PRISM-WebEDI by industry
Browser-based WebEDI for the people who ship, receive and deliver
PRISM-WebEDI gives business users a browser workspace for exchanging structured business documents with customers, suppliers, warehouses and transportation partners. Users work with readable forms and operational tasks while ECOM manages the agreed EDI translation and connections behind them.
Overview
Readable forms, not EDI files
Staff review orders, complete responses and create shipping documents in forms that are configured for their role.
Linked documents and business rules
Documents stay connected to the order or load, and rules check the data before it is sent.
Alerts and dashboards
Work that needs action is easy to see by trading partner, order, location and responsible team.
By industry
WebEDI by industry
Choose your role in the order to see who it serves, the challenges it addresses, the workflow at a glance and what is included.
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Manufacturers working with retailers
Order, acknowledgment, labels, ASN and invoice in one linked browser workflow for retail accounts.
See manufacturers working with retailers -
Retailers working with manufacturers
A supplier portal for orders, acknowledgments, ship notices and invoices, built around your rules.
See retailers working with manufacturers -
3PLs and warehousing providers
Receipts, outbound orders, ASNs, labels, inventory and exceptions across customers, retailers and carriers.
See 3pls and warehousing providers -
Trucking companies
Load tenders, responses, status events, delivery evidence and freight invoices in one browser workspace.
See trucking companies
Four industry offerings
Same platform, distinct workflows
The four offerings share one principle: business users work with readable documents while ECOM manages the scoped electronic exchanges. They differ in who operates the portal, who owns the goods or service, and which event authorizes the next transaction.
| Offering | Primary portal user | Core business cycle | Typical connected system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Sales operations and shipping | Retail order through invoice | ERP and fulfillment system |
| Retailer | Manufacturer or supplier staff | Supplier response through invoice submission | Purchasing, receiving and finance |
| 3PL | Warehouse staff and authorized customers | Receipt, order, shipment and inventory visibility | WMS and customer ERP |
| Trucking company | Dispatch and carrier billing | Tender, status, delivery and freight invoice | TMS and accounting |
Level of automation
Choose how much runs in the browser
Portal-ledPeople review and complete transactions directly.
- Useful when people need to review and complete transactions directly.
- Needs clear ownership and enough operating capacity to make entries within partner deadlines.
HybridBrowser work plus selected system interfaces.
- Users resolve exceptions in the portal while, for example, a WMS supplies actual shipment data.
- Removes redundant entry wherever the connected data is dependable.
IntegratedThe ERP, WMS or TMS exchanges the agreed transactions directly.
- The portal is used for visibility and exceptions where supported.
- Integration reduces manual handling only when source data, business rules and error ownership are properly defined.
Service optionsImplementation help to managed operation.
- ECOM can scope implementation assistance, an extension of your EDI team, or managed operation of the agreed exchanges.
- Hosting, support coverage, service levels, retention and responsibilities belong in the service agreement.
Implementation
From discovery to controlled cutover
Discover the actual operating process
- Begin with representative documents and exceptions, not only a list of transaction numbers. Confirm the organizations involved, expected volume, facilities, users, deadlines and the applications that create the business facts.
- For every exchange, identify the sender, receiver, triggering event, mandatory fields, permitted responses and system of record. Record the partner guide and version used.
- The output includes a workflow map, interface inventory, field ownership, role design, agreed document set, acceptance criteria and the boundary between included functionality and separately priced options.
Configure and test complete business cycles
- A manufacturer pilot exercises order, acknowledgment, actual packing, ASN and invoice. A retailer pilot tests the supplier’s actions and the retailer’s downstream receipt. A 3PL pilot tests inbound receipt, outbound instruction, actual shipment, inventory reporting and the separation of customer and retailer documents. A carrier pilot tests tender response, milestone reporting, delivery evidence and the freight invoice.
- Include exceptions such as unknown items, partial fulfillment, duplicate submissions, changed instructions, rejected documents, unavailable interfaces and corrections after transmission. For 3PLs, test customer isolation with intentionally different users and accounts. For labels, inspect actual print and scan results.
Prepare a controlled cutover
- Agree the final test evidence and obtain the relevant partner approvals before live processing. Define the first live transaction, operational contacts, reconciliation checks and how open work in an earlier system is handled.
- The cutover plan prevents the same order, shipment or invoice from being processed through both old and new routes, defines how staff detect missing work, and defines how a rollback or temporary manual process would preserve transaction history.
- After go-live, review the first cycles with business users and confirm that documents reached the correct recipient, the receiving application processed them as intended, and the physical or commercial process agrees with the electronic record.
Measurable improvement
Record a baseline, then measure
Record the baseline before rollout, with a defined observation period and consistent denominators. Agree targets after the baseline and operating constraints are known. Financial benefits should distinguish staff capacity released, avoided rework and documented cost reductions.
| Measure | Working definition |
|---|---|
| Manual effort | Staff minutes spent entering, correcting and chasing one business cycle |
| First-pass acceptance | Transactions accepted without correction divided by transactions submitted |
| Response compliance | Required responses sent within the agreed deadline divided by responses due |
| Reporting delay | Elapsed time between the actual event and successful required reporting |
| Exception age | Time since an unresolved issue first required action |
| Onboarding time | Time from agreed readiness starting point to first approved live cycle |
Document families
Typical documents by relationship
These help organize discovery. They are not a claim that every format, version or partner implementation is already configured. The partner guide governs the actual exchange, and other X12 families, EDIFACT messages, APIs and file formats can be evaluated when a relationship requires them. Technical acknowledgments do not replace business acceptance, physical receipt, successful fulfillment or approval for payment.
| X12 | Document | Typical direction |
|---|---|---|
| 850 | Purchase Order | Retailer to manufacturer |
| 855 | Purchase Order Acknowledgment | Manufacturer to retailer |
| 860 | Purchase Order Change Request, Buyer Initiated | Retailer to manufacturer |
| 865 | Purchase Order Change Acknowledgment, Seller Initiated | Manufacturer to retailer |
| 856 | Ship Notice/Manifest | Seller or authorized agent to buyer |
| 810 | Invoice | Manufacturer to retailer |
| 820 | Payment Order/Remittance Advice | Buyer or payment source to supplier, as agreed |
| 940 | Warehouse Shipping Order | Inventory owner to warehouse |
| 943 | Warehouse Stock Transfer Shipment Advice | Transfer sender or agent to receiving warehouse |
| 944 | Warehouse Stock Transfer Receipt Advice | Receiving warehouse to inventory owner |
| 945 | Warehouse Shipping Advice | Warehouse to inventory owner |
| 846 | Inventory Inquiry/Advice | As agreed between inventory parties |
| 947 | Warehouse Inventory Adjustment Advice | Warehouse to inventory owner, as agreed |
| 204 | Motor Carrier Load Tender | Shipper or authorized party to carrier |
| 990 | Response to a Load Tender | Carrier to tendering party |
| 214 | Transportation Carrier Shipment Status Message | Carrier or authorized source to customer |
| 210 | Motor Carrier Freight Details and Invoice | Carrier to freight payer |
| 997 or 999 | Technical acknowledgment | Receiving party to sending party, as agreed |
Frequently asked questions
What is PRISM-WebEDI?
It is ECOM’s browser-based workspace for exchanging structured business documents with trading partners. Users work with readable forms and linked documents while ECOM manages the agreed EDI translation and connections.
Who uses WebEDI?
This page covers four roles: manufacturers selling to retailers, retailers enabling suppliers, 3PLs and warehousing providers, and trucking companies. Each has distinct workflows, users and connected systems.
Can WebEDI connect to our ERP, WMS or TMS?
Yes, it can be used portal-led, in a hybrid model with selected system interfaces, or integrated with the ERP, WMS or TMS. The right model depends on source data, business rules and error ownership.
Are all the workflows described here included?
They are configurations ECOM can scope. What is included depends on the contracted scope, partner requirements and connected systems, and each engagement confirms the functions and interfaces.
How do you prove the value?
By recording a baseline before rollout and measuring against it, for example manual effort per business cycle, first-pass acceptance, response compliance and exception age. ECOM does not assume percentage savings.
Talk to an EDI/API Expert about WebEDI
Tell us about your industry, partners and systems. We will outline the scope and what you would need to bring.