Why More Manufacturers Are Choosing EDI VAN Services Over SPS Commerce for Cost Savings and Flexibility

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BOLD VAN Marketing
November 5, 2025
5 min read
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For manufacturers, especially CFOs and IT directors, the decision to entrust supply chain operations to an EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) provider is not taken lightly. You're measured by your ability to reduce costs, minimize risk, and keep everything running efficiently. Yet, for many, the experience with large, legacy platforms like SPS Commerce ends up being defined by frustration, hidden fees, and deep skepticism about change. We get it — because we've worked with dozens of teams just like yours, and we've made switching to a better EDI VAN service seamless, predictable, and worth it.

The Real-World SPS Commerce Experience: Frustration and Uncertainty

It shouldn't require days of research or late-night reading on Reddit to know whether your EDI provider is up to the job. But that's exactly what many SPS Commerce users end up doing. Look for honest reviews or open discussions, and it's rare to find much positive being said. Stories of endless onboarding delays, ticket loops with support, and bills that grow mysteriously month to month are common themes.

  • Onboarding headaches: Long setup times can stretch to months, forcing your team to follow up repeatedly rather than focus on business operations. Trading partners get frustrated, and IT departments are left improvising workarounds.
  • Poor support post-sale: Many report that helpful sales teams vanish as soon as contracts are signed. When issues arise, responses are slow, inconsistent, or unhelpful.
  • Opaque pricing: Surprises on the monthly invoice — from mailbox fees to extra per-transaction or data storage charges — make it difficult for cost-conscious manufacturers to budget.
Wide angle view of a warehouse with stocked shelves and boxes.

Cost Savings and True Flexibility: Why Manufacturers Choose EDI VAN Services

Manufacturers are shifting away from legacy EDI platforms for two simple reasons: dramatic cost savings and greater operational flexibility. But they are not just looking to save a few dollars — they want a partner who respects the complexities of manufacturing, supports integration, and keeps operations disruption-free.

Transparent, Predictable Pricing

We believe you should always know what you’re paying for. At BOLD VAN, we publish our pricing directly on our website. No opaque quote process. No surprise mailbox or document complexity fees. Our per-trading-partner pricing model allows you to scale your business without your EDI fees ballooning out of control. Businesses like Spanx realized an 83% cost reduction, while Endust cut expenses by 50% — real savings that are visible and repeatable when hidden charges are taken off the table.

Rapid, Low-Risk Migration

For supply chain leaders, the thought of a disruptive migration is enough to delay making a better choice, even when they know the status quo is broken. Our customers don't have to face that risk. We routinely onboard manufacturers within a day, handling all trading partner outreach and taking care of legacy configuration for you. No need to even alert your suppliers or customers to the switch — we manage it discreetly and without downtime. This speed gives your team back time and ensures cash flow isn’t stranded due to order bottlenecks during migration — something that simply isn't possible with the long onboarding timelines common with SPS Commerce.

Man in beanie and vest using a scanner in a warehouse for inventory control.

Support That Never Disappears

Every manufacturer we support makes it clear: when something goes wrong (and it occasionally does with any tech), responsiveness and expertise are critical. Our team is on call across US and EU time zones, 24/7 — and always staffed by EDI experts, not generic call center agents. When you pick up the phone or open a chat, you speak with someone who understands supply chain, EDI formats, migrations, and ERP integration.

Integration That Fits Your Stack, Not the Other Way Around

Your EDI provider should make your life easier, not force you to fit an inflexible mold. We offer direct, real-time integration with platforms including NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Infor, and more. This means your EDI workflows adapt to your established business logic and data flows, with no months-long wait for custom mapping or third-party coordination.

Enterprise-Grade Visibility, Compliance, and Data Retention

Modern supply chains demand compliance, fast retrieval of historical orders, and the ability to demonstrate operational integrity. Our portal gives you instant access to the past 90 days of EDI data, with secure archival for seven years. Audits, disputes, and partner reviews become straightforward — not multi-day fire drills.

Comparing the Experience: BOLD VAN vs. SPS Commerce

We maintain a transparent head-to-head comparison to make it easy for CFOs and EDI teams to benchmark providers without jumping through sales hoops. You can view the full comparison at BOLD VAN vs. SPS Commerce, but here are the highlights that matter most:

  • Implementation: Typical migration in 1 day with no disruption, compared to 2-6 months and possible interruptions with SPS Commerce.
  • Support: 24/7, expert-led, and US/EU-based, not left to a ticket queue.
  • Pricing: Published, per-partner, with no document or mailbox fees. SPS Commerce pricing often surprises even experienced CFOs.
  • Trial: Three-months free service so you can test drive our portal and onboarding risk-free.
  • ERP Integration: Deep support for common manufacturing platforms, updated in real time to avoid project overruns.

Making the Switch: The Journey in Four Steps

  1. Submit Your Current Bill: Use our online tool to upload your SPS Commerce VAN bill. We guarantee savings, no matter your current scale.
  2. Test With a Free Trial: Try our EDI VAN services, side-by-side with your existing system. Validate faster document exchange and better visibility before any commitment.
  3. Zero-Downtime Migration: Our team manages the transition, including all trading partner communication. No phone calls, no retraining, no data loss.
  4. Run Your Business With Confidence: Enjoy enterprise-grade support, rock-solid uptime, and real-time, customizable reporting. Focus on product and growth, not EDI headaches.

What If You Stay With SPS Commerce?

Many manufacturers understandably hesitate rather than switch — but this comes at a cost that compounds over time:

  • Continued exposure to unpredictable pricing, often increasing annually
  • Long lead times for new trading partners or map changes
  • Missed efficiency gains from faster onboarding and flexible integration
  • Reputational impact if orders are delayed due to EDI disruptions
Warehouse interior showing workers handling boxes and organized shelves filled with products.

Is Now the Right Time for Manufacturers to Switch?

This is perhaps the most important question CFOs and IT directors ask us. Here are the factors we see driving the timing right now:

  • Profit pressures: After years of cost creep, the ability to save 50-80% instantly on an operational line item is too valuable to pass up.
  • Resilience: As supply chains become more complex, having a responsive EDI partner with proven, robust uptime is now mission-critical.
  • Maturity of cloud EDI VAN technology: The modern alternatives are tested, stable, and fully integrated — the technical hurdles from years past simply don’t exist anymore.
  • Trading partner independence: You don’t need your partner to change anything, and with zero downtime, your supply chain keeps flowing even as the switch is completed.

What Manufacturers Should Do Next

Ultimately, the right EDI partner should save you money, minimize risk, enhance flexibility, and let you focus on product and growth, not troubleshooting or budget surprises. The manufacturers who have made the switch to BOLD VAN aren't just testimonials — their experiences are visible in their cost structures, happier trading partners, and supply chains that move at the pace of their business.

We encourage any manufacturer curious about cost savings or frustrated with the current EDI experience to do these three things today:

  1. Head to our side-by-side comparison with SPS Commerce for transparent facts.
  2. Upload your VAN bill for a price guarantee — real numbers, no guesswork.
  3. If you want to see it in action, schedule a demo with one of our EDI experts and feel what real support and simplicity can mean for your team.

For deeper reading, see our step-by-step onboarding breakdown in The Manufacturer’s Guide to Trading Partner Onboarding in EDI.

Ultimately, your EDI provider should work for you — not the other way around. With BOLD VAN, it's finally possible to save more, do more, and worry less. It's the reason so many manufacturers are making the switch right now.

BOLD VAN Marketing
Content Manager

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