When EDI is used as a tool to enable process change and help achieve business goals, significant benefits can be realized. EDI enhances all parts of the business process, and the impact can be far reaching:

• Reduced Cycle Time
  As time-based competition has become the norm, the ability to conduct business faster has become imperative. With EDI, data can be sent and received 24 hours a day. Because EDI allows business to continue outside the normal business day, the turnaround time for a business transaction can be reduced from days to hours and, in some instances, to minutes.
• Increased Accuracy and Efficiency
  More than 70 percent of manual data entry tasks originate from computer-generated documents. When trading partners develop compatible electronic documents, data is never copied, rekeyed, or manually filed--freeing employees for value-added activities. When used as a strategy to improve business processes, EDI can eliminate tedious work and reduce the risk of human error. It can also move trading partners toward a paperless environment.
• Optimized Inventory
  Managing inventory is a critical issue for any business operation. EDI can provide faster and more accurate information about inventory status. Replenishment can be driven by consumption. Future needs or changing needs can be quickly assessed and responded to without manual intervention or review, thus leading to improved inventory management.
• Improved Business Relationships
  Setting up EDI requires both trading partners to gain a better understanding of each other's business processes. Implementation involves the entire organization--sales, marketing, manufacturing, logistics, information systems, finance, and customer service. It typically brings the people within these functions into contact with their counterparts in other organizations. EDI expands channels of communication and leads to better working relationships between the partners.