Why do I need a webshop if I already offer EDI?

Companies that already exchange orders and invoices with their largest customers through EDI sometimes wonder whether a webshop still adds anything. On the surface, both solve the same problem: customers who can order without a phone call or an email. The difference lies in exactly who gets served, and what still needs to happen beyond an order coming in.

What EDI actually solves

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) lets a customer's system talk directly to your own ERP. An order, order confirmation or invoice gets exchanged as a structured message, without anyone retyping the data. For a large retail chain or industrial buyer placing dozens of orders a day, that saves a lot of manual work and reduces errors on both sides.

That's exactly what EDI is built for: two systems that recognize each other and speak the same language, so an order that comes in at 2am gets processed without anyone stepping in.

Who an EDI connection actually makes sense for

Setting up an EDI connection isn't a matter of flipping a switch. Every partner requires its own mapping, testing process, and often a VAN provider in between, which takes time on both sides. Large customers with their own IT department invest in that themselves, sometimes because they require it as a condition of doing business with them.

For a smaller customer, or one who orders only occasionally, that investment doesn't pay off against the order volume. That customer typically has no EDI connection, and won't build one just for a single supplier.

What EDI doesn't solve

The long tail of smaller customers. Most businesses have a handful of large accounts on EDI, and a much larger number of customers without that connection. They keep ordering by phone, email or a spreadsheet, no matter how well the EDI connection with the biggest account works.

New customers. A prospect who hasn't decided to buy yet isn't going to build an EDI connection first just to place an order. They expect a way to look around, compare and order right away.

Product information and imagery. EDI messages carry item numbers, quantities and prices, not technical spec sheets, photos or certificates. A buyer choosing between two variants finds nothing in an EDI message to help decide.

People, not systems. An employee at the customer's end who has a question about a delivery, needs to look up an invoice, or needs a quote for something new, doesn't turn to an EDI connection for that. That communication runs through people, which means phone or email if there's no other channel.

Ad hoc orders. EDI works well for repeat orders that follow a fixed pattern. A buyer who needs something outside that pattern, or wants to browse what else is available, gets nothing from it.

The result of EDI without a webshop for your sales team

In practice, this means the sales support team runs two tracks at once: automated orders from the largest customers through EDI, and manual work for every other customer and request. New customers still get onboarded by phone or email. Smaller accounts still call for prices that are already fixed. And questions about invoices, delivery times or technical specs land with the same people who also maintain the EDI connection.

What a webshop adds alongside EDI

A webshop serves the part of the customer base that EDI structurally doesn't reach: smaller and new customers, people who want to search and compare themselves, and requests that don't fit a fixed order pattern. Customers log in, see their own pricing and assortment, search a catalog with technical information and imagery, and order or request a quote without an IT project standing in the way.

EDI and a webshop don't rule each other out. Large accounts keep ordering through EDI, while the rest of the customer base gets its own channel that also doesn't need to run through sales support. Both channels take work off the same people's plate, each for a different part of the customer base.

How to decide if you need a webshop alongside EDI

A few questions point the way quickly. What share of customers orders through EDI today, and what share by phone or email? How much time goes into onboarding new customers who don't (yet) have a connection? How important is product information, such as spec sheets or certificates, to the buying decision for smaller customers? And how often does an order fall outside the fixed pattern EDI can handle?

The larger the share of the customer base that falls outside the EDI connection, the more a webshop adds on top of what EDI already does, simply because the two serve a different segment of the same customer base.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use EDI and a webshop alongside each other?

Yes. They serve different customers: EDI for large accounts with their own system integration, a webshop for the rest of the customer base and for people who want to browse or order themselves.

Is a webshop unnecessary if my largest customers already order through EDI?

Not if there are also smaller or new customers without an EDI connection. Otherwise they're left relying on phone and email, no matter how well the EDI connection with the largest accounts works.

What does an EDI connection cost compared to a webshop?

An EDI connection is set up per partner, with its own mapping and testing process for each customer. A webshop is a one-time build that's reusable across the entire customer base.

Does a webshop replace my EDI connections?

No. A webshop sits alongside EDI for customers and requests it doesn't reach, not in place of the existing connections with large accounts.

Which customers use a webshop if EDI is already in place?

Mostly smaller and new customers without their own system integration, and employees at larger customers who need something outside their fixed order pattern, such as a quote, technical information or an invoice.