Recommendation to outlets: Conversation is essential to provider onboarding
Over the years, we’ve learned a lot about how retailers and suppliers view their trading relationships with each other. Suppliers have formed opinions on which retailers they trust and with whom they have a good relationship. They also know which retailers’ requests are also good for their business.
Meanwhile, smart retailers have learned that you can’t tell suppliers what to do and expect them to do it; they know they have to demonstrate the value to their suppliers when asking for something that will cost them time and money. This helps retailers form long-term relationships with suppliers who understand that they come to the table as equal partners.
A trusted relationship starts with straightforward communication from the right person at the retailer, sharing the market challenges it is facing and discussing how any request from its suppliers will result in increased sales for both organizations. It means that both sides realize they rely on each other for their growth and success.
Our Community solution is a methodology that EDI employs to help retailers approach their vendors with supplier onboarding, additional trading requirements or collaboration requests. The program builds mutually beneficial trading relationships through a set of best practices. We’ve employed it for hundreds of retailers and, if followed, we can deliver predictable supplier onboarding adoption rates in the 80 – 100% range.
These adoption rates span programs focused on addressing a variety of retailer needs. Whether it’s the way they share order fulfillment documentation, collaborate on analytics, or share product information, as long as we’re following our best practices and clearly communicate the value to both parties, suppliers are willing to participate.
Retailers often prefer to outsource this relationship management and messaging to companies like EDI. Such organizations have the experience and expertise to articulate a request from the retailer in a way that truly speaks to the supplier. This approach of mutual respect and value typically overcomes most objections and paves the way for a better relationship built on trust and increased sales.
If you’d like more information on how our Community program can help you better partner with your trading partners and speed up supplier onboarding, please visit the EDI Here website and read some of our Community success stories.
