Thanks to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) piles of paper created in communications between retailers and manufacturers are a thing of the past now that business partners exchange orders, delivery notes and invoices electronically. What is MEC?
METRO Group EDI Center is a solution based on the internet of the METRO Group. With its help, the electronic data interchange is easily to realize. Electronic data interchange means the standardized interchange of business documents, like orders (ORDERS), despatch advice (DESADV), invoices (INVOIC), etc., in form of the international format EANCOM. In so doing the business process for both trade partners will be sped up, will become more efficient by revising the potential sources of errors.
METRO Group WebEDI is seen as a tool, to simplify your access to the electronic data interchange with the METRO Group. What does it mean? For you as an participant at Metro WebEDI it is neither necessary to invest in an own EDI system (money and know how) nor to integrate an EDI provider or software provider.
Structure of METRO Group EDI Center
Within METRO Group EDI Center the business messages order (ORDERS), despatch advice (DESADV) and invoice (INVOIC) are already implemented. Successively the business process will be completed. Other messages, like article-/price data (PRICAT) will follow.
Possibility A - You possess a data control system capable of creating and processing business messages.
In this case METRO Group EDI Center offers the possibility to import the order data supplied as an ASCII-file by the Metro distribution lines into your system in a certain format. You also can print out the orders to check them. Messages intended for METRO Group, e.g. invoices, can be exported from your system to Metro WebEDI. These messages have to be processed into a standardized format before. In the Information
area, you will find a detailed description of the interface for the different message types.
Having exported the data to Metro WebEDI you may look at the invoices created by Metro WebEDI on the screen and check them for possible flaws. If you consider the data as correct, you will have to authorize the automatic conversion to an EANCOM message and send this. The collective invoice list necessary to METRO will be created automatically by Metro WebEDI. You may have a look at it and in any case have to print it out for yourself and send it to MGP by fax.
In the near future Metro WebEDI will offer additional message types such as dispatch advices. Data-interchange between the Metro WebEDI server and your computer is planned for these messages as well. You will find a detailed guideline to Metro WebEDI in the Information area.
Possibility B - You have no large data control system.
Metro WebEDI offers the possibility to view and print the orders supplied to you. Invoices can be created directly on screen via Internet -guided- in the Metro WebEDI environment or generated from orders. Metro WebEDI will support you by field descriptions and checks of plausibility.
Having created the invoices completely you will have to authorize the automatic conversion to an EANCOM message (INVOIC) and send this.The collective invoice list necessary to MGP will be created by Metro WebEDI. You may have a look at it and in any case have to print it out for yourself and send it to MGP by fax.
