RE: EDI Requirements

As one of the primary designers of the MAPICS EC module I would like to
give my 2 cents.

1. EDI is not normally a do-it-yourself project. If you don't have any EDI
experience, EDI is extremely confusing and overwhelming.

2. The EC module was designed to allow as many customers as possible to
install/implement EDI with MAPICS without the need for additional
programming.

3. EDI is not a standard but a guideline. Each trading partner has
different requirements and each MAPICS install has their own set of
requirements. That is why user exits points are provided. This does require
a programmer, but there are many firms that can do this for you. And
normally once one trading partner is setup, the user exit can be re-used
with others.

4. The EC documentation is intended as a reference to the transactions, not
a training manual. You normally don't learn EDI and how to implement EC
with a reference guide. It is advised that the person doing the
implementation attend the education offerings provided by MAPICS or have
someone that has been through training to assist.  If you intended on
implementing MRP, you wouldn't just read the manual. In the beginning, in
order to implement EC, either the customer or the affiliate had to be
certified to install and implement the module. This is a common practice
with new MAPICS  modules and is still used today. Certification is given
when someone successfully attends and completes the EC education offering.

5. MAPICS support for EC is provided through Custom Systems Corporation. We
have to work closely with all the applications that we interface with as
well as the supported translators (Pergrine and EXTOL). The primary mission
of the MAPICS support line is for defect management, not training. I would
assume that most of the problems encountered or echoed on the list are
companies that are trying to implement EC without one of the supported
translators. I would agree that trying to implement EC with a non-supported
translator is a daunting task, but it is not the responsibility of the
support line to assist with that level of questioning.

6. Why doesn't EC support additional translators? Well, in the beginning
there was Premenos' EDI/400 product. That was the official supported
translator for MAPICS. When we developed EC, it was a requirement to have
EC seamlessly integrate with that product. The design of EC allows the
normally tedious mapping exercise in the translator to a simple one-to-one
relationship. During the development of this interface, other translators
were contacted but they had no interest in assisting or providing the
interface definition for their products to be interfaced to EC. EXTOL
lobbied with MAPICS and with the assistance of Custom Systems Corporation,
developed an interface from EXTOL to EC.

7. For those that say that EC support is not well informed or helpful, I
would like to know when you called and what issues were not resolved to
your satisfaction. I can tell you that the EC support staff prides itself
on assisting our customers and going above and beyond the normal support
requirements for the MAPICS support line. We have even been known to assist
with COM, Purchasing, MRP and AP issues that relate to EDI or EC. The
support staff is also trained and is knowledgeable in the supported
translator and will field many questions regarding those products, saving
the customer another support call to the translator company.

If you have any further issues that I didn't cover or would like to speak
with me privately, please contact me.

Michael Franchino
Custom Systems Corporation
(973) 383-7808 X214 (Phone)
(973) 383-6398 (Fax)

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