Many companies that have successfully deployed EDI, hire an EDI coordinator to manage all day to day aspects of their EDI program. Whether a company hires someone with EDI experience or develops that experience in-house depends on the scope of its EDI project and the nature of the company’s culture. Large organisations planning large integrated EDI projects require a team of people dedicated to EDI. For example, in addition to the EDI coordinator these organisations may need two or three Management Information System (MIS) people with full-time responsibility for EDI. MIS staff should be divided to handle two separate but related issues. On one hand staff must work on the cost benefit analysis and manage implementation of the system within the organisation, including education and training. On the other hand, MIS staff must evaluate software and network options and must manage the integration to internal systems. Staff in other functional areas of the business would also need to participate in EDI implementation. One of the EDI coordinator’s first tasks would be to determine the number of people required to run the project efficiently.

Successful organisations have ensured that EDI develops in a way that meets the business needs by forming an EDI steering committee. Headed by the EDI coordinator, the steering committee typically consists of department heads which may include purchasing and sales, the Director of MIS, and members in advisory roles such as legal. One of the committee’s first tasks is to agree upon the primary area of the organisation that should become the target of its first EDI application.

Obtain Organisational Support

One of the initial and most important steps to implementing an EDI solution is to obtain the support and commitment of top management. The budget required to implement an EDI solution can be quite large and so it is important for both small and large companies to have full company backing before implementation begins. In addition to agreeing on financial commitments, the steering committee will have to get the support of all department heads in the business as the EDI solution will impact all areas of the business.

If a positive case for EDI is to be made, then it is the job of the EDI coordinator to sell it; first to top management, then to functional managers, and finally to all affected employees. EDI has the potential to radically change business practices and few people accept change readily. EDI needs support throughout the organisation to provide maximum benefits. Top management support is critical to eliminating the departmental barriers that a total EDI effort is likely to encounter. In order to gain that support, the cost benefits analysis must be solid. Top management must understand how EDI will pay for itself and support key company strategies.

The support of functional managers is also critical because their areas of the business will be directly affected by the EDI system. Including functional managers on the EDI committee goes a long way towards gaining their support. They then have a stake in a successful outcome. As with top management, the way in which the cost benefit analysis addresses the business of each department is critical, as is the way it addresses administrative issues such as accounting, audit and legal.

Finally, line employees themselves must understand EDI, as it is likely to affect their jobs. Many employees distrust EDI for fear that it will eliminate their jobs. However, it may allow them to resolve problems. In many ways the initial stages of an EDI project are more about building teams and support, than about designing and deploying technology.

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