Manufacturers and distributors today face a relentless challenge: How to move information as efficiently as they move goods. Customers expect faster responses, suppliers demand tighter coordination, and regulators keep raising the bar for compliance. Spreadsheets and siloed systems can’t keep up.
That’s where business-to-business (B2B) integration comes in. By automating the exchange of data and streamlining workflows among internal and external partners, B2B integration helps companies reduce errors, speed up fulfillment, and gain real-time visibility across their supply chains. In industries where margins are razor-thin, this technology upgrade is also a major competitive advantage.
At its core, B2B integration is the automation of processes and communication among trading partners, often using electronic data interchange (EDI) standards or APIs to transmit purchase orders, invoices, and shipping notices in real time. Unlike manual entry or email attachments, integration helps ensure information flows securely and consistently across disparate systems.
B2B integration platforms provide tools for mapping data, onboarding partners, and enforcing standard formats so every participant in the value chain is on the same page. This reduces delays and errors while enabling what IBM calls “frictionless commerce” across complex supply networks.
Although both B2B integration and managed file transfer (MFT) focus on moving data between organizations, they serve very different purposes.
B2B integration is optimized for structured, repeatable transactions such as purchase orders, invoices, and advance shipping notices. It ensures data is exchanged in standardized formats like EDI or APIs, enabling automation and real-time visibility across partner ecosystems.
MFT, on the other hand, specializes in the secure transfer of unstructured or large files. It provides encryption, audit trails, and compliance features that are critical when sharing intellectual property, financial records, or design documents across organizations.
Understanding the distinction helps companies choose the right tool for the right task, and in many cases, employ both side by side.
Organizations may combine the two to help ensure that high-volume financial workflows run smoothly alongside sensitive file transfers. Together, MFT and B2B integration manage both unstructured and transactional exchanges at massive scale.
Here’s another look at how they compare:
|
Feature / Use Case |
B2B Integration |
Managed File Transfer (MFT) |
|
Primary focus |
Automating structured, transactional data exchanges (e.g., POs, invoices, shipping) |
Securely transferring unstructured or large files (e.g., CAD drawings, reports) |
|
Data formats |
EDI, XML, APIs, standardized formats |
Any file type (text, media, encrypted archives, design files) |
|
Best for |
High-volume, repeatable business transactions |
Ad hoc or scheduled movement of sensitive, complex, or oversized files |
|
Protocols supported |
AS2, SFTP, HTTP(S), APIs, and trading-partner standards |
FTP, SFTP, FTPS, HTTPS, AS2, plus encryption and compliance layers |
|
Business benefit |
Reduces errors, speeds up order-to-cash cycles, improves partner visibility |
Maintains compliance, secures intellectual property, supports auditability |
|
Examples |
Sending invoices between ERP systems; automating purchase orders |
Transferring engineering blueprints, encrypted financial statements, video files |
|
Typical deployment |
ERP or integration hub with partner community |
Standalone or integrated into ERP for specific high-security use cases |
Many companies deploy both. A manufacturer may rely on B2B integration to handle daily supplier transactions, while also using MFT to securely share product prototypes with a design partner overseas. Together, these tools create a hybrid integration strategy that balances speed, security, and flexibility across the full spectrum of data flows.
B2B integration is transforming how businesses collaborate. Companies automating routine transactions like invoices, purchase orders, and shipping notices can cut manual data entry, reduce costly errors, and respond faster to customer needs. Research highlights that integration enables faster time to market, higher revenues, and greater agility in adapting to shifting demands.
The impact goes beyond efficiency. Reliable, real-time communication builds stronger partner and customer relationships. When suppliers know exactly what to ship and customers can trust the accuracy of their orders, confidence grows across the value chain. Integration also provides visibility that helps organizations anticipate bottlenecks and adjust proactively.
TASi Measurement, a global leader in measurement instrumentation, faced the complexity of multiple ERP systems across 16 business units. After standardizing on Epicor Kinetic, the company automated intercompany processes like POs, invoices, and reporting, while also establishing consistent practices across acquisitions.
The results were striking: inventory was reduced by 40%, invoicing time dropped from 22 days to just 2 days, and the business saved more than $300,000 annually through IT efficiencies. Beyond the numbers, TASi gained visibility that allowed leaders to make faster, better-informed decisions. Employees, now freed from repetitive tasks, could instead focus on higher-value work. Their integration unlocked both financial and operational gains, especially critical for global enterprises managing diverse business units.
See how TASi Measurement reduced inventory 40% and dropped invoicing time by 91%. Read the full success story.
The best B2B integration solutions bring three critical capabilities to the table:
TAL Building Centers, a family-owned building materials company, leaned on Epicor BisTrack to unify its data and operations across 31 locations. With real-time visibility into pricing and inventory, TAL automated thousands of stock codes, boosting gross margin by 100 basis points and reducing its inventory by 15%. Back-office workloads also dropped 20% thanks to automation in AP, AR, and purchasing.
The shift to BisTrack gave leadership actionable intelligence to guide pricing strategy, streamline dispatch and delivery, and improve customer satisfaction. By turning data into a daily advantage, TAL positioned itself to scale acquisitions without adding complexity—a critical move for a company in rapid growth mode.
Despite its benefits, B2B integration comes with hurdles. Many manufacturers and distributors still rely on legacy systems that weren’t designed to connect with modern platforms. This can create integration gaps, forcing IT teams to juggle outdated tools alongside cloud-based applications.
Data security and compliance are also major concerns. With regulations tightening across industries like healthcare, finance, and aerospace, companies need to ensure that sensitive data is encrypted, auditable, and protected against breaches. Managed file transfer (MFT) often complements B2B integration here, offering compliance-ready tools such as audit trails and encryption for large, unstructured files.
Finally, businesses managing vast partner ecosystems face complexity in onboarding and coordination. Each new supplier or customer may bring different data formats, protocols, and compliance requirements. Without a flexible integration platform, these differences can create friction instead of efficiency.
Succeeding with B2B integration requires more than just the right technology. Organizations should follow a few guiding practices:
Webster Industries, a make-to-order manufacturer, migrated to Epicor EDI to unify document exchange with trading partners. The results were impressive: a 75% reduction in EDI errors, a 90% faster resolution time on exceptions, and seamless integration with Epicor Kinetic that enabled customer purchase orders to automatically generate sales orders.
By consolidating EDI with ERP, Webster moved to a management-by-exception model. Teams no longer waste hours scanning for errors but focus only on triggered alerts. The new system also reduced costs compared to their previous vendor and improved confidence across departments. Here, Epicor’s integration tools improved workflows and created a foundation for reliability and trust.
Find out how Epicor helped Webster achieve a 75% reduction in EDI errors and 90% faster resolution times: Read the full success story.
Epicor brings decades of industry expertise to B2B integration, offering solutions that connect trading partners, automate workflows, and scale as businesses grow. Manufacturers and distributors can leverage:
These tools are backed by resources like the Cross-EDI 101 Guide and the Agility Index, which help businesses benchmark their digital maturity and map a path forward. From small industrial manufacturers to large global enterprises, our customers show how integration with Epicor tools drives measurable impact in efficiency, cost savings, and customer value.
Companies like TASi Measurement have seen these wins first hand, cutting their invoicing time from 22 days to just two with Epicor Kinetic.
Our approach reflects our company promise: to be the essential partner to the world’s essential businesses, equipping them with the digital foundation to make, move, and sell better.
With Epicor, B2B integration forms the foundation for your organization's lasting competitiveness and success.
We’ve got the solutions to help you move forward. Contact Epicor today.
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