the order. He called the TRADING PARTNER and asked what he should do. And that’s what we all need to remember to do - COMMUNICATE with our Partners…

Without our partners, we fail.