Enhancing Service Responsiveness: The Strategic Potential of EDI Available to Purchase

Reports a recent survey of warehousing firms which examined the extent of involvement in electronic data interchange (EDI) and the impact which EDI has had on the firms′ operations and service capabilities. Warehousing firms providing EDI services to their customers were found to be better able to accommodate selected customers′ requests than firms not providing EDI services. Additionally,the firms providing EDI service were offering more services to their customers than firms not providing EDI service. Based on the research results, EDI firms appear to be more flexible and more responsive to customer requests. EDI offers significant potential for helping firms to gain competitive advantage and enhance customer responsiveness.