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SPS Commerce

by SPS Commerce · EDI

Full-service retail EDI and supply chain network with managed trading-partner onboarding

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Works with
NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage, Acumatica, SAP
Deployment
Cloud
Company size
SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise
Pricing
Quote-based
Founded
1987
Headquarters
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Overview

SPS Commerce operates one of the largest retail-focused cloud EDI and supply chain networks, connecting more than 115,000 companies across retailers, suppliers, distributors, grocers and logistics providers. Its core proposition is a fully managed, full-service model: rather than selling software for customers to operate themselves, SPS staffs the mapping, testing, trading-partner enablement and ongoing change management so suppliers can meet retailer compliance requirements without an internal EDI team.

The platform centers on SPS Fulfillment (managed EDI), supported by analytics, item/assortment management and a large pre-built library of retailer connections. Because SPS already maintains the document specifications and maps for thousands of retailers, grocers and marketplaces, new trading partners can typically be enabled quickly and retailers can drive vendor compliance across their supplier base. SPS integrates the resulting document flows into ERP, accounting and WMS systems through pre-built connectors and integration services.

The company is publicly traded (NASDAQ: SPSC), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and traces its origins to St. Paul Software (1987). In December 2020 it acquired Data Masons, adding deeper Microsoft Dynamics EDI capability to its portfolio.

Screenshots & demo

Demo video hosted on YouTube.

Features & capabilities

Trading Partner Onboarding

Managed enablement using a large pre-built retailer library

  • Pre-mapped connections to thousands of retailers, grocers, distributors and marketplaces
  • Full-service onboarding handled by SPS staff (mapping, testing, certification)
  • Retailer-driven vendor compliance programs with coordinated supplier outreach
  • Standardized retailer document specifications maintained centrally by SPS
  • Ongoing management of trading-partner spec changes and updates

Fulfillment EDI

Core managed EDI for retail order-to-cash documents

  • Purchase orders (850), invoices (810), advance ship notices (856)
  • Functional acknowledgments and order acknowledgments
  • EDI label and packing-slip generation for retailer compliance
  • Exception handling and chargeback reduction support
  • Compliance validation against retailer-specific rules

ERP & System Integration

Connects EDI document flows into back-office systems

  • Pre-built integrations to NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage, Acumatica and SAP
  • Integration to accounting, ERP and WMS platforms
  • Mapping of inbound/outbound documents to ERP transaction records
  • Managed integration services for custom or legacy systems

Analytics & Item Management

Retail data products layered on the network

  • SPS Analytics for point-of-sale and inventory visibility
  • SPS Assortment for catalog and product data management
  • Sales and inventory reporting across retail channels
  • Item data syndication to trading partners

Network & Connectivity

Cloud network spanning the retail supply chain

  • Cloud-based retail network with 500,000+ connections
  • Support for EDI, web forms and integrated connections for smaller vendors
  • High-volume transaction processing across the network
  • Web EDI portal option for low-volume suppliers

Service & Support

Human-led managed service model

  • Dedicated implementation and account teams
  • Ongoing monitoring and issue resolution by SPS staff
  • Change management as retailer requirements evolve
  • Customer support across the supplier and retailer base

Common use cases

  • Suppliers meeting EDI compliance mandates from big-box and grocery retailers
  • Retailers onboarding and driving EDI adoption across a large vendor base
  • Replacing a manual or in-house EDI operation with a managed service
  • Connecting an ERP (NetSuite, Dynamics, SAP) to retail trading partners
  • Reducing retailer chargebacks tied to EDI and labeling errors
  • Gaining point-of-sale and inventory analytics across retail channels
  • Scaling EDI as a growing brand adds new retail accounts

Strengths & considerations

Strengths

  • One of the largest retail-specific trading-partner libraries, reducing onboarding effort
  • Fully managed (full-service) model that offloads EDI operations from customer staff
  • Deep retail/grocery specialization rather than general-purpose integration

Considerations

  • Retail/consumer-goods orientation makes it less of a fit for non-retail B2B integration
  • Managed-service model offers less hands-on self-service control than developer-oriented platforms

ERP integrations

Prebuilt connectorBi-directional
Prebuilt connectorBi-directional
Prebuilt connectorBi-directional
Prebuilt connectorBi-directional
Prebuilt connectorBi-directional

Pricing

Model
Quote-based
Free trial
No

Pricing is quote-based and typically driven by number of trading partners, document/transaction volume, and level of managed service. Get an independent shortlist with pricing guidance below.

Technical & security

Hosting
SaaS (multi-tenant)
Languages
English

About the vendor

Founded
1987
Headquarters
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Employees
~2,000
Ownership
Public

Alternatives to SPS Commerce in EDI

SPS Commerce — frequently asked questions

Is SPS Commerce a self-service or managed EDI provider?

It is primarily a full-service, managed provider: SPS handles mapping, trading-partner enablement, testing and ongoing change management on the customer's behalf.

Which ERPs does SPS Commerce integrate with?

It offers pre-built integrations to NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage, Acumatica and SAP, plus managed integration to other systems.

What is SPS Commerce best known for?

Retail EDI compliance and a large pre-built library of retailer connections that speeds supplier onboarding.

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