Electronic Data Interchange and Vendor Portal GSA Global Supply federal requisition program is a one-stop online shop, where civilian and military buyers can source supplies and submit wholesale orders, to be delivered around the world. GSA contractors who want to conduct business through GSA Global Supply must follow the guidelines requirements of business transaction processing, which cover all stages from order processing and shipping, to customer communications, to data accuracy and compliance. According to these requirements, GSA Schedule holders must use one of two methods to process their business transactions: Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or Vendor Portal (VP).
- EDI
Electronic Data Interchange is GSA Global Supply’s preferred method for conducting business transactions, as it facilitates immediate processing of GSA order requests, as well as streamlined communication between vendors and government buyers. EDI is the preferred method for high-volume GSA contractors, as all information is electronically processed in a standardized format, eliminating time-consuming manual data processing, and allowing the vendors to communicate directly with buyers. Using EDI helps GSA vendors lower their costs, make transactions more efficient, and reduce human errors. Becoming a certified GSA EDI vendor takes 1-3 months and involves the following stages:
- Contact GSA EDI to start the process.
- Complete an onboarding survey to assess your government EDI capabilities.
- Attend a kick-off meeting.
- Complete the testing process: create a test catalog and check that your EDI can communicate with GSA Global Supply.
- VP
Vendor Portal is used by smaller scale GSA contractors, who have less than 100 purchase orders a month and therefore cannot use EDI. VP is more cost-effective than EDI and setting up an account takes just 1-2 days, rather than several months. The software is simpler and is used to view and accept purchase orders, view special instructions, enter shipment and delivery information, generate backorders and more. However, there are downsides to using Vendor Portal: Global Supply orders must be inputted manually; invoices cannot be created on VP; and vendors can only directly communicate with the GSA, and not their customers.
How can Price Reporter help with GSA EDI business transactions processing?
Price Reporter’s Order Management System (OMS) is an advanced, cloud-based platform that provides EDI integration to vendors across many industries including IT, industrial, office supplies and others. Our GSA OMS ensures that your orders are processed in full compliance with regulations and synchronizes your accounting data with QuickBooks. Contact Price Reporter today for a consultation, and one of our certified EDI professionals will help you to fit our system to your business’s requirements.
