In this article, learn about:
Common EDI transaction codes at Ulta
EDI essentials for Ulta Beauty
EDI with OpenText at Ulta
Alternative EDI options with Ulta
EDI is the common language for business transactions in the modern retail industry. It was developed early on as a way of keeping communication between trading partners uniform across a wide variety of industries. Now it is common in many industries beyond retail as well.
Most of the important cash exchanges between retailers and suppliers are now run through EDI document types that help to organize the most crucial details like pricing, purchase order numbers, advanced shipping notice, and invoice details, to mention a few.
Ulta Beauty requires all of their suppliers to be EDI capable within 30 days of signing a Vendor Purchasing Agreement (VPA) or supplier agreement. There are rare exceptions that are made on this requirement, but the exception will be clarified in the VPA.
Related Reading: EDI for Retail Supply Chains Cheat Sheet
Common EDI Transaction Codes at Ulta
Ulta requires EDI capability for their suppliers and, specifically, these transaction codes:
810: Invoice
850: Purchase Order
855: Purchase Order Acknowledgement
856: Advance Ship Notice (ASN)
860: Purchase Order Change Request
EDI 810 Invoice
Invoices are the documents sent to Ulta to request payment for an order. For invoices, it is essential that the supplier and retailer are aligned about pricing and the quantity of shipments. If not, suppliers are likely to receive a deduction.
Related Reading: EDI 810 Invoice
EDI 850 Purchase Order
Purchase Orders are the documents generated by the retailer to the supplier that indicate the number of items requested and their ultimate destination. These are usually a reflection of projected sales and replenishment efforts on both the retailer and the supplier side, but suppliers are not always prepared to completely fulfill their POs.
See EDI 860 Purchase Order Change Request for more information about how to negotiate a PO change with Ulta.
On POs, Ulta will include important dates: the Requested Ship Date and the Requested Delivery Date (RDD).
The Requested Ship Date is relevant to Collect shippers, and it is calculated as the PO submission date + pick/pack/ship calendar days.
The Requested Delivery Date is relevant to Prepaid shippers and is calculated as the ship date + pre-set transit time in calendar days unless that day falls on a weekend or holiday.
Related Reading: What is a Purchase Order?
EDI 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgement
The EDI 855 document type is useful for confirming the receipt of a PO on the supplier’s side. Whenever there is confusion or miscommunication about a missed order, the EDI 855 document is brought in to prove the receipt or lack thereof.
EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice
Advance Ship Notice documents, or ASNs, are used to help the retailer prepare for an incoming shipment from the supplier. These documents will detail the amount and destination of a shipment.
At Ulta, only one ASN is allowed per PO, per delivery. This means that there should be complete alignment between the PO, the invoice, the ASN, and the shipment. Whether you’re shipping FTL, LTL, or parcel, Ulta still requests a 1-for-1 ratio between these documents. This is helpful for cleaning up misunderstandings after the fact.
Related Reading: What is an ASN? Understanding Walmart's Updated Validation Process
EDI 860 Purchase Order Change Request
These documents are common and required at Ulta. At other retailers, PO change requests sometimes happen within retailer portals or more informally between buying and selling parties in both organizations. Keeping these transactions fully in EDI is also helpful for keeping the changes all in one place.
EDI Essentials for Ulta
After getting started at Ulta, suppliers will be asked to fill out a Trading Partner Profile through OpenText. OpenText will also manage the Pricing Agreement acceptance through their portal.
Suppliers are required to pay a one-time EDI testing fee for OpenText, and there are other fees required as well if suppliers need to use the OpenText web portal to share EDI documents. Suppliers will also receive an onboarding email from the OpenText Compliance Service team to begin the EDI enablement process.
Suppliers also need to register with FIS (Fidelity Integration Services) Integrated Payables, the third party that Ulta works with for Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments. Registration can be done by contacting their vendor enrollment team at agp.jax.vendorenrollment@fisglobal.com or 877-330-4950. After that, suppliers still need to contact FIS@Ulta.com to finish ACH setup.
EDI with OpenText at Ulta
There are two common transaction methods for Ulta suppliers when using OpenText:
OpenText EDI Integrated
OpenText Freeway Web Portal
OpenText EDI Integrated
The OpenText EDI Integrated option is designed for suppliers who already have established EDI capabilities and support. This option allows connection with Ulta EDI for companies that already have elaborate processes set up for data integration with an ERP. This way, Ulta suppliers don’t need to completely rework their EDI process internally to work with Ulta.
This process’s cost consists of a one-time $450 fee.
OpenText Freeway Web Portal
The OpenText Freeway Web Portal is more expensive than OpenText EDI Integrated, but it is also helpful for smaller suppliers who are new to EDI. In this portal, Ulta suppliers can receive notifications, access POs, submit ASNs and invoices, and print Ulta compliant shipping labels.
This portal has a one-time setup fee of $199 with additional fees depending on the document count. The additional fee ranges anywhere from $41/month for users averaging 25 documents per month to $1,028 for users averaging 1,000 or more documents per month.
Alternative EDI Options at Ulta
Before fully onboarding EDI, new Ulta suppliers can receive POs via email from their Ulta Inventory Analyst. In the meantime, invoices can be sent via snail mail to:
Ulta Beauty, Inc.
Attention: Accounts Receivable
1000 Remington Blvd., Suite 120
Bolingbrook, IL 60440
Ulta views this as a temporary solution for the 30-day window between signing a VPA and getting fully onboarded. Ulta allows suppliers to use other EDI providers, like SPS Commerce, but there may be fees associated with this decision.
Many suppliers already happy with their org-wide EDI solution may prefer to work with Ulta to retain their preferred partner. In some cases, it is a much simpler matter to keep an org-wide EDI provider than to defer to each of your customers’ preferred partners. Either way, a cost analysis that includes added lift from end-users is a good idea.
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