Trading Partner Onboarding Without the Setup Headaches
Shep connects manufacturers’ and distributors’ new EDI customers and trading partners to the order and ERP workflows they already run. We handle everything from partner requirements and EDI setup to ERP and warehouse integration, so your team gets new partners up and running without managing the project or coordinating multiple vendors.
- Get new customers and trading partners connected faster.
- Cut the manual setup, mapping, testing, and coordination.
- One team handles the full onboarding, from EDI setup to ERP and warehouse integration.
Trusted by leading brands
95%
less manual order process work
10X
faster setup with new integrations
ZERO
additional tools needed for visibility and audit trails
Shep connects trading partners (using any protocol, AS2, SFTP, FTPS, or VAN) to NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, Shopify, and major 3PL and WMS systems.
What Is Trading Partner Onboarding?
Trading partner onboarding is the process of setting up the technical and business requirements you need to exchange documents and transact electronically with a new customer, retailer, supplier, or other business partner.
For EDI trading partner onboarding, that usually means:
- Identifying the transactions and document formats the partner requires
- Configuring partner-specific requirements
- Setting up the communication method, such as AS2, SFTP, or VAN
- Mapping their data to your internal systems
- Testing and validating transactions against their spec
- Moving the connection into production
Every partner has its own version of these requirements, and you must meet them before you can trade electronically.
Start Trading With New Customers Without Getting Stuck in Onboarding
When a new retailer or customer requires EDI, onboarding stands between a signed deal and your first order. Until the connection is live, orders can’t flow, shipments can’t be confirmed, and invoices can’t go out. Every week of EDI partner onboarding delay holds up revenue you’ve already won.
Shep configures the documents, formats, and rules each new customer or retailer requires, so you can comply without becoming an EDI expert.
Cut the delays between winning the business and processing the first order.
Shep handles the technical work, so a new partner doesn’t turn into an internal bottleneck.
How Shep’s Trading Partner Onboarding Process Works
The trading partner onboarding process usually runs through the same five stages. What changes is each partner’s requirements, and Shep’s team works through those with you.
We identify the trading partner, the documents and formats they need, how they want to connect, and the business rules they expect you to follow.
We set up the partner’s requirements and map their incoming and outgoing data to your internal systems through Shep’s Common Data Model.
We test and confirm transactions against the partner’s requirements, including EDI certification testing where the partner asks for it, before the connection moves to production.
Shep builds the ERP and warehouse integration into the same onboarding project. You don’t have to run it separately or bring in another vendor.
We move the partner into production and keep supporting the integration afterward, allowing you to track every transaction from order to invoice.
Handle Each Trading Partner’s EDI Requirements Without Starting From Scratch
No two trading partners ask for exactly the same thing. One retailer wants an 856 with carton-level detail over AS2, and another sends orders through a VAN with its own validation rules. That’s why EDI trading partner onboarding can’t be the same process every time.
Shep handles each partner’s requirements for you, so your team doesn’t have to become EDI experts. Your systems are mapped once to our Common Data Model, and each new partner only needs its own format mapped to that. You don’t rebuild your integration every time you add a partner.
Configure what each partner requires
Shep sets up the documents, rules, and validation checks each trading partner specifies.
Map partner data to your systems
Incoming and outgoing data translates into the formats your ERP and warehouse need.
Connect on the partner’s terms
Shep supports X12, EDIFACT, XML, and CSV, over AS2, SFTP, FTPS, VAN, or whatever secure method the partner uses.
Connect New Trading Partners Directly to Your ERP and Order Workflow
A trading partner connection only pays off once the partner’s orders reach the systems that process and fulfill them. Plenty of trading partner onboarding software stops at the EDI connection. After that, someone on your team keys orders into the ERP and sends updates back manually, or you bring in another vendor to build that integration.
Shep connects new partners straight into your ERP and warehouse as part of onboarding, so their transactions run through the same order workflow as the rest of your business.
Shep validates incoming partner orders and creates sales orders in your ERP automatically, with no rekeying
Acknowledgements, ship notices, and invoices are sent to the partner from your systems through the right workflow.
EDI, ERP, and fulfillment stay connected, so orders don’t wait on someone to move them along.
Reduce the Manual Work Behind Trading Partner Onboarding
Manual trading partner onboarding means repeatedly collecting requirements, configuring connections, validating documents, and chasing emails across partners, EDI providers, and ERP teams. And each new partner brings more work.
Shep reduces that burden:
Reduces manual configuration for each new partner.
Validates every transaction against partner requirements before they reach production.
Shep handles the trading partner, the EDI setup, and the ERP and warehouse integration, so you’re not coordinating between providers.
Scale Trading Partner Onboarding as Your Customer Network Grows
Onboarding one trading partner is manageable. But as your customer network grows, one-off integrations multiply across orders, acknowledgements, shipments, invoices, and inventory. Each adds another connection to maintain and another point where orders can fail.
Shep connects partners through one platform, reducing ERP integrations and customizations on average by 75%.
Add partners without creating silos
Bring new trading partners into existing workflows.
Keep everything connected
Route partner transactions through your existing ERP and warehouse processes.
One platform, one support team
Manage your growing integration network in one place with one team to call.
Get Support From Onboarding Through Go-Live
Trading partner requirements can be unfamiliar, and unclear specs or failed tests can stall a launch. Shep’s team does the work for you from the first requirements call through go-live and beyond.
- Understand partner requirements: Get help interpreting each partner’s specs.
- Get support at every stage: Guidance from Shep through setup, testing, and go-live.
- Keep the same team after launch: Get ongoing support from the people who know your integration.
Benefits of Trading Partner Onboarding With Shep
Cut onboarding delays and start processing the new customer’s orders sooner.
Spend less of your team’s time configuring and chasing each new connection.
Get the documents and workflows each trading partner requires configured and validated.
New partner orders flow straight into your ERP and fulfillment workflows.
Add customers without adding the same integration complexity each time.
One team handles onboarding, the ERP and warehouse integration, and support after go-live.
Why Choose Shep for Trading Partner Onboarding?
Many trading partner onboarding software tools stop at the EDI connection. Shep gets you a working trading relationship, with the partner connected, your ERP and warehouse integrated, and one team behind it all.
10X Faster Setup
Shep sets up new integrations 10X faster than building a new connection from the ground up, so onboarding isn’t a months-long project.
75%* Less ERP Customization
Customers see 75% fewer integrations and customizations to their ERP, because every partner connects through one Common Data Model.
*Based on 10 connections
Built for The Systems You Use
Shep works with NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, Shopify, and major 3PL and WMS systems, plus X12, EDIFACT, and the protocols your partners require.
One Platform, One Team
The team that onboards your partner also builds the ERP integration and supports it after go-live, with on-the-phone help for critical issues.
Get New Trading Partners Connected with Confidence
Need to Onboard a New Trading Partner?
Tell us who you need to connect and which systems they need to connect to. We’ll handle trading partner onboarding from requirements and setup through to testing and the ERP and warehouse integration, and take it all the way to go-live.