Welcome to MasonHub's guide on managing business-to-business (B2B) wholesale orders. Whether you are working with small retailers or large national chains, understanding the right process for order creation and fulfillment is crucial to your success. This guide will walk you through the options available for creating and managing wholesale orders with MasonHub and how to get started efficiently.
Examples of wholesale orders include shipping to Amazon, Sephora, Blue Mercury, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Walmart, Goop, Anthropologie, Faire, your own retail store, or any smaller boutique speciality store.
Wholesale order management is different from dropship order management, where a customer places an order on a retailer’s website and that order is transmitted to your ecommerce store or MasonHub’s OMS and fulfilled directly to the customer by MasonHub. This document will only cover orders that are placed by a retailer and shipped in bulk quantities to their distribution center or retail store.
Getting started with wholesale requires communication and coordination with your Client Success Manager to ensure our operations team has full SOPs, requirements
1. Managing Standard Wholesale Orders Without EDI
For clients working with smaller retailers or other channels that do not require EDI, MasonHub offers a straightforward process for order creation and management.
Process Overview
- Order Creation: Orders can be submitted manually in MasonHub’s OMS.
- Fulfillment: MasonHub receives and processes these orders using standard procedures.
- Shipping: Orders are shipped according to the provided instructions, with MasonHub handling all logistics.
Examples of Non-EDI Orders
- Orders for a pop-up store event
- Supplies sent to another business unit
- Orders received through email or non-standard systems (not EDI)
2. Understanding EDI and When It's Required
What is EDI?
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a standardized method for exchanging business documents between companies. It is commonly used by large retailers to transmit orders, shipments, and invoices electronically.
When is EDI Required?
EDI is typically required when working with large retailers like:
- Target
- Walmart
- Sephora
- Nordstrom
These retailers require a direct EDI connection to manage orders efficiently. If you plan to do business with these or similar large retailers, EDI integration is often necessary.
When EDI is Not Required
Standard wholesale orders that do not require EDI are usually:
- Sent to smaller retailers
- Used for your own retail or pop-up stores
- Sent to suppliers that manage orders manually or through non-EDI methods, like their own portal
3. Managing Wholesale Orders with EDI Integration – Get Started Quickly
For clients working with large retailers that require EDI, MasonHub provides comprehensive support to ensure seamless order processing.
Process Overview:
- Establishing EDI Connection
- Clients must have a direct connection with the retailer for transmitting EDI orders, shipments, and invoices.
- Recommended Partner: We recommend using SPS Commerce for EDI management. MasonHub has extensive experience with SPS Commerce, including a direct integration for future automation. Your Onboarding Specialist or Client Success Manager will introduce you to our SPS Commerce Client Success Manager if you do not already have a relationship with them.
- Getting Started Quickly
- Manual Order Upload: Initially, clients can partner with SPS Commerce and use the manual order upload process to get orders into MasonHub's system.
- MasonHub's Role: Our operations team will use the SPS Fulfillment portal to create Advance Shipping Notices (ASNs) and download labels. We will then ship the orders and send the ASN.
- What We Need from You
- SPS Commerce Portal Access: Provide MasonHub's Operations team with a login to your SPS Commerce portal.
- Packout SOP and Routing Requirements: Supply detailed information about your packout Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and any specific routing requirements.
Additional Requirements
- Depending on the retailer, additional actions may be needed, such as:
- Emailing or sending Bill of Lading (BOL) documents
- Coordinating with the retailer for special instructions
Note: Clients are responsible for submitting invoices to their retailers.
4. Long-Term EDI Automation with MasonHub and SPS Commerce
MasonHub offers the potential for full EDI order automation through our direct connection with SPS Commerce, though the timeline is subject to your order volume and SPS’s and MasonHub’s resource availability. We always recommend getting started quickly with the above manual “Managing Standard Wholesale Orders Without EDI.” This allows us to get started receiving and fulfilling your EDI orders as soon as the team has reviewed your partner’s requirements and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
When It Makes Sense to Automate
Automating the order creation process depends on the order volume and if and when SPS and MasonHub have resources available to start the project. The process can take 4-8 weeks, depending mostly on if you’ve already established a contractual relationship with SPS Commerce and the responsiveness of the retailer and the SPS team in testing the connection. There are also monthly fees associated with establishing, building, and maintaining the automation.
Reach out to your Client Success Manager if you’re looking to automate the EDI order creation process for more information on if it makes sense, availability, and cost. For example, if you receive 1 order from a retailer every 3-4 months, it does not make sense to set up the automation.
Options to Approve Purchase Orders (POs) Before Sending to MasonHub
SPS Commerce offers two options when establishing the connection to automatically send MasonHub orders through our integration:
- Dynamic forwarding – this allows you to review POs in the SPS Commerce portal and make any edits before approving it. Once approved, it will be forwarded to MasonHub with any changes applied.
- Automatic forwarding – this automatically forwards the PO as the retailer created it without any review or approval option.
Steps to Automate EDI Orders
For clients working with retailers that require EDI automation, partnering with SPS Commerce is an essential step. Below is the process to initiate the integration and testing for seamless order management between the retailer, SPS Commerce, and MasonHub.
Step 1: Initial Assessment
First, reach out to your Client Success Manager at MasonHub to discuss if it makes sense to pursue EDI automation based on your business needs and retailer relationships. This assessment will help determine whether the integration would provide value and fit your current operations.
Step 2: Establishing a Relationship with SPS Commerce
If automation is the right path, you will need to establish a direct relationship with SPS Commerce. During this phase:
- SPS Commerce Account Rep: Upon starting the relationship, you will be assigned an SPS Commerce Account Representative, who will guide you through their onboarding process and facilitate the necessary setup.
- Notifying MasonHub: MasonHub will also notify our SPS Commerce Account Representative to update the scope of our agreement to include automation for the specific retailer. This ensures both parties are aligned on the technical requirements and project expectations.
Step 3: Coordinating with the Retailer
SPS Commerce will then kick off a project with the retailer and their team to begin configuring and testing the EDI connection. The client’s SPS contact will work directly with the retailer to manage this configuration, ensuring that the retailer is ready to transmit EDI documents, such as Purchase Orders (POs), through SPS Commerce’s system.
Step 4: Retailer and SPS Testing
Once SPS Commerce has received a test Purchase Order from the retailer, they will pass it through their system to MasonHub. This marks the beginning of the integration testing process between SPS Commerce and MasonHub.
Step 5: Integration Testing Between SPS and MasonHub
MasonHub’s Project Manager will then initiate the integration testing process:
- Account Configuration: MasonHub will configure your account in our system to handle the specific EDI data for the retailer.
- Running Test Orders: MasonHub will process the test Purchase Order through various testing scenarios to ensure the order flows correctly from the retailer, through SPS Commerce, and into MasonHub’s system.
- Development Considerations: During testing, there may be a need for development on either the SPS Commerce or MasonHub side to map the retailer’s specific EDI documents to our system’s specifications. This step is crucial to ensure orders are created accurately and in line with the retailer’s requirements.
Step 6: Timeline and Considerations
The entire process from configuration to testing generally takes 4-8 weeks. The timeline is often dependent on:
- Retailer Responsiveness: Retailers need to be responsive and available to kick off testing and address any questions that arise during the process.
- Technical Requirements: In some cases, additional development may be required to ensure proper mapping of the retailer's EDI format to MasonHub's system.
5. Managing EDI Integrations with ERP Systems
For clients using ERP systems such as NetSuite or Cin7 to manage their business operations, EDI integrations add a layer of complexity that requires careful planning and execution. The requirements and steps for integration will vary depending on your current setup with the retailer and your ERP system.
Scenario 1: ERP Connected to Retailer via SPS Commerce
If your ERP system is already connected to the retailer through SPS Commerce:
- Order Creation: ERP development is required to connect to MasonHub’s API to create orders.
- Label Generation & ASN Creation:
- MasonHub's Role: Our team can access the SPS Fulfillment Portal to retrieve shipping labels and generate the ASN (Advance Shipping Notice).
- Data Flow: However, to send the ASN data back to the retailer, development is required to connect your ERP system to SPS Commerce for this specific task to send the ASN back to the retailer.
- Development Requirements:
- ERP to SPS Connection: This will involve development work to establish a link between your ERP system and SPS Commerce, ensuring that ASN data flows correctly back to the retailer.
- ERP to MasonHub API: This will require third-party development to connect your ERP to MasonHub’s API.
- Coordination: This process will require collaboration between your ERP provider, SPS Commerce, and MasonHub.
- Scoping and Estimation: This process is subject to scoping, and we will provide an estimation of the timeline and costs involved based on your specific setup and requirements.
Scenario 2: Direct ERP-Retailer Connection Without SPS Commerce
If your ERP system is directly connected to the retailer without using SPS Commerce:
- Order Creation: ERP development is required to connect to MasonHub’s API to create orders.
- Label Generation & ASN Creation:
- MasonHub Configuration: Our team will need to configure labels and go through compliance testing according to each retailer’s specs.
- Data Flow: MasonHub’s API will send data to the ERP that’s required for the ERP to generate and send the ASN to the retailer through its EDI connection.
- Custom Development Required:
- Solutioning: In this case, a custom development solution will be needed on both the ERP and MasonHub sides to manage the EDI data flow.
- Scoping and Estimation: This process is subject to scoping, and we will provide an estimation of the timeline and costs involved based on your specific setup and requirements.
- Integration Steps:
- ERP Integration: Your ERP provider will need to work closely with MasonHub to build the necessary integrations to handle EDI data, such as orders, ASNs, labels, and other documents.
- Testing: Extensive testing will be required to ensure that the integration is functioning correctly and that data is being transmitted accurately between the ERP, MasonHub, and the retailer.
Conclusion
Managing wholesale orders with MasonHub is designed to be flexible and efficient, whether you're dealing with standard orders or complex EDI requirements. By following the outlined processes, you can ensure smooth operations and focus on growing your business.
For any further questions or to begin the setup process, please reach out to your MasonHub Client Success Manager.