EDI Is Good for Customer Loyalty

In vino veritas…truth lies not only in wine but also in the fact that EDI has a positive effect on customer loyalty. Winninger, a wine retailer, is yet another case in point.

Matthias Winninger, a wine retailer from Langenlois, has chosen compelling names for his “winvino“ wine edition: Sonnengruß (Sun Salute), Sternstund (Starry Night), Zweisam (Two-some), Welcome, etc. His exquisite wines from Austria’s best winemaking regions are available in his own online shop. In addition, Matthias Winninger sells his wines almost exclusively in Austrian grocery stores. The company’s main clients include the retail chains METRO, MARKANT and REWE.

Until recently, the procurement of goods process was handled with a simple web EDI solution, which still required some additional manual entries, e.g. for orders. By combining the “Sage Office Line” ERP system with an EDI extension module, Mr. Winninger now has the option of processing all data directly in the ERP, which translates into process automation. With this approach, all orders and invoices can be exchanged in real time in a fully automated fashion while the process is safe and can be traced at all times.

This takes a lot of additional manual entries off our hands, there are no more mistakes and we save enormous amounts of time. Matthias Winninger

In addition to decreasing the workload, invoice automation also has a very positive effect on postage expenses, according to Mr. Winninger. For the successful wine retailer, another major asset that is not to be underestimated is customer loyalty: “Clients react very favorably to the use of EDI,” he said. The associated advantages are hard to ignore. After all, the use of EDI has been standard procedure at large retail chains for many years, which is not yet the case for most small retailers. This explains why the EDI processes implemented by Mr. Winninger were so well received by his business partners in the retail industry.

In brief

• Implementation of EDI extension module for Sage Office Line
• Integrated interface to the EDI platform eXite® by EDITEL with access to more than 15,000 businesses in a variety of industries
• Implemented message formats:
  • Orders (ORDERS)
  • Invoices (INVOIC)
• Reduces potential for mistakes
• Saves time and money (no more postage expenses etc.)
• Positive effect on customer loyalty