EDI Integration Partnership with BAASS Business Solutions

• Easier sales and high customer satisfaction with the only EDI solution that is endorsed and exclusively distributed by Sage for Sage 300, Sage 100 and Sage 500 ERP
• More customer touchpoints for greater customer retention
• Proven, easy-to-use EDI solution with market-leading functionality
• Award-winning support backed by deep and dependable EDI expertise means BAASS does not need in-house EDI skills
• Flexibility and a willingness to create win-win scenarios with partners and joint customers

In September 2018, BAASS Business Solutions will celebrate its 30th year helping SMBs and larger companies in wholesale/distribution, retail, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, not-for-profit and many other industries improve business processes and profitability. With over 4,500 customers and 22 locations across Canada, the US and the Caribbean, BAASS builds its success on a simple formula: deliver what you promise and build long-term, win-win relationships. “We help clients solve their problems, make their companies more efficient and effective and help them achieve their goals,” states Joe Arnone, President, BAASS. Though they offer customers a comprehensive range of solutions and services including warehouse management (WMS), CRM, HR business intelligence (BI), managed IT services and hosting, BAASS has focused from the beginning on adding value around accounting and ERP—especially Sage 300 ERP (formerly Accpac) and now also Sage Intacct. “We’re a one-stop solution provider for our customers,” notes Mr. Arnone. “In the Sage 300 ecosystem, we work with many third-party partners to add value and functionality.” According to Mr. Arnone, most BAASS clients that need EDI are suppliers looking to comply with their own customers’ procurement requirements, especially large retailers. Others have been outsourcing EDI and want to bring it in-house. “About 25% of our customers are in the wholesale/distribution space, so we want to continue our growth in that market.”

To ensure customer success and satisfaction, BAASS looked to partner with the EDI provider that offers the top solution for Sage 300. Over the years, as the Sage 300 market has grown and EDI offerings have evolved, BAASS has partnered with three different EDI vendors.

BAASS has partnered with three different EDI vendors. For the past three years, their go-to EDI partner has been TrueCommerce—the only EDI solution exclusively endorsed and distributed by Sage for Sage 300, as well as Sage 100 and Sage 500 ERP.

“A big reason we partner with TrueCommerce is, of course, because theirs is one of the most trusted solutions, and Sage recommends it for Sage 300 users,” acknowledges Mr. Arnone. “A second reason is the close connection between TrueCommerce and Accellos WMS, because BAASS is a full-service Accellos partner for everything from installation to maintenance to outsourced professional services.”

EDI Expertise on Tap

Another key factor in this successful partnership is TrueCommerce’ award-winning support and deep expertise in EDI for small to midsized businesses. “At one point, we had a full-time ‘EDI person’ in-house—but now we leave it to the experts at TrueCommerce,” Mr. Arnone adds. “They’ve been a big help in enabling our clients to meet their EDI requirements.”

Mr. Arnone continues: “TrueCommerce has great people and it’s always very easy for us to work with them. BAASS takes care of setting up the software and TrueCommerce handles the mapping, testing, implementing optional fields within Sage 300, and so on.”

BAASS customers generally deal directly with TrueCommerce support around EDI-specific issues. BAASS and TrueCommerce often work together to ensure the success of their mutual customers. In short, the partnership with TrueCommerce gives BAASS all the capabilities required to meet their clients’ EDI needs, so they don’t need to maintain EDI expertise in-house.

Making Customer Relationships Even Stronger

For a top-tier technology solution provider like BAASS, EDI is not a major contributor to revenue. The key benefit they get from delivering EDI is to enhance the client’s overall success and satisfaction. “It’s important for us to offer a complementary solution that our customer requires in order to run their operations,” Mr. Arnone explains. “We can rely on TrueCommerce EDI to take care of this particular aspect of their business.”

TrueCommerce has also proven to be flexible in contract negotiations and to go “the extra mile” for a mutual customer. “We had one client that lost a major customer and they thought they would have to back out of implementing EDI,” recalls Mr. Arnone. “But thanks to TrueCommerce’ flexibility in accommodating that client, we were able to come up with a solution together—which was very helpful.”

Future Plans

Going forward, BAASS plans to expand its working relationship and joint marketing efforts with TrueCommerce. “TrueCommerce will continue to be our go-to solution for our EDI customers,” Mr. Arnone asserts. “We’re also definitely planning to look in more detail at the Nexternal eCommerce solution.”

Other plans include marketing the TrueCommerce purchasing integration or “buy-side” EDI capabilities, as well as warehouse/3PL support, to its Sage 300 customer base and current EDI clients. “Once people start using EDI and realizing that it brings efficiency, they want to look into exchanging outbound POs and inbound invoices and ASNs with their larger vendors via EDI,” clarifies Mr. Arnone.

BAASS is also gradually moving long-time Sage 300 customers from legacy EDI systems to TrueCommerce EDI. “As we’ve expanded into the US, we’re always looking to grow the company through acquisitions,” Mr. Arnone relates. “As our customer base grows, our EDI relationship with TrueCommerce grows along with it.”