EDI at SPAR Austria
Electronic procurement of goods for SPAR stores runs via eXite®
As one of the pioneering users of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), SPAR Austria was involved in the development of EDI in the Austrian consumer goods industry from the very beginning, which makes the company one of Austria’s EDI trailblazers.
Throughout the years, SPAR has been adapting its EDI infrastructure to market needs and eventually founded its own EDI competence center in Salzburg in 2008. One of the main benefits is that this center brings all multi-process competences physically into one place.
EDI service “eXite”: a hub for process optimization
SPAR exchanges all logistics-related information with business partners and stores via eXite®, the EDI platform by EDITEL, which translates into a total of 10 million transactions per year with 1,000 partners in the entire SPAR Group. eXite® has become much more than a tool for traditional procurement of goods processes. This hub is now used as a basis for customized solutions for the optimization of a number of business transactions. For instance, SPAR uses eXite® to transfer power bills and related consumption data from SPAR stores and independent retailers since all energy providers in Austria can be reached via eXite.
EDITEL, our EDI service provider of many years, is much more than just a technical partner, but rather a company that assists and supports us with its extensive expertise when it comes to implementing new processes. – Clemens Drexel, Director of corporate purchasing, SPAR Austria.
Support on many levels
At SPAR, eXite® can be used for many different purposes, along with support provided by EDITEL. Among others, SPAR relies on EDI to handle highly complex logistics processes such as VMI and CPFR. In addition, all product data relevant for the EU food information regulation can be exchanged via eXite® in an easy and convenient process. Internationally, EDITEL shares its expertise regarding EDI operations etc. with SPAR Croatia.
Orders at the click of a mouse
EDITEL has developed a special solution for SPAR Austria that allows the company to order from suppliers who do not use EDI: for this purpose, orders are sent in PDF format. The benefit is that as soon as the supplier clicks on the link, SPAR receives a confirmation without suppliers having to actively report back. From a technical perspective, the data leaves SPAR as usual in EDIFACT format (ORDERS) and is then converted into PDF format by EDITEL. “Unlike traditional e-mail orders, this solution virtually guarantees that orders are received by our suppliers,” explains Daniel Schuster, Head of E-Purchasing/B2B Projects at SPAR.
EDI portal for regional and specialized SPAR suppliers
In an effort to further improve processes involving suppliers who are not yet ready to use EDI, SPAR partnered with EDITEL to develop a special Web EDI solution. For this purpose, a web EDI portal directly connected to SPAR’s supplier portal (b2b.spar.at) was set up, which enables comprehensive business transaction processing. When SPAR places an order, the information leaves the company as an EDIFACT data set (ORDERS) via the data hub eXite® and reaches the supplier’s Web EDI portal as an intuitive order. Once the supplier has confirmed the order, an order confirmation message is sent back to SPAR and will then be directly integrated into SPAR’s ERP system as a structured data set (ORDRSP). Suppliers can also conveniently send despatch advices (DESADV) and invoices (INVOIC). “This system offers many great options to streamline processes and improve communication with our suppliers,” says Michaela Eder, EDI coordinator at SPAR Austria.
EDI communication at HERVIS
EDITEL supports the sports retailer HERVIS, a 100% subsidiary of SPAR, in the ongoing roll-out management as well as in process consulting. All services come from a single source, including the use of a shared EDI platform for a variety of processes as well as the long-standing and competent assistance provided by EDITEL. For SPAR, this is the perfect basis for the future implementation of more innovative solutions in the area of Electronic Data Interchange.
You would like to use EDI with SPAR Austria?
Just e-mail us at sales@editel.ator call us at +43/1/505 86 02 -850. We will be happy to assist in the implementation!
About SPAR Austria
SPAR Austria Group is a privately owned Austrian family business established in Kufstein (Tyrol) in 1954. The company started out as a food retailer in Austria and over the past six decades has grown into a highly successful central European retail corporation with commercial activities in food retail, sporting goods retail, and shopping centers in Austria and seven other countries. With a total of 3,250 stores in Austria and abroad and roughly 90,000 employees, overall sales at SPAR Austria Group have reached 16.6 billion euro in 2020. In Austria, SPAR operates 1,580 food retail stores and has net sales of EUR 8.32 billion.
