About the Customer
To compete in a fast-paced market, this distributor of wireless and consumer electronics devices relies on EDI to drive order processing. Cesium specializes in distributing wireless and consumer electronics accessories across Canada. Devoted to delivering a superior customer experience, Cesium serves nationwide telecommunications carriers, major retailers and smaller independent retailers, and major retailers like Walmart, Source, Staples and Best Buy.
Four years ago, Cesium moved from a legacy ERP system to NetSuite ERP. At that point, they began using EDI because, unlike the older system, NetSuite offered the ability to automatically import EDI transactions.
Cesium has been using TrueCommerce EDI integrated with NetSuite ERP in production for about one year.
The Solution
Maximizing drop-ship and B2B order processing efficiency
EDI helps accelerate and ensure accuracy for both drop-ship and conventional B2B orders.
Cesium specializes in drop-ship fulfillment of end-customer online orders on behalf of major retailers like Walmart, Source, Staples and Best Buy. To ensure a 24-hour turnaround time on drop-shipped orders, Cesium requires an EDI solution that integrates with its NetSuite ERP system to automate key processes and minimize manual effort.
According to Adhurim Murtezai, eCommerce Manager, Cesium currently leverages the EDI 850 Purchase Order transaction set, which integrates through TrueCommerce EDI with NetSuite’s order creation functions. “When a trading partner places an order via EDI, the integration automatically creates an order in NetSuite,” Mr. Murtezai explains.
The functionality is critical for Cesium’s far-flung operations.
“We do drop-shipping of online consumer orders with all the big box retailers here in Canada,” continues Mr. Murtezai. “We receive these orders through a platform called CommerceHub, which shares the order data through EDI with TrueCommerce—this is how we automatically get the data into NetSuite.”
In addition to individual drop-ship orders placed online, Cesium also receives larger B2B orders from major retailers and other customers using EDI. These orders are shipped direct to the retailers for stocking in their stores.
The ability to white-label the delivery process is important for Cesium to keep its customers’ brand integrity.
“When we ship an order on behalf of a retailer, the consumer is not aware that the product came from us. We use the same packing slip, shipping method, and so on as the big box retailer,” notes Mr. Murtezai.
Detailed Results & Business Impact
Scalable and flexible to handle large order volumes
The TrueCommerce Scheduler add-on enables Cesium to process orders automatically with no human intervention.
Cesium receives anywhere from 50 to approximately 300 EDI orders per day, depending on the time of year. Some of these are drop-ship orders for consumers with one or a few products, while others are high-volume orders with hundreds of SKUs.
“With the TrueCommerce Scheduler, we don’t have to touch the orders or export them manually,” Mr. Murtezai clarifies. “We schedule the import operations and the orders come through TrueCommerce EDI into NetSuite with the correct customer mappings, quickly and automatically.”
This capability maximizes efficiency and minimizes human intervention. “There is no need for anyone to
check for new orders—they are automatically available when the warehouse is ready to start shipping them,” says Mr. Murtezai.
Another TrueCommerce EDI feature that helps manage large order volumes and eliminate errors is its built-in process controls.
For example, when an order is created it is assigned a unique ID. “If the order is accidentally posted again to EDI, either by our trading partner or by us, TrueCommerce EDI will catch the problem and ensure the order is not ‘doubled’ in NetSuite,” Mr. Murtezai offers.
Support makes the difference
This distributor chose TrueCommerce EDI for its superior customer support.
Initially, Cesium considered TrueCommerce EDI because it integrated with NetSuite ERP, and for its must-have features like support for CSV export of order data. But the winning point for this distributor has been the customer support.
“The support team has always been there to help with integration and other issues, they respond quickly and do what is needed every time we ask,” Mr. Murtezai relates. “So basically we chose TrueCommerce EDI because the service is better than with other EDI providers. The platform works very well in terms of functionality, but the support team is what we like most about TrueCommerce EDI.”
Future
This customer is looking to expand its use of TrueCommerce EDI.
Mr. Murtezai estimates that, company-wide, integrated EDI saves Cesium from having to add two additional staff to perform manual order processing tasks. Cesium currently uses TrueCommerce EDI to create orders in NetSuite ERP. However, in the future they plan to invoice, confirm orders, update inventory and more—all through EDI.
Cesium has just purchased the TrueCommerce Advance Ship Notice (ASN) module and will soon be able to automatically send EDI 856 ASN documents to trading partners, including tracking information.
“We’re planning to use ‘the full package’ of integrated EDI capabilities for NetSuite in the future,” Mr. Murtezai remarks.