Distributor channel, how do Tech Data, Ingram Micro, Synnex EDI integrations work?
The four US IT distributors that matter: TD SYNNEX (post-2021 Tech Data + Synnex merger), Ingram Micro, D&H Distributing, and Westcon-Comstor (specialty networking). They move ~80% of channel volume between them.
The integration is EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) using ANSI X12 transaction sets:
- EDI 850, Purchase Order. Magento sends a PO to the distributor when a customer order requires drop-ship fulfillment.
- EDI 855, PO Acknowledgement. Distributor confirms accept/reject + estimated ship date.
- EDI 856, Advance Shipping Notice. Distributor confirms the carrier + tracking number when the box ships.
- EDI 810, Invoice. Distributor sends the invoice (you pay them on Net-30 / Net-45).
- EDI 846, Inventory Inquiry / Advice. Daily stock-level + price feed pulled into Magento.
- EDI 832, Price / Sales Catalog. Less common; usually catalog comes via a flat feed instead.
You don’t build raw EDI in-house. The pattern: managed-EDI provider (SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce, Cleo, Boomi, MuleSoft) sits between Magento and the distributor’s VAN (Value-Added Network). Cost: ~$400, $2,000/mo per trading partner. Setup: 4-8 weeks per distributor.
Drop-ship orders auto-route based on lead-time + geography (a customer in Boston gets fulfilled from a New Jersey TD warehouse; a customer in Dallas gets fulfilled from a Texas Ingram warehouse). Saves your CSR team ~25 hours/week of manual quote-and-PO entry.