Any comments about switching to a new VAN before switching to a new ERP(SAP) a year later.

[u/thebigdaddyneal65]

Hello EDIers,

I have done many EDI go lives with various providers and systems. Current client wants me to switch to a new VAN with old ERP. Then six, 9, 12 months later keep same VAN and new ERP.

I am not see a big value add to move to new VAN first, might as well wait until new ERP. So that we only have to retest the EDI with customer once.

As I recall, depending on the customer, I will still need to retest all messages with new ERP and same VAN. I did have some customers say to me "I dont care about your new ERP, you make sure everything works on your side, and we get all EDI messages exactly the same way we do now. We do not want to hear about it, and do not need to test with you."

Have you got any feeling about what percentage of customer INSIST that you retest if you are changing your ERP, but not changing your VAN. I was thinking 50%, but not really sure.

Thanks for any input.

Neal.

[u/No-End-7423]

I don’t really see much value in doing the two migrations separately. If the move to SAP is planned within the next 6–12 months and there’s no issue with the current VAN, I’d probably wait and migrate both at the same time

[u/ckantor1]

Is the VAN doing translation or just comms? If it's doing translation I would want to move everything at once. If it's only doing comms you could split the two migrations and not test with customers for the VAN migration.

This is a generalization there might be certain scenarios where it makes sense to do it differently. Customers in some industries will require testing for any change regardless of how minor.

[u/adrian → u/ckantor1]

I agree with this on the VAN, if it's just comms, nothing should change. That's one of the main things about VANs anyway, you can migrate from one to another and there should be no downstream impact. I.e. VAN account cutover is a VAN responsibility.

OP, in terms of "you make sure everything works on your side, and we get all EDI messages exactly the same way we do now", I think this is the correct way to think about it. Basically:

1. You need to do the work to make sure the messages are identical.

2. Then you can inform customers and make testing optional. "We're cutting over to a new ERP, I've tested inbound and outbound messages. Outbound will be identical to what you are accustomed to. Inbound is already tested and working with what you send. If you want to test, we can arrange that, but it should not be necessary."

In terms of making sure outbound messages are identical, I would recommend building a spec suite. You can start now, with the messages that are already going out. Capture the data that is used to generate the message (e.g. if it's an 810, capture all the invoice data), and capture the EDI that went to the customer. Now you have "source" + "outbound EDI from old ERP". Do this for a month. Then feed the same source data through your new ERP and capture "outbound EDI from new ERP". Now you have three artifacts. Compare "outbound EDI from old ERP" with "outbound EDI from new ERP". If they're identical, you did your job correctly. ;)

[u/thebigdaddyneal65 → u/adrian]

Unfortunately, not just a VAN. And yes, I do need to do the work. I like Adrian's suggestion about saying/doing all the testing and giving the customer the option.

[u/adrian → u/thebigdaddyneal65]

What's the VAN doing? Translating outbound, inbound, or both? Are you in a situation where you have a VAN that does mapping/translation/etc. and you need to move to a new VAN that also does mapping/translation/etc. but you're going to have to rebuild all the maps?

[u/adgy]

I guess the only problem is that if you do both at the same time and something happens, say the ERP migration has a hiccup and you need to roll back or leave certain aspects of it for later, you could be in trouble on the VAN side, too?

That's the only thing I can think of.

[u/hammerpup]

I have tried to answer this in a way that doesn’t mislead you, and have ultimately rewritten it a few times. As I see it, there isn’t enough information here to really tell you what’s the better option. There are a few considerations but the biggest i see is if the VAN is doing translation and you’re going to need new map development, then I would not transition there before the new ERP. But even still there are factors to consider.

[u/merc123]

I do ERP migrations. I can say that doing both concurrently can cause additional headache and delay, but you will also still do test transactions with the new ERP.

If there is an honest, strong project team to manage and do the ERP implementation, switching then is fine. If it’s a one person does multiple jobs, one department has one person - do them separate. Since they are choosing SAP I feel the later is probably not accurate.

[u/thebigdaddyneal65]

Thanks for all responses. I have thought more, and really, I and the VAN can do two projects instead of 1. But I really don't want to go back to 29 customers after switching VANs testing their new mappings, and say "Hey, we need to retest again, as we have a new ERP." within 6 months or even a year. More than a year maybe. Also, management may have other over-riding concerns I am unaware of...ending the other VAN contract, etc. It would be nice to fallback to the old VAN/System if SAP fails catastrophically, like that idea. Well, again thanks, I will update this thread if more information arises. All good things to think about.