If managing your EDI—or your provider—is taking more time than expected, you’re not alone. Slow response times, communication challenges, and missed requirements can leave you wondering if you’re working with the right partner. Maybe it's time to consider switching EDI providers.

Your EDI partner should have your back, understand your systems and business processes, prioritize your needs, and genuinely care about your business’s success. If they don’t, perhaps it’s time to consider a change.

Why Your EDI Partner Matters

EDI plays a critical role in business operations, enabling a smooth flow in customer fulfillment and effective vendor relationships and planning. Without a reliable EDI solution, you're exposed to inefficiencies, lost data, penalties, and more.

Red Flags You Shouldn’t Ignore

It’s important to have a true partner in EDI. Some signs you might not have one include:

• Constantly following up with your EDI partner on statuses
• Noticing errors before your EDI provider does
• Having to explain the nuances of your business processes over and over
• Needing to maintain an in-house expert just to communicate in technical terms
• Lack of transparency
• Excessive delays in project start times or delivery

What’s Stopping You From Switching?

Why companies hesitate to change providers:

• The grass is always greener – What if the new provider is no better than the one you left? Talk to references and do your due diligence. Know the kind of partner you need—and make sure that’s what you’re actually getting.
• Transition risk – You have a lot of maps and partners and can’t risk issues during migration. A good partner will have a robust testing strategy to validate mappings and mitigate potential issues.
• Cost – You might be paying a lot now for mapping changes and worry about redoing everything. Consider a provider that offers a pricing model like the one we have for Arcus that has usage-based billing and no migration cost

But staying with the wrong provider also comes with cost and risk:

• Continuing to overpay for onboarding and changes
• Delays in onboarding new partners or making updates that hold up your business
• Time and resources lost chasing down your provider for support

How to Choose the Right EDI Partner

Look for a partner who understands your business, your systems, and your needs. They should be proactive, communicative, and committed to reliable support and timelines.

Do your research and narrow down a few partners for a deeper evaluation. Consider pricing, but make sure you understand what’s included:

• Do you have to pay for small changes or new trading partners?
• Are there minimum commitments even during business slowdowns?
• What do current clients say about working with them?

You Deserve Better

A solid EDI partner shouldn’t feel like a constant source of stress—it should feel like one less thing you have to worry about. If your current setup is causing more problems than it solves, it might be time to take a closer look. Even just exploring what else is out there can give you a better sense of what’s possible. You don’t have to make a move overnight, but keeping your options open is a smart way to make sure your systems—and your team—are set up for success.