The digitisation of documents and the automation of processes are firmly in the trend of the last decade. The SBS Group has been consistently implementing the Electronic Data Interchange standard (more commonly known as EDI) as a leading form of document exchange with its trading partners for more than seven years. As a result, it is perfectly positioned for the changes that are currently taking place.
As one of the largest sales networks for sanitary, heating and plumbing articles in Poland, the SBS Group is distinguished by its professionalism, the comprehensiveness of its offering and its individual approach to customers. These qualities are also key in the activities of EDISON S.A., which is why the decision to cooperate was easy to take and, as the past 7 years have shown, as appropriate as possible. The agreement to implement EDI, concluded in 2014, proved to be a strategic decision from the company's point of view, taken at the time by the deputy director of SBS Sp. o.o. - Grzegorz Zuchmański, and Anna Woloszynska - sales director of EDISON S.A.. The EDI communication implementation project was then launched.
About cooperation step by step
The implementation of EDI at SBS Group involved, among other things, communicating with business partners and setting up an electronic document exchange (EDI) channel. Previously, the handling of invoices was problematic - invoices had to be printed and entered manually into the ERP system (often multi-item documents), which was fraught with the risk of mistakes and time-consuming involvement of company employees. Therefore, SBS Group relied on automating the process of sending orders and receiving e-invoices (EDI) and delivering them directly into the ERP system. Initially, the focus was mainly on supplier relations - so far, more than 80 suppliers have been successfully connected. Currently, the SBS Group sends around 10,000 orders per month and receives - fully automatically - a similar number of electronic invoices.
The EDI project is still being developed, but the focus is now on the needs of the customers. Due to the ordering platform already implemented within the Group (SBS - recipients), recipients can count on the use of EDI communication to automate the receipt of invoices, correction invoices, as well as their archiving.
As part of the project, EDISON S.A. provides file conversion services for the Group. Each SBS partner sends and receives messages in its own format regardless of which ERP system it uses. The EDI solutions offered are individualised and tailored to the needs of the respective customer. Regardless of whether the customer is a small, medium or large enterprise, the EDI solution will find a use for them. EDISON also guarantees technical support throughout the duration of the contract - this is included in the subscription fee. Among the solutions offered, invoice validation, which is a fully automatic process that checks invoices for syntax, accounting and tax correctness, is also available.
Companies are often concerned that this is an expensive solution, making high system requirements and forcing them to train an entire team. Nothing could be further from the truth. The implementation process of the solution is carried out entirely by the EDI operator. The employees of the customer in question continue to work on the familiar interface of the ERP system, so there is no need for hours of training. On the other hand, the cost of EDI implementation itself is relatively low in view of the benefits that the company will already gain in the first months of implementation. It is also worth emphasising that customers cooperating with SBS can count on preferential conditions for the implementation of the EDI service carried out by EDISON.
Archiving of electronic invoices
Throughout the SBS Group, along with the implementation of EDI communication, EDISON has launched an additional customer support service, which is the electronic invoice archiving system, SAFE for short. This advanced IT system allows the storage of e-invoices in accordance with the standards arising from the 2010 Regulation of the Minister of Finance on e-invoicing and the laws on accounting and VAT. It eliminates the need to archive paper invoices. It is also a kind of ‘insurance’ for the customer.
‘The joint commitment - customer and contractor - to an EDI project, especially one as complex as the SBS Group, is a guarantee of success. I am pleased to have been able to support and develop the EDI project of SBS, but also of the entire HEPAC industry, as business coordinator for almost 7 years. The satisfaction is all the greater because the aforementioned activities have a huge impact on the growth dynamics of EDI among entrepreneurs in this sector.’ - Milena Droszcz, business coordinator of the EDI SBS project, concludes.
In summary, EDI communication allows significant savings in many areas of a company's operations: cost reductions, time reductions or reduced commitment of human resources. Each of these aspects is particularly important in the current pandemic-dominated times. That is why we encourage any company interested in implementing EDI electronic document exchange in its enterprise to contact us.
