FAQs

1. It is 2023. Why do I need EDI to sell to retailers and online marketplaces?

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is a standard that allows for the electronic exchange of business documents between two parties. By using EDI, brands and retailers can quickly and securely send and receive documents, such as orders, ship notices, and invoices. This saves time and money, reduces errors associated with manual data entry, and enables compliance with each retailer's specifications. Unlike APIs whose definitions vary widely between applications, EDI is a data standard that is understood across the industry. With Crstl, however, having to worry about these details will be a thing of the past. When you use GMail you don't need to understand the underlying protocols - we believe the same should be true when communicating with your trading partners and operating your business day to day.

2. Are you an agency that can help me land retail expansion?

We are a technology platform that provides your business with mission critical data- and business-connectivity to transact with all your trading partners. We do not provide the sales and services offerings needed to expand into the different retailers and online marketplaces, but we'd be happy to make an introduction to a suitable agency partner. Just reach out to us!

3. Which retailers and distributors can Crstl connect to?

Crstl already helps brands to transact with most major US retailers and distributors, and thanks to our best-in-class data connectivity platform and onboarding tools, we will have you onboarded with your trading partner in days.

4. Will I be able to use Crstl with my ERP / WMS / 3PL?

Yes! Tell us what you need and if we don’t already support it with one of our robust native integrations, we will use our modern tech stack and all-star team to build it out for you!

5. Does Crstl support UCC-128 shipping labels and packing slips?

Yes, we do! Glad you asked.

6. This sounds amazing. What is FREEDI and how can I get started?

FREEDI is Crstl's offering for brands looking to get started with EDI for their first trading partner, or those wanting to try out Crstl with one trading partner before bringing their entire book of business over to Crstl. It's a risk-free, hassle-free way to get started with Crstl. Just send us a note and we'd be happy to share more information, and get you onboarded to FREEDI.

7. Does Crstl have an open API?

Not just yet, but stay tuned! We plan to expose a version of our internal APIs that power our product and platform in the future to further accelerate your operations, analytics, and other business workflows.

8. I am looking to migrate away from my existing EDI provider, can you help?

Absolutely! We’ve migrated several of our current customers away from their existing providers and have developed a robust playbook in this migration process. Just reach out to us for more details on how we can do this for you!

9. What data connectivity options does Crstl support?

Any and all that are needed. We already support sending and receiving EDI/JSON/XML/CSV documents over AS2/VAN/SFTP/HTTP.