EDI projects are complex.  How do we keep things simple?  How do we provide amazing customer service leading to successful partnerships?  Far too often in EDI conversations, noise and confusion get in the way of making progress.  Whether it is one side blindly pushing for a specific EDI transaction regardless of the benefits or the business process, technical mumbo jumbo, confusion about what customers or suppliers really want from each other, or a seemingly less eggregious violation… the self deprecating predecessor to a comment seem to appear out of thin air. 

“To be, or not to be, that is the question.”   This well known quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet has intrigued scholars as well as theater connoisseurs since it was first spoken in the early 15th century..  While I can’t claim that EDI mapping causes one to question one’s own existence as Hamlet did (although at times it can be the cause of you questioning your sanity), there are definite parallels. In this case, managing a bank of EDI translation maps equivalent could be more like “One to one, or one to many, now THAT is the question.”

As my career in EDI is now reaching the decade mark, I recently began some self-reflection and surprisingly found both depth and breadth of the opportunities and experiences those three letters combined have brought my way. Daily interaction with all levels of an organization from customer service representatives to executives, across multiple industries and platforms has given me the opportunity to view business operations from a multitude of perspectives and become what I believe to be a more well rounded in the entire supply chain process.