Companies like LVMH are embedding AI across their entire operations, while fast fashion players use it to accelerate everything from forecasting to logistics. Every day more brands are turning to AI to optimize production planning, predict equipment maintenance and streamline fulfillment processes.

As we’re seeing across thousands of supply chains in our network, AI isn’t just about gaining a competitive advantage anymore; today it’s table stakes.

According to Gartner’s 2025 Supply Chain Symposium, 74% of CEOs believe AI will have the most significant impact on their businesses over the next three years. But it’s critical to understand: your AI is only as good as the data you’re feeding it.

What’s working with AI today?

Every day we’re hearing about new uses of AI in the marketplace:

• Generative AI for scenario planning: Cutting edge retailers are using AI to run “what if” scenarios—simulating demand spikes, supplier issues and logistics constraints through digital twins. Instead of being stuck in reactive mode, they’re testing their responses before disruptions hit.
• Turning waste into wins: Companies are applying AI to optimize returns, cut packaging waste and forecast more precisely to avoid overproduction. Traditional cost centers of waste management and sustainability are becoming margin protection tools.
• Connected automation: From smart warehouses to exception automation, retailers are using AI to reduce manual work and simplify operations. Gartner calls out “connected supply chains” and workflow automation as must-haves for 2025.

How’s your data? A reality check

When it comes to where we see AI working in supply chains, the companies winning with AI aren’t the ones with the fanciest algorithms—they’re the ones with the cleanest, most standardized trading partner data.

And here’s why:

• Your AI may build beautiful supplier disruption models, but if the lead time data is inconsistent, its recommendations are worthless when real problems hit.
• Optimizing returns with AI should work, but without accurate item data from trading partners, AI can’t tell the difference between defects and customer preferences.
• While your customers expect flawless execution, your AI can only deliver if your partner data is consistently accurate across every single relationship.

What do you need for a better data foundation?

Across our retail supply chain network, we see that the companies who successfully apply AI are using standardized, real-time partner data. Without it, AI can’t deliver.

The foundations required for AI implementations include:

• Clean EDI data: AI systems need consistent product info, order acknowledgments and shipment notifications. When this varies across trading partners, your AI models produce unreliable outputs.
• Standardized communications: Exception automation requires partners to communicate disruptions in standard formats. Manual, inconsistent communications break AI workflows every time.
• Real-time visibility: AI lives on current information. You need up-to-the-minute partner feeds, but across diverse trading relationships, most companies can’t maintain them.

When AI ideals meet reality

While new technology is always part of the discussion in modern business, what we’re hearing about AI usage across customers is consistent: Companies start excited about the possibilities of what AI can do for them but quickly realize it won’t work without first standardizing their data.

The dilemma:

• The most sophisticated AI fails if trading partners can’t feed it accurate, timely information.
• Manual exception handling is getting replaced by automated workflows, but only when the underlying data triggers actually work.

Where are we heading?

The future of supply chains may actually be written by AI.

We’re moving toward autonomous systems that respond to disruptions without human intervention: connected ecosystems, with AI orchestrating workflows across all trading partners, and sustainable applications optimizing resource usage.

But how well this works (or not) will depend on if there’s standardized, reliable partner data.

Build your foundation now

The companies who’ll win with AI understand that AI transformation begins with better data. They’re investing in standardized trading partner data formats, real-time partner performance visibility and automated workflows that eliminate manual errors.

AI has incredible potential to transform retail supply chains. But you must have a foundation of clean, standardized and real-time supplier data.

Want to see how leading retailers are preparing their supply chains for the future? Explore our latest insights.

Here are three big takeaways from this year’s event:

Growth and scalability

With a theme of “All Systems Grow,” it’s no surprise that business growth and scalability were dominant topics throughout the event. Across the three-day show, there was a strong focus on how companies can effectively scale, whether expanding locally or going global, all powered by NetSuite’s robust ERP solutions. This theme carried heavily into the keynote session, with a strong emphasis on the importance of providing tools that empower organizations to deliver operational excellence.

“Oracle NetSuite designed its product suite to be that ideal foundation for growth. To connect the entire business and provide a platform for expansion. We started in 1998 with a vision of a single system to run an entire organization, interconnecting every complex function in a way that feels simple.

Evan Goldberg, NetSuite Founder and EVP

From insightful sessions to real-world success stories, the message was clear: growth doesn’t have to mean sacrificing efficiency. NetSuite’s latest innovations were all about empowering companies to grow while maintaining balance and efficiency.

The power of “Suiteness”

One of the most exciting concepts unveiled was “Suiteness”—NetSuite’s approach to having all business functions integrated into one system. Ideally, a business could see all the data relevant to its supply chain in one system. From orders to inventory to shipments, having complete visibility into your business without jumping from platform to platform can help you streamline the entire order fulfillment process. Throughout the show, the buzz focused on the value of utilizing the full suite of NetSuite modules for end-to-end business management.

A few statistics shared at the event proved the impact of “Suiteness”:

• 61% of users improved forecast accuracy.
• 40% eliminated spreadsheet-based models entirely.
• Warehouse management users reported shipping items more than a week faster.

“Suiteness” is designed to empower businesses to operate more efficiently while driving growth, providing a scalable solution that centralizes data and processes.

AI innovations

This year’s show also introduced some exciting AI-driven tools that will enhance the capabilities of NetSuite’s applications. With these tools, customers can reduce manual data entry, improve budgeting and planning, expand insights and increase workflow efficiency. Oracle Code Assist allows developers to speed up code generation. NetSuite Analytics Warehouse will enable businesses to quickly generate data-driven reports and visualizations using AI-powered insights.

AI tools have long been a staple for eCommerce, from chatbots to automated sales funnels. But as AI gets better, more will jump on the trend in an effort to improve business processes and brand experience.

When used correctly, AI can help companies create a more efficient and resilient supply chain. To learn how SPS Commerce is helping companies incorporate AI into their supply chain, read this blog from Director of Technology Jason Popillion.

This year’s event made it clear that NetSuite continues to evolve and innovate, focusing on automation, AI and cohesive solutions that drive growth while simplifying business processes. Learn more about how your business can benefit from NetSuite automation or analyze point-of-sale sell-through data in NetSuite Analytics Warehouse.

Here were some of our top takeaways:

New logo. New era.

The show kicked off with a keynote address by John Case, Acumatica CEO, where he introduced a refreshed logo to indicate the innovations coming in this “new era.”

“We believe the new mark better reflects our market momentum and our forward-looking approach and represents an evolution of who we are as a Community — moving forward together, with clarity and purpose,” said Case.

Focus on sustainability

A key theme at this year’s event was sustainability which was highlighted during the annual Hackathon—an event for developers, marketers and anyone else who’d like to join, hosted the day before Acumatica Summit starts. This year’s theme focused on sustainability and how to meet the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Representing SPS, Acumatica MVP Patrick Chen was on the winning team (aptly named Sustainable Shippers). They built a solution to minimize the number of packages needed for shipping, reducing overall waste.

Blurring the lines in retail

Another theme dealing with emerging trends in retail highlighted the idea that the lines are blurring in retail. It’s no longer just about shipping wholesale B2B or just shipping eCommerce. Almost everyone is expanding or reinventing their business to ship directly to the consumer or to expand their overall presence.

A few of the other emerging trends include:

• Competitive market – The market is becoming even more competitive as companies move into new sales channels (e.g., large distributors/suppliers going direct-to-consumer).
• Demanding customers – Consumers want more flexible delivery and payment methods.
• Complex operations – The fulfillment process is gaining complexity as the market is changing and lines are blurring.
• Profit margins – The pressure on profit margins is driven by competition and the cost of fulfilling orders across channels.
• Workforce constraints – The labor market has also become increasingly competitive.

At SPS, we’ve also seen the retail world become more and more complex over the last few years. Consumers want to buy items where they want to buy them, when they want to buy them and at the best price possible. At face value that seems simple enough, but acquiring and maintaining the systems and processes to pull it off can be incredibly complex.

Awards

SPS is honored to have won ISV Partner of the Year: Distribution. In addition, we’re thrilled to be part of the President’s Club for another year! These awards attest to the ongoing success of our partnership with Acumatica.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t also recognize some of our amazing partners who also won awards at the conference, including:  Algorithm Inc., ASWi, Blytheco, Crestwood Associates, Net at Work, NexTec Group, SWK Technologies, Inc, and WM Synergy LLC.

We look forward to seeing everyone next year!

Interested in learning more about full-service EDI for Acumatica? Visit our Acumatica page for more details.

Order to invoice, manual vs. automated

Purchase order to invoice three-way matching is a basic transaction reconciliation process for retailers to use in approving payment to a supplier, vendor or wholesaler upon completion of an order. This accounting procedure involves:

• Buyer’s purchase order
• Seller’s purchase order acknowledgement
• Seller’s purchase order change request
• Seller’s invoice
• Inventory receiving sheets or advance ship notice delivered to the buyer’s warehouse

Without automation, a person has to collect and compare the documents manually as part of the matching process. When documents get lost in the shuffle, a retailer may end up paying for the wrong quantity, price or shipping costs. If reconciliation and the subsequent payment doesn’t happen quickly enough, the retailer can miss out on promotions and discounts for timely payments. Human error and mistakes can become costly with manual processes.

EDI is one solution that automates purchase order to invoice reconciliation. This process enables you to exchange transaction information digitally. Through EDI, all vital business documents are standardized to match each parties’ requirements so information can be exchanged electronically. Documents such as purchase orders, purchase order acknowledgments (POA), advanced ship notices (ASN) and invoices can all be sent directly from the software and tools you already use.

Three-way match simplifies the transaction reconciliation and payment processes, automatically approving all documents that match for payment while setting aside items for further review. The only time a person needs to review a transaction is if something in the documentation doesn’t match. For most retailers, 70 percent of all invoices pass the invoice matching process without any problem. This means you can shift your resources to other work that could save money, such as issues related to price, quantity or payment terms.

Why automate order to invoice reconciliation?

Automated order to invoice reconciliation can add to your bottom line without making any drastic changes. Supply chain experts have estimated that retail organizations overpay an average of $120 to $150 per purchase order on things that are preventable, such as tracking down missing paperwork, fixing inventory errors, delays due to manual receiving processes, paying flawed or downright fraudulent invoices, incorrect pricing and more.

If a retail organization sends out 100,000 purchase orders each year, that adds up to $12 to $15 million lost. EDI and automated processes may not be able to fix all money problems, but together they can drastically reduce and even eliminate issues associated with the order to payment process.

One of our retail customers told us they used to have 15 full-time employees solely dedicated to managing the company’s invoices for their stores and warehouses. After implementing order to invoice matching via EDI and automating order to invoice reconciliation, they reduced their accounts payable staff by 66 percent to just five employees. In addition to helping the company grow their business by seven percent year-over-year, EDI automation saved over half a million dollars yearly just by reducing staff.

Automated order to invoice reconciliation process is a practical solution for a repetitive, time-consuming process that’s vulnerable to human errors. It can help retailers add hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars to their bottom line without making drastic changes in how they do business. Imagine what opportunities could be explored with the money that’s saved?

Discover the value in increasing automation with EDI and a full-service team of experts from SPS Commerce. We have a suite of products that enables retailers to automate processes and save time and money.

Osborn, LLC is a leading supplier of industrial brushes. The company faced several challenges in its EDI configuration in SAP with its previous SAP EDI system. But after deploying SPS Commerce Fulfillment (EDI) for SAP, Osborn has overcome these painful issues.

Read on to find out more about the company’s SAP EDI challenges and what they learned along the way.

Managing EDI configuration in SAP takes time away from strategic priorities

Many SAP EDI solutions require significant ongoing maintenance from IT teams. For example, you may need to change EDI configuration in SAP to meet a new EDI requirement or add a new trading partner.

In contrast, full-service EDI solutions like Fulfillment handle all EDI configuration in SAP on your behalf. Since using Fulfillment, Osborn hasn’t needed to hire staff to support their EDI operations.

According to Josh Tobler, IT Director, “We don’t have any internal EDI experts. With SPS, this isn’t an issue. From adding new trading partners to troubleshooting any issues that arise, SPS has the experience to do it fast and without our direct involvement. Our partnership with SPS hasn’t just saved us time. It has freed up our resources to go after other initiatives.”

Inflexible SAP EDI creates an expensive IT burden

Making changes to your SAP system to meet your EDI needs can be difficult and costly, requiring significant resources from your IT team or external consultants. That’s why flexibility is essential to your EDI configuration in SAP, especially when your business is growing. Ideally, your EDI solution should accommodate any changes you need without requiring changes to your SAP system.

Tobler commented about the difficulties of EDI before using SPS Commerce. He stated, “(Our previous) EDI wasn’t working out well for our company. It was like pulling teeth to get anything done, and our previous provider was nickel and diming us on billing.”

SPS Fulfillment EDI for SAP empowers business users to make updates, correct, add and resend EDI data—without support from an IT department or expensive changes to SAP. What’s more, predictable pricing eliminates billing surprises that can disrupt your cash flow.

Poor scorecard performance leads to chargebacks

Retailers and distributors often scorecard their suppliers on order fulfillment performance. These scorecards include data about the accuracy and timeliness of advance ship notices (ASNs) and other supply chain documents.

Osborn partnered with SPS to help improve its scorecard performance and reduce chargebacks.

“Retailers, such as Amazon, charge us if we aren’t aligning with their requirements. These fees quickly erode our margins. With SPS, we are seeing significant improvements to our scorecard and reducing chargebacks. This news has even reached the desk of our CEO, who complimented our teams on improving our scorecards,” Tobler commented.

Unacceptable error rates damage buyer relationships

Bad data practices can result in inaccurate pricing, part numbers and descriptions. And sharing inaccurate data with trading partners leads to problems.

Before working with SPS, Osborn had to review and check orders manually to avoid errors. By using the SAP ECC integration in Fulfillment, Osborn can automatically create orders within SAP. Only orders flagged with errors or missing data need personal attention.

“Our error rates due to bad data were at 30 percent or more before SPS. Today they are under 10 percent and improving rapidly. SPS allows us to manage by exception. The SPS error rate is almost zero. Our goal is to match that with our internal systems,” Tobler explained.

Ready to revamp your SAP EDI initiatives?

If you’re tired of dealing with SAP EDI headaches like these, SPS Commerce can help. Our proven approach makes it easy to connect with trading partners and optimize transactions with your SAP system. Learn more about our SAP EDI integration, download the complete case study from Osborn, LLC or contact our team of experts.

Maintaining the different requirements and remembering when to apply them can be a considerable challenge, especially when you work with multiple retailers or ship products in high volumes.

But there’s good news for SPS Fulfillment for NetSuite users. Did you know that you can customize Auto Pack Rules for your retail customers by leveraging functionality within the SPS Fulfillment for NetSuite solution? Create advance ship notices (ASNs) and process orders more efficiently by automatically applying different packing rules by retailer.

Here are three ways Auto Pack Rules can improve order fulfillment:

Eliminate manual data entry

Fulfillment with System Automation is fully integrated with NetSuite. This means you don’t have to switch between multiple systems when processing orders. Your customers’ packing rules will be automatically populated within your Item Fulfillment record, so you do not need to enter the packing requirements for each customer manually.

Process orders more quickly

Quickly and easily apply pack rules across all of your customers to process more orders in less time. Confidently complete ASNs by populating item information and shipping details. SPS Fulfillment helps you get more time back in your day!

Avoid chargebacks

Never worry whether your shipments comply with your retailers’ latest requirements. We take care of keeping everything up-to-date on your behalf, so you can build trust with customers and avoid non-compliance and chargebacks.

Optimize your Fulfillment process today. Contact our team to get started.

Migrating your systems is a big change, and mapping some of the milestones in advance can help you save time and money as you navigate the complexity of digital transformation. As you start your move from on-prem to cloud and begin selecting the team that will help you get there, here are some key takeaways that can help you stay ahead:

Key #1: Define the strategy and objectives

Do you need more flexibility? Lower cost? Better performance? Determine what you want out of your cloud implementation process before you start fielding potential solutions. Once those goals are defined, your partners can better demonstrate how they aim to solve your specific migration challenges. Work in tandem with your partners to craft a clear, actionable plan that addresses the needs of your organization. 

Key #2: Collaborate to avoid bottlenecks

A communicative, multi-disciplinary team that can keep the process moving is vital to reaching the finish line on time and on budget. When all the migration planning is siloed in a single department, there can be a disconnect between the setup and execution phases, leading to delays and extra costs. Fostering collaboration and communication between a dedicated network of stakeholders can make the difference in completing the implementation according to plan.

Key #3: Think large-scale and long-term

Your migration timeline and strategy should consider the entire business, not just a single department. That breadth can be difficult to plan for if project leads aren’t used to the pace and process of large software implementations. Consider partnering with businesses with dedicated people and processes for large-scale implementations, so over-burdened IT teams aren’t left to pick up the slack. 

Key #4: Consider the learning curve

The cloud system you choose should make your workflows easier, not harder. Think about the steps it will take to get immediate value out of the solution. If it requires a lengthy training period for end users, or if it demands an outsized level of effort to meet your needs, it might not be the right one for you. Account for how the proposed cloud solution might differ from the on-prem software and what that will mean for teams across your organization. 

Key #5: Build synergy with existing technology 

Your technology stack took a lot of effort to build and optimize, so new solutions should fit naturally within it instead of looking to reinvent the wheel. If implementing the new cloud solution requires another set of technology investments you weren’t planning to take on, it may be time to reevaluate your options. Prioritize solutions that work well with the essential elements of your technology stack instead of overhauling core pieces to accommodate a new addition. 

These keys can help you start moving on your cloud migration plans, but they work best with the right partner. Selecting an implementation partner with proven experience helping businesses of all sizes move to cloud solutions can help you anticipate what to expect from the process – and when to expect it.

As an industry leader with over 400 partnerships with system providers, SPS Commerce is a full-service partner with the people, processes and technology to make migrating to the cloud easier for everyone. Our experts and security-certified solutions insulate you from the friction of change events like cloud migration. With the help of SPS, projects run smoothly, and you can get back to guiding your business forward.

To get started, learn more about our approach to integrations and reach out today.

Let’s review the basics of cross-docking and some tips to help you get started.

What is cross-docking?

In cross-docking, there needs to be a distribution center (DC) or warehouse as part of the retailer’s distribution network. 

Cross-docking is a logistics practice of unloading goods from an incoming truck and loading them directly into outbound trucks. Unlike other methods, cross-docking does not involve storing goods in the warehouse or DC.

Some retailers may reference products moved “door-to-door” or “flow-through” as cross-docking, which is one method, while other cross-dock products/cartons/pallets are “marked for” a given location.

• With the flow-through model, retailers are alerted to what the suppliers have packed and shipped. The retailer will pre-allocate products for stores in advance of the delivery. When products arrive, items are pulled from the inbound delivery, relabeled for the store allocated to that carton and routed to the shipping dock. 
• In the marked-for model, the retailer communicates to the suppliers, on the purchase order, the quantity of the item needing to be pre-packed and cartons/pallets labeled by store prior to shipping. Since the suppliers have already labeled cartons/pallets, when products arrive, items are pulled from the inbound delivery and routed directly to the shipping dock, needing no relabeling. 

DCs that support cross-docking often have specialized conveyor systems to distribute cartons to their destinations.

What are the advantages of cross-docking?

Cross-docking can be advantageous when retailers order products that are shipped directly to stores by suppliers. Also, if a retailer is managing inbound transportation from suppliers using their carrier or fleet network and there are stores within the lane or route, implementing a cross-dock program allows for picking up supplier products on the return trip, eliminating “empty” miles. 

One of the main advantages of cross-docking is that it enables greater throughput without the need for opening up a new warehouse or DC. Because items spend little to no time in your warehouse, costs associated with handling and storage are reduced and deliveries are faster. 

By automating warehouse receiving processes, cross-docking increases efficiencies and reduces costs. Cross-docking creates advantages for both the buying organization (retailer or distributor) and the selling organization (supplier). This makes cross-docking a win-win for everyone.

Advantages of Cross-Docking

How do you implement cross-docking?

Automating the exchange of data between buyers and sellers is essential to successful cross-docking. Data exchange allows buyers to effectively plan for receiving the goods in the DC. 

Here is a typical workflow:

1. Buying organization sends electronic purchase order to supplier
2. Supplier sends advance ship notice (ASN) to buying organization
3. Supplier packs and labels goods, and sends them to buying organization’s DC
4. Buying organization receives goods at DC, scans barcode labels and directs shipments to appropriate trailer
5. Goods are shipped to one or more stores

Looking for expert advice on cross-docking?

SPS Commerce has helped thousands of retailers, distributors and suppliers streamline the complexity of cross-docking.

For retailers and distributors, our Community solution ensures your supplier community can meet your requirements for purchase orders, advance ship notices and labels.

For suppliers, our Fulfillment (EDI) offering is pre-built to ensure you meet all your retailer’s cross-dock requirements.

Everyone Needs Accurate, Timely Product Data

Product details are useful to just about everyone across your company. From production to sales to shipping and accounting, details are needed to manufacture, store and invoice correctly. Almost any activity involving products requires product data.

Likewise, your external partners, primarily your retail customers and third-party logistics providers, also need item data. Retailers understand their customers. They know what fills shopping carts. Research shows that more product data leads to more sales. Retailers often require a wide range of product attributes that engage their customers. This data also provides their planners and operations teams with the details needed to showcase and receive items properly.

Both audiences, internal and external, have similar needs but today’s catalog management systems are designed to serve one or the other group, rarely both.

Finding the Right Catalog Management System Can Be Confusing

To find the right catalog management tool for your business, it’s important to understand your need, pick an audience, and ask a lot of questions.

Some questions to ask to assess your internal business needs are:

• Where is product data located? Who owns these internal systems?
• Who needs access to product details? Which details are important to them? Do they need to view the data or will they author it?
• How often are product details updated? Who governs the process to update or modify product date?
• What is the process to check the accuracy or completeness of the data?
• Is the data and its format consistent across business units?

Alternatively, to understand the external needs of your product data, we suggest asking the following questions:

• What information is required by each trading partner? What attributes are optional but would make our products stand out?
• How often do retailers need updates? How quickly are these updates reflected on their eCommerce sites or stores?
• What information do my competitors offer? How can product data become a competitive advantage?
• What format does each trading partner require for product details?
• How do retailers alert their suppliers about new product requirements?
• Can both digital assets, copy and other specs be communicated through a single channel or communication?

Now that you have a better understanding of what’s needed, your search for the right catalog management system can begin.

PIMs: Great for Internal Use, Not External

Product Information Management (PIM) solutions were designed to serve an internal audience. They do it well and provide value to organizations who have them. PIMs are designed to store internal assets and promote collaboration and consistency. They are not well-suited for getting this same data into the hands of retailers.

While some suppliers successfully use a PIM, they are seeing its limitations.

Using a PIM to manage external data needs is difficult and often results in manual processes. To do so will require a number of steps. Users first define the needed data and extract it from the PIM. Then they manipulate it to fit the format required by the retailer. Finally, they manually cross-check the resulting spreadsheet to ensure it complies with requirements. Alternatively, some suppliers have chosen to integrate their PIM with an externally-focused catalog management system that are focus on serving the needs of external parties, namely retailers.

Equip Retailers with Product Data, The Easy Way

If supporting your external trading partnerships is a priority, you’ll want to focus your search on solutions that focus on the external delivery of your product information. Use your understanding of your business needs and your retailer’s requirements to guide the process. A PIM is likely not your best option.

I’m frequently in discussions with suppliers about their business and the challenges they face. Often too much time is spent providing product details to retailers. They want to automate the process. When considering their next steps, they’ve found it helpful to ask catalog management system provider the following questions about your external needs:

• Do they understand my retailers’ requirements and have customers using it with my retailers?
• Do they keep the solution current, knowing the latest changes from my retailers? Is this my responsibility or theirs to manage this process?
• Are they flexible? Do they accept my preferred data formats to populate their solution?
• Do they run compliance checks against my data to uncover any discrepancies before the retailer does?
• Can we update the solution once and have it serve all retailers’ needs?
• Can I finally ditch the spreadsheets and get back to my other tasks?

Looking at improving the speed and accuracy of providing retailers with product data? It’s time you met SPS Commerce Assortment. Request a demo today. We’ll show you how easy this process can be. Together, we can get the right product details to your retailers.

We recently sat down with product manager Scott Williams to discuss common questions and answers. Here’s a snapshot of our conversation.

What is GDSN Data Synchronization?

The Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) is an Internet-based product data pool. GDSN data synchronization enables companies to exchange standardized product data with their trading partners. In a nutshell, GDSN is one of the methods trading partners use to “speak the same language” about product data.

The GDSN specification was established in 2004, and is governed by GS1 standards. GS1 standards also cover other technologies such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), barcodes and RFID (radio frequency identification) tags.

Who uses GDSN Data Synchronization?

GDSN Data Synchronization is primarily used across retail industries, including food, apparel and general merchandise. Also, some healthcare and banking organizations have adopted GDSN. GDSN is most frequently adopted by large organizations. Yet, GDSN does not easily scale since adding new trading partners requires new manual mapping.

How does GDSN Data Synchronization work?

Every product has a unique identifier in the GDSN system. Sellers (suppliers) enter attributes about their products into the system, which is stored in a “data pool.” Data pools must comply with GS1 standards and certification requirements. This is where suppliers can find the most difficulty in using GDSN. Because only 33 percent of data pools work together, suppliers must decipher and use the ones that do.

Buying organizations (retailers, grocers and distributors) access sellers’ product data through these data pools.

Wouldn’t it be easier if there was one solution to send data to any retailer?

Is using GDSN Data Synchronization required?

To exchange product data in a language that works for both trading partners, both parties need to have a shared method of communication. To do this, some buying organizations require suppliers to use a GDSN certified data pool. 

Often, GDSN data synchronization is an option, but other methods of sharing product data can be used instead. GDSN data pools can require more manual effort than growing businesses can afford, and there are a variety of alternative tools available. 

What types of product attributes can be shared through GDSN Data Synchronization?

Product attributes that can be shared through GDSN include:

• Category
• Color
• Size and weight
• Packaging information

Some types of product data can generally not be shared through GDSN, including pricing and certain eCommerce attributes. Also, adding attributes through GDSN can be a long and tedious process. In today’s fast-paced retail market, businesses need to be able to adapt quickly.

Further, retailers often require attributes not supported by GDSN. This means that suppliers need to send spreadsheets in addition to sharing data via GDSN, causing additional manual processes for both buying and selling organizations.

For these reasons, many organizations use other methods in addition to GDSN to meet their product data needs. 

How much does it cost to use GDSN Data Synchronization?

Both buying and selling organizations pay a fee to access data through a GDSN-certified data pool. Some data pool providers base their pricing on a company’s total revenue. Others consider a company’s number of active SKUs or the number of data recipients. 

The pricing model can result in very high annual costs. Often brands that are new, niche or direct-to-consumer opt-out of the GDSN due to these costs. Instead, they choose to work directly with retailers.

What are some other ways that trading partners can manage and share product data?

Surprisingly, many companies still use spreadsheets to manage and share their product data. This is tedious and time-consuming, especially as businesses grow and add more products to their assortment. Other companies use PIMs, PDMs, and PCM systems to host product data. These are useful for storing data, but still require additional work to transfer product data to buying organizations. 

Assortment from SPS Commerce not only stores product data, but also handles the manual, time-consuming tasks associated with mapping to retail requirements and sharing product data. Selling organizations simply share their product data with SPS once. SPS does the heavy lifting of transforming, validating and delivering the data to each unique trading partner on their behalf. 

Looking for expert advice on GDSN Data Synchronization? Talk with our experts about your product data questions.