EDI Security for a Distributed Supply Chain By Jim Frome, SPS Commerce

We all want the convenience of sharing information seamlessly across departments and business partners. For manufacturers, this brings added convenience and faster time-to-market — but at what cost? Opening up channels of communication is necessary, but if done incorrectly, can lead to security breaches, loss of negotiating power, and a whole host of other troubles.

What if, for example, your suppliers knew how much you were marking up products, your biggest competitor got a hold of your raw goods costs, or outsiders could see your bank routing numbers? Surprisingly, these are all too common occurrences.

To eliminate cumbersome manual processes, manufacturers are sharing Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) documents such as shipping notices and purchase orders with 3PLs, sourcing companies, expeditors, and freight forwarders so that these parties have the information they need to perform their given functions. Traditionally however, manufacturers have utilized a single EDI account for their entire staff as well as external partners. This simple approach has major flaws.