EDI Services for Sodexo DACH

EDI solutions for corporate catering and facility management

In Austria alone, Sodexo’s staff of more than 3,900 serves approximately 490,000 end clients, including businesses, public authorities and hospitals, which involves a large number of different procurement of goods processes. In an effort to optimize its order processes for the procurement of goods, Sodexo Austria has been using Electronic Data Interchange (or EDI) in its catering division for more than 10 years.

Since then, 90% of all procurement of goods processes covering roughly 35 suppliers and 38 locations have been automated, which is reflected first and foremost in considerable savings regarding time and effort compared to previous manual and paper-based processes. After EDI services were successfully rolled out at Sodexo Austria, the German subsidiary of this catering company also decided to rely on the EDI services provided by EDITEL. The order processes at more than 400 locations were gradually switched to EDI. The company has also connected all Sodexo Switzerland locations. Since Sodexo is one of the largest providers of facility management services, it uses EDI to optimize its processes in this area as well.

Efficient procurement of goods with EDI

Procurement of goods processes at Sodexo rely on the exchange of article master data which is made possible by accessing the electronic price catalogue (PRICAT). This makes manual article maintenance obsolete because thanks to EDI, PRICAT is updated automatically, meaning that any product-related changes such as prices or information about discontinued items are available in real time.

In addition, all information relevant for the EU food information regulation such as allergens, nutritional values etc. is exchanged and updated via PRICAT. This gives Sodexo access to the latest allergen-related data needed for its meals, which can be highly efficient when using alternate articles, to name just one example. All article master data (PRICAT), orders (ORDERS) and despatch advices are exchanged via eXite, the EDI platform by EDITEL. This translates into high data quality and transparency in all steps of the procurement of goods process while saving time and resources.

„After the highly successful project in Austria, we are now working with EDITEL in Germany and Switzerland as well. This allows us to optimize our procurement of goods processes with long-lasting effect while harmonizing them on an international level.“ – Daniela DAN, Director Supply Management Germany

New avenues in facility management

In addition to relying on traditional EDI data transfer to support order processes, Sodexo is now also optimizing and digitalizing facility management processes. One example is transferring links for displaying pictures for an article in question and embedding links for direct access to warnings and instructions for the use of cleaning products. The accuracy of such data is a decisive element when it comes to ensuring that products are used correctly by staff members and to avoiding widespread damage or even health hazards.

The benefits of EDI at Sodexo

• Accurate and updated article master data
• Automatic transmission of information relevant for the EU food information regulation
• Optimizes the entire purchasing process
• Centralized administration
• Additional business partners, even international ones, are easy to connect
• Support and assistance by EDITEL for business partners before, during and after the rollout
• EDI platform eXite® used for customized solutions in the area of facility management