There are several ways to get to the EDI parameter program. . .

• From the iMerchant Desktop
• Select Modules > Purchasing > EDI.
• The EDI work screen appears.
• To access the parameter program
• Click on the EDI Parameters tab.
• The EDI parameter program appears.

Or . . .

• From the iMerchant Desktop
• Select  Tools > Administration
• From the list of parameters that appear on the Administration screen
• Select EDI
• The EDI parameter program will display.

Or . . .

• From the Vendor Properties program
• Click on the arrow at the right of the EDI field
• The EDI parameter program will appear.

Once you have accessed the EDI parameter program, you will be at the basic Find screen, where a list of EDI trading partners (ones whose parameters have already been established) will appear.

You can either select an existing trading partner from the list, or you can create a new one.

Either way, you will be taken to the EDI Properties page.

This is where you set up the necessary parameters for EDI to function for this trading partner.

Once you set up the parameters of an EDI trading partner, you should not need to change them (though, if you need to, you can).

Many of the fields in EDI Properties are specific to a particular trading partner and are, in fact, provided by the trading partner.

Other fields specific to a particular trading partner may not be provided by the trading partner, however.

To assist you with the setup, at the bottom of this page, there is a list of EDI trading partners supported through [i] Merchant.

Clicking on any one of these partners will take you to a new page that details the specific information you will need to set up the parameters for any particular trading partner.

EDI File Types

850 - PO

855 - AWK

857 - Shipping with Product Info

856-810 - Shipping Info without Product & Invoice

977 - Acknowledgment

The top two fields of the EDI Properties screen are the standard Code and Description fields.

Simply key in the desired values.

• For example, you may want to use a code of BT for Baker & Taylor; and the Description: Baker & Taylor.

The EDI Type is a pull down field

• Click on the arrow at the right of it and select the appropriate EDI Type for this EDI trading partner.
• The pull down list will include the trading partners supported by [i] Merchant.
• Select the correct one - it will usually match what you have in the Description field.
• If you are setting up parameters for a smaller trading partner whose name does not appear on the pull down menu
• Select "Other" from the menu.
  • If you choose an EDI Type of Ingram with Labels a field called Ingram Labels will appear to the right.

Vendor SAN number. Provided by the EDI trading partner. Links to trading partners here

• Key the number they supply you with in the Vendor San field.

Store San: Key in your Store SAN

Ship To SAN: Key in your ship to SAN.

• This field tells the vendor where to ship the books.
• It can be the same number as your Store SAN
  • If you operate a multi-store system, the Ship To SAN allows you to have a separate Ship To SAN while simultaneously retaining the corporate Store SAN.
  • If you are a single-store operation, the Ship To SAN field can just have the same value as the Store SAN. There would be no need to differentiate the two fields.

X12 First Stamp and X12 Second Stamp: unique for each trading partner.

• accessed by using the links at the bottom of this page.

Days to Cancel: Select the number of days you are willing to wait for a product from this EDI trading partner before canceling the order for the product in question.

Backorder: a pulldown field, which, obviously, pertains to how you want backorders to be handled.

• There are four selections to choose from.
• Select the one that makes the most sense for you.

Send in ISBN 13 format: a checkbox field.

• If checked, the electronic files you send to this trading partner will use ISBN 13 product numbers.
• If unchecked, the files will be sent using the 10-digit ISBN format (as opposed to the 13-digit ISBN).
• Be sure to inquire with the trading partner in question before checking or unchecking this box, to make sure you and the trading partner are on the same page.

NOTE

• This ISBN-13 checkbox field is not connected to Product Properties set up.
• That is, if you have a 10-digit ISBN in the product number field for a product in Product Properties, but you check this ISBN-13 field here in EDI Parameters, the product will be sent in the 13-digit format.
• The reverse is also true. If you have a 13-digit ISBN in Product Properties Product Properties, but you do NOT have the 13-digit ISBN field checked here in EDI Parameters, then the product being sent in the EDI transmission will be formatted as a 10-digit ISBN.

Process ASN Files: a checkbox field.

• If checked, [i] Merchant will process ASN (Advanced Shipping) files, enabling you to tie the Preliminary Receiving function to EDI ASN files.
• If unchecked, ASN files will not automatically be stored in the Preliminary Function program.

Include UPC Items: a checkbox field.

• If checked, UPC product numbers are allowed to be sent electronically.
• If unchecked, UPC product numbers will not be able to be sent electronically.

If you selected  EDI Type = Ingram with Labels, an Ingram Labels button will appear at the right of the EDI Parameters screen.

Click on this field to set up the Ingram labels. You can design the last three lines of the label.

• Choose which line you wish to edit in the Choose line to edit field at the right of the screen.
• Beneath this field, you will see the Choose Product to display field, which enables you to select a product as a sample, allowing you to see how the fields you select will appear on the label. (The display portion of the screen is at the top left.)
• To add a field to the line you are designing
• Click on the Add Field button.
• This will call up a pallette.
• Drag fields from the pallette onto the work screen, keeping in mind that you have only 30 characters available per line.
• You can adjust the number of characters per field as needed.
• To delete a field, highlight the row you want deleted, and click on Delete Field"
• Repeat the above process for Lines 1, 2, and 3 of your Ingram label.

The lower portion of the screen deals with the FTP information.

Remote Host: the FTP site for the EDI trading partner in question.

Remote User: the user name given to your store by the EDI trading partner.

Use this name to log into the trading partner's FTP site.

Remote Password: the password provided to your store by the EDI trading partner.

Use this password when logging in to the trading partner's FTP site.

Remote Port: is the port number for the EDI trading partner's FTP site.

Remote In Directory: the directory to use on the FTP site for placing files that need to be retrieved by the EDI trading partner. Not all trading partners require this.

Remote Out Directory: the directory to use on the FTP site for picking up files sent to you by the EDI trading partner. Not all trading partners require this.

Remote Out Directory Ext: consists of the required file extension for files to be picked up on the FTP site.

Not all trading partners require this.

Full Local Path: indicates what directory all saved files (both sent and received) will be stored.

If left blank, the system will default to the [i] Merchant temp folder.

The ideal storage place, however, would be a shared folder on the PC server.

Proxy Host, Proxy User, and Proxy Password are only needed for Pubnet.

Test FTP: Found at the bottom of the EDI Properties screen

• Once all the parameter fields have been filled in, it's a good idea to click on Test FTP in order to test the functionality of the FTP connection.
• If everything checks out okay, the system will tell you.
• If there is a problem, the system will indicate that, too.
• Nothing in the test session is actually sent to the trading partner; it is strictly a means to check the efficacy of the connection.

One of the icons on the toolbar at the top of the EDI Properties screen needs mentioning here.

Clicking on Map opens the EDI Problem Response Mapping window.

Essentially, in this window, you will select which of the status codes from the trading partner (such as OP-Out of Print, PA-Partial Shipment, etc.) you want to attach to Problem Codes that have been set up within your [i] Merchant system.

If you do not choose a particular status code, then it will simply not be attached to a Problem Code and [i] Merchant will do nothing with it.

To map a status code to a Problem Code:

• Select File > Add Mapping from the menu at the top of the EDI Problem Response Mapping window.
• A new row appears in the window.
• In the EDI Responses field
• Click on the arrow at the right and select the EDI status code you want to attach to one of your store's Problem Codes.
• In the Problem Code field, select the Problem Code you want to attach to the status code you just selected.
• The Complete PO field is a checkbox field.
  • If checked, the products that come back on the PO with the indicated status code will be marked as being complete on the PO.
  • If unchecked, such products will not be marked as complete. Whether or not the products in question will be set up for automatic reorder, etc. is determined by the attached Problem Code.
• To apply the mapped status code,
• Click on the Apply button at the top left of the EDI Response Mapping window.
• If you just click Cancel, the status code will not have been mapped.

If you want to map another status code to a Problem Code, repeat the above procedure, and a second row will appear.

Continue mapping (and applying) status codes until you have mapped as many as you want.

When you are finished, close the EDI Response Mapping window.

To access the EDI program:

• From the main [i] Merchant Desktop
• Select Modules > Purchasing >EDI.
• The EDI work screen appears.
• This is the launching pad for all EDI functions in [i] Merchant.

The EDI work screen is separated into two basic sections: Purchase Orders and FTP - with EDI Partner.

Additionally, there is a display grid at the bottom of the work screen.

Any POs you select will display in this grid.

In the Purchase Orders section, located in the upper left of the work screen, there are three tabs:

Find PO's, Remove PO's, and PO Properties.

Before you can send or receive acknowledgment for electronic orders, you must, of course, first select which POs on your system you want to send electronically in the first place.

The place to start is with the Find PO's tab.

• Click on the Find PO's tab in your EDI work screen.
• The Find Purchase Order window appears.
• Select the POs you want.
• It can be just one, or it can be every PO on your system.
• Once you have selected the appropriate POs, you are automatically brought back to the EDI work screen, and the POs just selected appear in the grid at the bottom of the screen.
• The grid displays the following information for each selected PO: Sent Date (if it has been sent); Received Date (if you have processed the acknowledgment for the sent PO); PO Number; Vendor Name (taken from the PO when you created it); and EDI Partner (taken from Vendor Properties for the vendor you chose to put on the PO).

If you want to view the Properties for any of the POs displayed in the work-screen grid:

• Highlight the desired PO,
• Click on the PO Properties tab in the Purchase Orders section of the work screen.
• You will be taken to the PO Properties page for the PO you just selected.
• There, you can make any changes necessary, or just view the Properties.
• Upon closing out of PO Properties, you will be returned to the EDI work screen.

If there is a PO displayed in the EDI work screen grid that you do not want displayed:

• Highlight the PO you want removed,
• Click on the Remove PO's tab in the Purchase Orders section of the work screen.
• The PO you had selected will be removed from the work screen grid (but not from the [i] Merchant system).

If at any time during this process you want to add more POs to the work-screen display grid,

Select the Find PO's tab again and select more POs to put in the grid.

Once you have all of the desired POs displayed in the grid, you can begin the Electronic Ordering process.

To send the PO's:

• Click on the Send PO's button in the FTP - with EDI Partner section of the work screen.
• The Send PO's box appears for the first EDI trading partner listed in the grid at the bottom of the work screen.
• In the Send PO's box,
  • Select whether or not you want to allow back orders for this PO, in dealing with this particular EDI partner.
  • If you will allow them, click on "Yes". If not, select "No".
• In the Cancel Date field, select the cut-off date, after which you will no longer accept products on this PO from this EDI partner.

Note:

The values you select here, if different from the ones in EDI Parameters, will override the comparable values established for the EDI partner as set in EDI Parameters.

• Once you have set the values in the Send PO's box the way you want them
• Click on OK to send the POs to the EDI partner.
• All applicable POs in the work-screen grid are instantly sent to the EDI partner, via FTP.
• In the work screen grid, the Sent Date column is automatically filled in with the current day's date for all applicable POs.
• If there are still POs remaining in the work screen grid that are to be sent to different EDI trading partners
• The Sent PO's box will automatically appear for them, one at a time.
• Simply repeat the process just described for each applicable EDI partner.
  • For example:
  • The Send PO's box may have appeared first regarding Baker & Taylor.
  • But in your work-screen grid, let's say you also have POs to be sent to Random House and Partners.
  • Once you send the POs to Baker & Taylor, the Sent PO's box will pop up for Random House.
  • Then, after sending the POs to Random House, the Sent PO's box will appear for Partners.
• If, for whatever reason, you decide not to send the POs to an EDI trading partner after the Send PO's box has already appeared
• Click on Cancel at the bottom right of the Send PO's box.
  • The PO's will not be sent.

After sending POs, you will later want to receive an acknowledgment that the EDI trading partner actually retrieved the POs you sent to them.

To get an acknowledgment from an EDI partner:

• From the EDI work screen
• Click on the Get PO Acknowledgment from the FTP - with EDI Partner section of the work screen.
• The EDI Confirmation box appears.
• You will be receiving acknowledgment for POs one EDI trading partner at a time.
• In the EDI Vendor field
• Select the EDI trading partner you want to get an acknowledgment from.
• Click on the arrow at the right of the field, and select the desired trading partner from the list.
  • Process EDI Responses is a check-box field.
    • If checked, the system will apply the actions determined by the problem codes and status codes you set up in EDI Parameter for this trading partner. In other words, the system will apply the mapping you have established for this trading partner.  
    • If unchecked, the system will not pay attention to the mapping you established in EDI Parameter for this trading partner.
• The remaining fields within the EDI Confirmation box apply only if you checked the Process EDI Responses field.
• Use Vendor: applies to the TBO screen.
  • If you checked the Process EDI Responses field above, and if you set up mapping for this trading partner in EDI Parameter, then any products not shipped to you on the PO will be put back on to the TBO screen.
• If you select Specific here, every product not received on the PO (or POs, if you're getting acknowledgements for more than one PO from this trading partner) will go back to the TBO screen with the vendor you specify in the TBO Vendor field below.
  • So, for example, let's say you did not receive six products from a PO, and you select Specific here, then choose Ingram in the TBO Vendor field below. All of these six items will go back on the TBO screen, and the vendor listed for them at that screen will now be Ingram.
• If you select Vendor of Record here, all unreceived products on the PO (or POs) will go back to the TBO screen, and the vendor listed there for each product will be that product's vendor of record, as established in Product Properties.
  • So, for the six products referenced above, they can conceivably have six different vendors of record.
• TBO Vendor: only applies if you select Specific under Use Vendor.
  • If applicable, select the TBO Vendor by clicking on the icon at the right of the field and then selecting the desired vendor.
• TBO Type: is optional. Whatever you choose in this field will be the TBO Type for every product not received on this PO (or POs).
  • The unreceived products will go back on to the TBO screen, and their TBO Type will be filled in with whatever you choose here. (Note: The TBO Type field from the Problem Code parameter will NOT carry over to the EDI module. If you want to set a TBO Type in EDI, you must fill the field in here.)
• Once you have set up the above parameters the way you want them
• Click on OK.
• If you click on Cancel, the PO or POs will not be acknowledged as received.
  • All of the POs that have been received by the applicable EDI trading partner will display in the work screen grid, and the Received Date column will fill in with the current date.
• Repeat the above steps for every applicable EDI trading partner from whom you need to get acknowledgments for outstanding POs.
• To view EDI Parameters,
• click on the EDI Parameters tab in the FTP - within EDI Partner section of the EDI work screen.

Notice at the top left corner of the EDI Work screen, there are two pulldown menus:

Purchase Orders and FTP.

Some of the selections in these menus simply mirror the buttons on the work screen itself.

But you should be aware of two menu selections that differ--one under Purchase Orders, the other under FTP.

1) Under the Purchase Orders pull down menu

Take note of Remove Send Date to Send again.

• This is only relevant if you know there was a problem with a particular PO not being transmitted to a trading partner.
• Under normal circumstances, when you send an order, the Sent Date fills in and you cannot resend the order.
• But if there was a problem, you may need to resend.
• If you need to resend an order because it did not go through the first time,
• Highlight the order you wish to resend
• Select the Remove Send Date to Send again option.
• This does just what it says: It removes the Sent Date, which enables you to resend the order.

Warning: Use this option with extreme caution, or else you will inadvertently send an order twice.

Make 100% certain that the order did NOT go through before attempting to send it again.

2) Under the FTP menu, notice the choice, Log Ftp Session.

• You should have this field checked.
• This will log your FTP sessions.
• Therefore, if a problem occurs, you will have a log of the files and can use that to discern what may have gone wrong.

Baker & Taylor

Ingram

Partners

Penguin

PubNet

Random House

Bookazine

If a version 3060 850-PO with all 3 N1 segments (required by the BookNet Canada specs is sent to Pubnet to a Vendor mailbox which has crossborders maps turned On with the Preferred EDI Version as 4010, the PO arrives in the Vendor mailbox in version 4010 with the 3 N1 segments.

Use the Vendor San box on EDI Properties to include a VN N1 record in your file.