When it comes to electronic documents supporting the supply chain, the Advance Ship Notice or 856 is just as important to the order to delivery process as the purchase order itself. While it is a robust document, its main purpose is to communicate back to the buying party what is shipping and when, as well as where it is going.

“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.”

Spring is now winding down, and I have been admittedly a bit neglectful of my to-do list around the homestead. This February, I had convinced myself to plant a small vegetable garden, make some minor landscaping modifications to the yard, and do some heavy duty de-cluttering inside. With only one month of Spring left, I have only managed to mow the lawn a couple of times and trim a few shrubs. When I woke up this past Saturday morning, I was determined to get at least one of those projects started before the Summer heat of the south was upon me.