EDI Roll-out is my favorite area of concentration. Would like to pass on some issues/concerns from a company just getting into the EDI arena:
"My company is in the process of getting EDI up and running. We plan to do extensive parallel testing with our first 5 trading partners to ensure everything is working properly.
I was wondering how long it would take to start rolling out other trading partners after that.
Here are the factors to consider:
-We're going to receive 810 invoices from our vendors through EDI and possibly other documents.
-We will have already have set up 5 initial trading partners before attempting to roll out other partners.
-EDI is new to me and the rest of the employees in my company.
Is it realistic to think that we could roll out one vendor per week for 3 weeks? And then 2 per week for the next 8 weeks after that and finally advance to 3-4 per week?"
 
Yes, it is "possible". However, you have numerous unknowns that will impact
your ability to get it done.
- Your EDI experience is admittedly slim, making it difficulty to respond appropriately to issues that arise. And there will be a lot of them, happening quickly.
- You have no control over your trading partners. You may call them all and let them know you'd like to turn them on. However, many trading partners require a testing cycle and simply not have the time to slot you in immediately. Also, some Trading partners require a "lot" more work than others.
- You have not indicated how many of "your" folks would be involved in the effort. This is actually quite a bit of work, with a great deal of coordination and details that need to be managed.
- You have not indicated if you have all of the affected business groups in your organization prepared and ready to assist. Implementing EDI is not just a technical endeavor. It requires understanding, buy-in, and support from all of the groups that will be impacted. Here is a simple one - you have to get your vendor relations group involved. They are the ones that know who the right contact is. They also know which partners are the biggest pain to work with (start them early). You need to have upper management's involvement - they know what the priority is for roll-out.
 
I recommend bringing in a consultant. Here is why. Bringing up trading partners is a clearly defined effort, with a clearly defined beginning and end. It requires skills that you probably don't have, for an effort that needs to be done immediately. Success is required, and there isn't time to really train for this. It is something they don't cover in school. I have been doing this stuff since 1990. (Think of it, tell somebody in 1990 that you "did EDI" and imagine their reaction!) I probably will not be able to help you with yours, but I might know somebody who is available.
 
Since you will be receiving 810's, I will assume many are suppliers. Did you create an Implementation Guide to send to all suppliers so you need only have one set of maps for them? Are you sending schedules or PO's? Are you expecting ASN's (856)? If you have the standards set since you are the customer, you can make your supplier roll out much simpler. If you are the supplier on the other hand, you will need to comply with your customer's wishes for the most part. Of course, there
may be extenuating circumstances where you might need to do custom for suppliers, but if you have a great number of them, it would make it much easier to use one set of maps. Get that Implementation Guide out to all your suppliers ASAP to give them time to do what they need to do. You also need the backing of your purchasing department for this project. You don't say how many there are, but it sounds like quite a few from you goals. If you standardize the supplier side, your supplier roll out
can actually be done quicker. Communication with your Customer's/Supplier's is key.

To expand,  I caution you that each trading partner will present you with a different set of challenges. Some will be simple, straightforward, professional, and will return phone calls and respond to emails in a timely manner. Their data will be error-free, and compliant with your implementation guide. There are few of these Trading Partners in the world. The remainder present various problems, and each one will have new challenges, from people who don’t know and don’t care about what they are supposed to be doing, to technical problems and system incongruities that you didn’t plan for.
 
Rolling out partners can be a trying and tricky endeavor. Some of your trading partners will be a "snap" to implement and others will be a major headache. Some will not want to follow your 810 specifications - and some will have no problems following your specs. Some will be super easy to work with and some will not.
 
Could you conceivably get 1 per week for 3 weeks, 2 per week for 8 weeks and finally 3 to 4 per week? Sure. It's possible. it may even be probable. But it may never happen, too.
 
Also, if any of your vendors use 3rd party EDI providers, then you could - COULD - conceivably have a dozen in a week - based on how many use one of these 3rd party providers.