Why vendor selection matters more than platform selection
The EDIFACT integration market is full of platforms and products. Most of them work. The variable that determines whether your project succeeds is not which platform you choose — it is whether the team implementing it actually understands EDIFACT, your ERP, and your industry.
These ten questions are designed to separate vendors who know what they are doing from those who will learn on your project.
1. Can you show me a live reference in the same industry?
Not a case study. Not a logo on a website. An actual customer you can call, in the same industry as yours, with a live integration running. A vendor who is genuinely strong in retail EDI will have retail references. A vendor who works mainly in logistics will have logistics references. If they cannot give you a reference in your industry, that is important information.
2. Which EDIFACT message types have you implemented in the last 12 months?
EDIFACT has dozens of message types. Most vendors have deep experience with ORDERS and INVOIC. Fewer have done DELFOR and DELJIT. Fewer still have done CUSCAR, IFTMBF, or PAYMUL. Ask specifically about the messages you need. If they have not implemented your required messages recently, ask what they have done instead and why.
3. How do you handle trading partner onboarding?
Trading partner onboarding — getting your suppliers or customers certified and live on EDI — is frequently the longest and most frustrating part of any implementation. Ask the vendor: who contacts the trading partners, what does the test process look like, how long does onboarding typically take per partner, and what happens when a partner is unresponsive. A vendor with a mature onboarding process will have specific answers. A vendor who is vague about this is handing the problem back to you.
4. What is your ERP integration approach for my specific system?
If you are on SAP, ask whether they use IDocs or BAPIs or direct database, and why. If you are on Dynamics, ask which version and which integration pattern. If you have a bespoke system, ask how they would approach it. The answer should be specific and technical. If it is generic ("we integrate with all major ERPs"), push for specifics.
5. Do you provide a fixed price or time-and-materials?
This question tells you how much the vendor understands your project. A vendor who can give you a fixed price after a proper discovery process has done this before and knows what is involved. A vendor who insists on time-and-materials for a standard EDIFACT implementation either does not know what they are doing or is protecting themselves from their own unknowns — neither of which is good for you.
6. What does your testing process look like?
Ask specifically: what test scenarios do you run, do you test with the actual trading partner in sandbox, do you have an automated regression test suite, and who signs off on go-live readiness. A rigorous testing process is the difference between a smooth go-live and a chaotic one.
7. Who will actually be doing the work?
In many IT consulting firms, the senior people sell the work and the junior people deliver it. Ask who specifically will be leading your implementation, what their experience level is, and whether you can meet them before signing. If the person in the sales meeting will not be the person running your project, find out who will.
8. How do you handle message monitoring and exception management in production?
EDIFACT integration is not a one-time project. Once it is live, messages flow continuously. Ask what monitoring is in place, how failures are detected, what the alerting process is, and what their SLA is for resolving a failed message in production. If they do not have a clear answer, you will be the one discovering failures.
9. What documentation and knowledge transfer do you provide?
At the end of the project, you should have: mapping specifications, architecture documentation, an operations runbook, and a knowledge transfer session with your IT team. If the vendor cannot describe what documentation they produce, you will be dependent on them forever for even minor changes.
10. What happens if scope changes during the project?
Every project has scope changes. Ask how they are handled: is there a formal change request process, how are change requests priced, and what is their change request rate on recent projects. A vendor who is proud of a low change request rate has invested in thorough scoping. A vendor who is vague about change management will charge you for surprises.
The question behind all the questions
All of these questions are really asking the same thing: does this vendor know what they are doing, or will they be learning on your project?
The EDI market has many generalist IT firms who have added EDIFACT to their service list. It has far fewer specialists who have done this specific work, in your specific industry, with your specific ERP, many times before. The difference in project outcomes between these two types of vendor is significant.
Take the time to find a specialist.
How dmgweb answers these questions
We are a specialist EDIFACT integration firm based in Sofia, Bulgaria. We have delivered over 300 EDI and IT integration projects since 2012.
- Industry reference? Yes — retail (Kaufland, Lidl, Metro), logistics (Speedy), pharmaceutical (TEVA, Bulpharma), and financial services.
- Message types in the last 12 months? ORDERS, ORDRSP, DESADV, RECADV, INVOIC, REMADV, DELFOR, DELJIT.
- Fixed price? Always, after a proper discovery session.
- Who does the work? The same person you meet in the discovery call.
Book a free discovery call — we will answer all ten of these questions in the first 30 minutes.