Power Platform & Copilot Consultants | Eagle360

Simplify Business Processes with EDI Integration for Microsoft Dynamics 365 – v2

Unifii360 EDI · Built for Business Central · On Microsoft AppSource

Simplify Business Processes with EDI Integration for Microsoft Dynamics 365

Eagle360 connects Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central directly to your retailers, customers, suppliers and 3PLs. Purchase orders arrive as sales orders automatically, and acknowledgements, advance shipping notices, invoices and GS1 SSCC labels go back out without anyone retyping a thing — all through our own secure VAN.

Retailer-compliant ASNs and SSCC labels

Senior Australian consultants, since 1999

Orders flow into Business Central in minutes

One partner for app, mapping, VAN and support

Live document flow● Connected

🏬Retailer 🚚3PL / Supplier VANEagle360 📊BusinessCentral ORDERS 850 → SO DESADV INVOIC
  • 09:14:02 ORDERS received · PO 4500918 · SO-10231 created
  • 09:14:05 ORDRSP sent · stock confirmed · accepted
  • 11:40:18 Pack complete · 6 cartons · SSCC labels printed
  • 11:41:02 DESADV sent · ASN 88321 · acknowledged
  • 11:41:09 INVOICE sent · INV-20877 · delivered
  • 13:02:44 850 received · PO 77120 · SO-10232 created
  • 09:14:02 ORDERS received · PO 4500918 · SO-10231 created
  • 09:14:05 ORDRSP sent · stock confirmed · accepted
  • 11:40:18 Pack complete · 6 cartons · SSCC labels printed
  • 11:41:02 DESADV sent · ASN 88321 · acknowledged
  • 11:41:09 INVOIC sent · INV-20877 · delivered
  • 13:02:44 850 received · PO 77120 · SO-10232 created

What is EDI integration for Business Central?

EDI (electronic data interchange) integration lets Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central exchange business documents — purchase orders, order acknowledgements, advance shipping notices (ASNs) and invoices — with trading partners automatically, in standard formats such as EDIFACT or ANSI X12. Business Central does not include full retail EDI out of the box, so an extension such as Eagle360’s Unifii360 EDI plus a connectivity provider (VAN, AS2 or SFTP) is needed. The result: no manual order entry, fewer errors, faster fulfilment and on-time compliance with retailer requirements.

💡

1999

Continuesly Delivering ERP and integration since

7

Automated EDI workflows inside Business Central

1VAN

Operated by Eagle360 for fast, secure transfers

0re-keying

Orders, ASNs and invoices created automatically

EDI explained

How does EDI work? A simple three-step process

Electronic data interchange (EDI) is a way for businesses to exchange transactional information such as orders, invoices, shipping notices and more — computer to computer, in a structured format both sides understand. No emails, no PDFs, no portals, no retyping.

Unlike a PDF emailed to your accounts inbox, an EDI message can be read directly by your ERP system. That is why major retailers, distributors and logistics providers insist on it: it removes the human delay and error from every transaction.

Direct or via a VAN? Transmission can use either a direct, point-to-point connection (such as AS2 or SFTP) or an EDI service provider’s value-added network (VAN). Eagle360 operates its own VAN, so you don’t need to manage a separate provider.

1

Gather data

Business Central holds the source data — sales orders, shipments, packages and posted invoices — exactly where your team already works.

2

Translate data into an EDI format

Our mapping converts Business Central records into each partner’s required standard (EDIFACT, ANSI X12, XML or custom flat files) and back again.

3

Transmit formatted data to business partners

Messages are sent securely through the Eagle360 VAN or a direct connection, with delivery status and acknowledgements tracked back in Business Central.

Why businesses call us

The EDI problems we get called in to fix

Nobody wakes up wanting “an EDI project”. They wake up with one of these problems. Find yours.

⌨️

Staff retype orders from portals and emails

Every purchase order is keyed into Business Central by hand. It is slow, it doesn’t scale with volume, and a single typo ships the wrong item.

Fixed with: automatic sales order import from trading partner EDI files.

📉

Retailer chargebacks and compliance fines

Every purchase order is keyed into Business Central by hand. It is slow, it doesn’t scale with volume, and a single typo ships the wrong item.

Fixed with: ASNs generated from the actual pack, sent the moment the order ships.

⏱️

A new customer demands EDI — fast onboarding

You have just won a national retailer, distributor or marketplace account, and they need you trading electronically before the first order.

Fixed with: modular extension + ready-built mappings for the shortest onboarding window.

🏷️

Carton labels come from a separate system

SSCC labels are printed from spreadsheets or a standalone tool, so the label, the ASN and the invoice rarely agree.

Fixed with: scan packing and GS1-compliant SSCC labels generated inside Business Central.

🧩

Legacy EDI broke during the NAV upgrade

Old customisations on Dynamics NAV or GP didn’t survive the move to the cloud, and the original EDI developer is long gone.

Fixed with: a supported AppSource extension that updates with Business Central.

🔍

No visibility when a message fails, less error handling

An order silently fails in a third-party portal, and nobody knows until the customer calls asking where their stock is.

Fixed with: message status and error handling visible to your team in Business Central.

Unifii360 EDI for Business Central

EDI Integration for Microsoft Dynamics 365

Eagle360’s comprehensive EDI extension for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central allows you to connect your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with your trading partners’, offering key capabilities that cover the full order-to-cash cycle.

Eagle360 has significant experience with EDI and integration with many ERP systems. We help small and large organisations alike to take advantage of the time and cost savings an effective EDI solution can offer.

EDI Integration for Microsoft Dynamics 365 graph

INBOUND · ORDERS / 850

Load sales orders

Load sales orders from trading partners straight into Business Central — customer, ship-to, items, prices and dates mapped automatically.

OUTBOUND · ORDRSP / 855

Order acknowledgements

Send sales order acknowledgements if you have enough stock on hand, so customers know immediately what will ship.

OUTBOUND · INVOICE / 810

Invoices on shipment

Send invoices to customers when their orders have shipped — no PDFs, no re-sending, faster payment.

OUTBOUND · DESADV / 856

Advance shipping notices

Send advance shipping notices to customers when their orders are completed, including carton and pallet detail.

WAREHOUSE

Confirm shipment

Confirm sales order shipment so Business Central, your partner and your 3PL all share one accurate status.

WAREHOUSE

Scan packing

Scan packing functionality captures exactly what went into every carton — the source of truth for ASNs and labels.

GS1

SSCC labels

Generate GS1-compliant SSCC labels for cartons and pallets, matched to the ASN your customer receives.

CUSTOM

Custom connectorsCustom connectors

Need another document or partner? We build custom connectors and mappings to other ERPs, 3PLs and e-commerce platforms.

Order-to-cash, automated

Which EDI documents flow through Business Central?

Here is the typical life of a retail or distribution order with Unifii360 EDI. The same standard documents are known by different codes in EDIFACT (common in Australia, New Zealand and Europe) and ANSI X12 (common in North America) — we support both.

📥

Inbound

Purchase order

ORDERS · X12 850

Your customer’s PO becomes a Business Central sales order automatically.

✅

Outbound

Acknowledgement

ORDRSP · X12 855

Confirm lines and quantities based on stock on hand.

📦

Outbound

Scan-pack & label

GS1 SSCC-18

Scan items into cartons and print compliant SSCC labels.

🚚

Outbound

Shipping notice

DESADV · X12 856

The ASN tells the customer exactly what is arriving, carton by carton.

🧾

Outbound

Invoice

INVOICE · X12 810

Invoice sent on shipment, matched to the order and ASN for faster payment.

End-to-end service

Making EDI simple

In concept, EDI is simple, but in practice, it can be complex to deploy. Different organisations have different data requirements and different preferences for data sharing. But for end-users, none of this matters: they want to see orders flowing through their ERP system without delay or difficulty.

Eagle360 takes the pain out of the process. Our team has experience working with small and large companies alike, and we operate a VAN for fast and secure data transfers. Our solution connects many different ERP systems, and we can create custom connectors as needed. It’s a complete, end-to-end solution encompassing:

🔗

Integration

The Unifii360 extension is installed and configured in your Business Central.

🗺️

Document mapping

Each partner’s specification mapped, tested and certified.

🏷️

Labels

GS1 SSCC carton and pallet labels matched to every ASN.

📡

Connectivity

Our VAN, AS2 or SFTP — secure transport, fully managed.

↩️

Messages back to your trading partner

Acknowledgements, ASNs and invoices returned automatically.

Warehouse compliance

S1 SSCC labels and scan packing, built into Business Central

Retailers and distribution centres use the SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code) on each carton or pallet to match physical deliveries against your ASN. If the label, the ASN and the invoice don’t agree, receiving slows down — and chargebacks follow.

Scan items into cartons at the pack bench — quantities verified against the order

Unique SSCC generated from your GS1 company prefix for every carton or pallet

Labels print instantly; the ASN is built from the same pack data

Works alongside mobile warehouse solutions such as Tasklet Factory

–

FROMEagle360 Consulting(PTY)LTD.

TORETAILER DC · NSW

PO NUMBER4500918

CARTON3 OF 6

SSCC(00) 0 9312345 000000123 4

_

(00) 093123450000001234

Trusted by Australian leaders

The Iconic

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Air-Conditioners Australia

Boardroom Limited

Multapex

Connectivity options

VAN, AS2, SFTP, API or Peppol — which do you need?

Your trading partner usually decides the connection method. Eagle360 supports all common options, so you never have to turn down a customer because of how they send documents.

MethodWhat it isBest forHow Eagle360 handles it
VAN (value-added network)A managed EDI mailbox network that routes, stores and tracks messages between trading partners.Most retail and distribution partners; businesses that want one managed connection.We operate our own VAN — fast, secure transfers with no extra provider to manage.
AS2A direct, encrypted point-to-point protocol over the internet with signed delivery receipts (MDNs).Large retailers and partners who mandate direct connections.Configured, certificate-managed and monitored for you.
SFTPSecure file transfer to and from a shared server.3PLs, smaller partners and custom flat-file exchanges.Scheduled pickup and drop-off, processed automatically in Business Central.
API / web servicesReal-time JSON or XML exchange with modern platforms.E-commerce, marketplaces and SaaS logistics platforms.Custom connectors built on Business Central APIs where EDI isn’t used.
Peppol e-invoicingA global e-invoicing network; Business Central supports the Peppol PINT A-NZ format for Australia and New Zealand.Government and B2B e-invoicing, especially accounts payable/receivable.Advice on combining Peppol invoices with EDI for orders and ASNs.
Business Central-specific expertise
Rare — usually generalist
Governance & ALM from day one
Almost never
Typical engagement size
N/A — internal time only
Pricing certainty
Hidden cost of staff time
Path from pilot to production
Apps rarely leave one department
Local, AU-timezone support
Yes (if staff stay)
Business Central-specific expertise
Inconsistent, project to project
Governance & ALM from day one
Usually skipped to hit budget
Typical engagement size
Small, but scope creeps
Pricing certainty
Time & materials, open-ended
Path from pilot to production
Handover often incomplete
Local, AU-timezone support
Often offshore hours
Business Central-specific expertise
Available, at a premium
Governance & ALM from day one
Yes, but heavy process overhead
Typical engagement size
Often $250k+ minimum
Pricing certainty
Change-request heavy
Path from pilot to production
Yes, over a long timeline
Local, AU-timezone support
Yes
Business Central-specific expertise
Core specialisation, incl. custom MCP servers
Governance & ALM from day one
Built into every engagement
Typical engagement size
Fixed price from $25,000
Pricing certainty
Fixed price, scoped upfront
Path from pilot to production
4–12 weeks to production
Local, AU-timezone support
Sydney & Melbourne based

Choosing an approach

What actually changes when you choose embedded EDI

There are three common ways Business Central customers handle EDI. Here’s how they typically compare.

What mattersManual entry / web portalsStandalone EDI providerEagle360 embedded EDI
Where orders appearRetyped from portal or emailIn a separate platform, then importedDirectly as Business Central sales orders
ASN and SSCC accuracyManual, error-proneDepends on data passed back from ERPBuilt from actual scan-pack data in BC
Business Central expertiseNoneGeneric, multi-ERPCore specialisation since the NAV days
Number of vendors to manage—EDI provider + ERP partner + VANOne: app, mapping, VAN and support
Scales with order volumeNeeds more staffYesYes, without extra headcount
Visibility of errorsFound by the customerIn the provider’s portalInside Business Central where your team works
Local support—Often offshoreSenior consultants in Sydney & Melbourne
Business Central-specific expertise
Rare — usually generalist
Governance & ALM from day one
Almost never
Typical engagement size
N/A — internal time only
Pricing certainty
Hidden cost of staff time
Path from pilot to production
Apps rarely leave one department
Local, AU-timezone support
Yes (if staff stay)
Business Central-specific expertise
Inconsistent, project to project
Governance & ALM from day one
Usually skipped to hit budget
Typical engagement size
Small, but scope creeps
Pricing certainty
Time & materials, open-ended
Path from pilot to production
Handover often incomplete
Local, AU-timezone support
Often offshore hours
Business Central-specific expertise
Available, at a premium
Governance & ALM from day one
Yes, but heavy process overhead
Typical engagement size
Often $250k+ minimum
Pricing certainty
Change-request heavy
Path from pilot to production
Yes, over a long timeline
Local, AU-timezone support
Yes
Business Central-specific expertise
Core specialisation, incl. custom MCP servers
Governance & ALM from day one
Built into every engagement
Typical engagement size
Fixed price from $25,000
Pricing certainty
Fixed price, scoped upfront
Path from pilot to production
4–12 weeks to production
Local, AU-timezone support
Sydney & Melbourne based

Get connected fast

How we implement EDI in Business Central

The last thing any business wants is downtime or an ERP system that’s not delivering the services and functions it needs. EDI systems need to deploy quickly, update frequently and operate easily. Eagle360’s modular and highly customisable EDI solution deploys fast, and our experienced team can quickly execute any required changes — providing full functionality in the shortest deployment window possible.

01

DISCOVER

Assess partners & documents

We list every trading partner, document type, standard and connection method, and review your Business Central setup, items, GTINs and customers.

02

Configure

Install & set up Unifii360 EDI

The extension is installed from AppSource and configured for your partners, warehouses, number series and label printers.

03

MAP

Map each partner specification

Inbound and outbound documents are mapped to your partner’s implementation guide, including any retailer-specific rules.

04

TEST

Test & certify

We run test orders, ASNs, labels and invoices end-to-end with each partner until they sign off.

05

Go live

Switch on production

Live trading begins with our team monitoring the first orders, shipments and invoices closely.

06

Support

Grow & optimise

Add new partners and documents as you win customers, with ongoing monitoring and support from a local team.

Who uses EDI

Built for suppliers who trade with big partners

If you sell to retailers, distributors or marketplaces — or rely on 3PL warehouses — EDI is usually a condition of doing business.

Grocery suppliers

Hardware & DIY

Department stores

Pharmacy & health

Fashion & apparel

Wholesale distribution

3PL warehousing

Manufacturing

Food & beverage

E-commerce & marketplaces

Our Approach

A proven, four-step methodology built to de-risk your spend

We follow a structured methodology that combines low-code velocity with real engineering rigour, solution-based ALM, environment strategy, and DLP from the first sprint.

01

Assess

Use-case discovery workshop, technical feasibility, integration analysis, governance baseline review.

Outcome: a validated business case and reduced project risk before you commit to spend.

02

Recommend

Solution architecture, environment strategy, ALM plan, DLP politooling, and fixed-price delivery proposal.

Outcome: cost and delivery certainty with a fixed price, with no scope surprises later.

03

Implement

Solution-based development with proper environment separation, automated deployment, and structured UAT.

Outcome: faster time-to-value without sacrificing environment separation, testing, or deployment discipline.

04

Optimise

Production monitoring, citizen-developer enablement, Centre of Excellence tooling, ongoing enhancement.

Outcome: sustained ROI and a lower total cost of ownership as the solution scales and usage grows.

Capacity Sizing

Copilot agents that actually deliver value

Most Copilot demos are wedding-cake versions of “summarise this email”. The agents that actually deliver value in Australian mid-market businesses are narrower, deeper, and connected to real ERP data. Examples from Eagle360 engagements:

AgentBusiness challenge it solvesWhat it doesConnected toTypical ROI
Sales Operations Agent Reps lose hours each week manually checking order status and chasing overdue accounts in BC. Answers “status of order 12345”, “orders at risk this week”, “overdue customers”BC, DataverseTime saved by sales team
Finance Agent Collections follow-up and variance reporting consume finance time that could go to higher-value analysis. Drafts AR follow-up emails, summarises aged debtors, explains GL variance to budgetBC, Outlook30–50% reduction in collections admin
Procurement Agent Stockouts and late reorders are often only noticed after they’ve already cost a sale. Identifies stockout risk, drafts purchase orders, checks supplier OTIF history before recommendingBC, supplier dataLower stockouts, faster reorder cycle
Quote Drafting Agent Manual quoting from historical pricing slows the sales cycle and introduces pricing errors. Drafts customer quotes from natural-language request, pulls historical pricing, applies discount rulesBC, CRM50–70% faster quote turnaround
HR Onboarding Agent Onboarding is inconsistent across new hires and consumes disproportionate HR admin time. Walks new hires through onboarding checklist, drafts policy summaries, schedules trainingSharePoint, HRISReduced HR admin per hire
Customer Service Agent Routine order-status queries clog support channels that should be handling genuine exceptions. Answers customer order-status questions on Teams or web chat, with handoff to humans for exceptionsBC, ticketingDeflection of routine queries
What it does
Answers “status of order 12345”, “orders at risk this week”, “overdue customers”
Connected to
BC, Dataverse
Typical ROI
Time saved by sales team
What it does
Drafts AR follow-up emails, summarises aged debtors, explains GL variance to budget
Connected to
BC, Outlook
Typical ROI
30–50% reduction in collections admin
What it does
Identifies stockout risk, drafts purchase orders, checks supplier OTIF history before recommending
Connected to
BC, supplier data
Typical ROI
Lower stockouts, faster reorder cycle
What it does
Drafts customer quotes from natural-language request, pulls historical pricing, applies discount rules
Connected to
BC, CRM
Typical ROI
50–70% faster quote turnaround
What it does
Walks new hires through onboarding checklist, drafts policy summaries, schedules training
Connected to
SharePoint, HRIS
Typical ROI
Reduced HR admin per hire
What it does
Answers customer order-status questions on Teams or web chat, with handoff to humans for exceptions
Connected to
BC, ticketing
Typical ROI
Deflection of routine queries

MCP Servers for BC

Why this matters now

MCP is not yet mainstream in the AU mid-market, which means businesses that adopt it in 2026 will have a 12–24 month head start on agent-driven ERP operations. Eagle360 has built a Business Central MCP server for use in client engagements and has resolved the OAuth/Entra ID integration patterns (including the AADSTS901002 and AADSTS50011 errors that most teams hit on the first attempt).

# User asks Copilot in Teams: “Create a sales order for ACME Corp, 50 units of item PROD-100, delivery next Friday.”
# MCP-connected Copilot agent:
1. Discovers BC operations via the MCP server
2. Looks up customer ACME Corp → Customer Card
3. Looks up item PROD-100 → Item Card, checks stock
4. Calculates delivery date based on availability
5. Creates a draft Sales Order in BC
6.
Returns confirmation to user with link to the order
# All governed by:
→ Entra ID authentication (user’s identity, not service principal)
→ BC permission set of the calling user Audit log of every agent action

Governance

Power Platform done properly

The reason most Power Platform initiatives fail is not the technology; it is the absence of governance. Power Platform makes it trivial to spin up apps and flows without any deployment discipline, which produces a hairball of personal apps that nobody can support.

Eagle360 implements proper Application Lifecycle Management from day one: solution-based development, environment strategy (dev/test/prod), automated deployment pipelines, Data Loss Prevention policies, and Centre of Excellence tooling. This is the difference between Power Platform that scales and Power Platform that becomes shadow IT.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about Power Platform and Copilot

Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Reach out to our team directly, and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours.

What does a Power Platform consultant actually do?

A Power Platform consultant designs, builds, and governs business applications on Microsoft’s Power Platform — Power Apps (custom applications), Power Automate (workflow automation), Power Pages (external portals), Power BI (analytics), and Copilot Studio (AI agents). The consulting work spans solution architecture, application development, integration to source systems (Business Central, Dataverse, SharePoint, SQL), governance and ALM, security and DLP policies, and user training. Eagle360 specialises in Power Platform solutions connected to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

How long does it take to build a Power App for Business Central?

A typical custom Power App connected to Business Central takes 4–12 weeks from kick-off to production. Simple internal apps (approval workflows, basic data capture) sit at the lower end (4–6 weeks). Complex apps (delivery driver app with offline mode, scanning, photo capture, BC integration) sit at the upper end (10–12 weeks). Multi-app suites take 16–24 weeks. Eagle360 uses a fixed-price model after a 1-week discovery.

What is Microsoft Copilot Studio and how is it different from generic ChatGPT?

Microsoft Copilot Studio is Microsoft’s low-code platform for building custom AI agents connected to enterprise data. The key differences from generic ChatGPT are: Copilot agents are connected to your specific business data (Business Central, Dataverse, SharePoint, SQL) rather than the public internet; agents respect existing security permissions; agents can take actions (create records, post journals, draft emails) not just answer questions; and agents run inside Microsoft 365 (Teams, Outlook, web) with single sign-on. Eagle360 builds Copilot Studio agents for finance, sales, operations, and customer service use cases.

What is an MCP server for Business Central and do I need one?

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server is a standardised interface that exposes Business Central capabilities to AI agents. Without an MCP server, every AI agent has to be hand-coded to understand every BC operation it might perform. With an MCP server, agents discover BC capabilities at runtime through the standard MCP protocol and compose them into new workflows without code changes. MCP is the emerging standard for agent-to-system communication and is most valuable for businesses that plan to deploy multiple Copilot agents against BC. Eagle360 has built a production Business Central MCP server used in client engagements.

How much does a Copilot agent cost to build?

A production Copilot agent for an Australian mid-market business typically costs AUD $25,000–$120,000 to build, depending on scope. A simple read-only Q&A agent connected to one data source (Business Central, SharePoint, or Dataverse) sits at the lower end. A multi-action agent that can read and write across Business Central, draft emails, and orchestrate workflows sits at the upper end. Microsoft Copilot Studio licensing is approximately AUD $300/month per tenant for messages, plus message consumption.

Can Copilot agents actually take actions in my ERP or just answer questions?

Both. Modern Copilot agents built on Copilot Studio (and especially those connected via MCP servers) can take real actions in your ERP — creating sales orders, posting journals, drafting purchase orders, updating customer records, and orchestrating multi-step workflows. The key is that every action runs under the calling user’s identity and permission set, with full audit logging. Eagle360 designs Copilot agents with explicit approval steps for high-risk actions (large transactions, sensitive data) and pure automation for low-risk operations.

How do I get started with Power Platform and Copilot in my business?

Eagle360 recommends starting with a 60-minute Power Platform and Copilot discovery workshop with senior business stakeholders. We map 3–5 concrete use cases that combine business value with manageable scope, then propose a phased delivery: a 4–8 week pilot for the highest-value use case, followed by progressive rollout. This approach avoids the ‘boil the ocean’ problem that kills most enterprise AI initiatives. Discovery workshops are free for qualifying AU mid-market opportunities.

What governance does Power Platform need to avoid shadow IT?

Power Platform without governance produces shadow IT very quickly. Eagle360 implements: an environment strategy (separate dev/test/prod environments), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies controlling which connectors can communicate with each other, solution-based development for ALM, Centre of Excellence tooling for tenant-wide visibility, security and licensing audit, and developer training. These controls are part of every Eagle360 Power Platform engagement, not an afterthought.

Build Copilot agents that deliver real value

Governance

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