Don’t Procrastinate! Start Using Extracts Today to Synchronize with AGIIS

AGIIS Update

Don’t Procrastinate! Start Using Extracts Today to Synchronize with AGIIS

By Chris Crutchfield, AgGateway Member Services

I met my wife in college while attending the University of Kansas. We shared the same major and were in some of the same study groups. Both of us were procrastinators and therefore, most of our studying was done the night before a big exam. I would often pull an all-nighter, but she, after a few hours of studying, would pack it up and get a good night’s sleep. To this day – 25 years later, she still likes to remind me how she put in less time than me, but often seemed to get the better grade. I think we can all agree that “cramming” is not the best way to get desirable results. To get good results, it is best to put in the effort ahead of time, and to avoid the last-minute scramble.

If you’re a subscriber to AgGateway’s Ag Industry Identification System (AGIIS), there are things you can do now to ensure the best results for next year’s reconciliation period. It all begins with synchronizing with AGIIS, and the first step in synchronizing with AGIIS is to utilize AGIIS’s extracts that are available to full subscribers, such as the GLN/EBID Subset Extract and Entity Update Extract reports. Synchronizing with AGIIS can take some time depending on your subset size, so the sooner you get started, the better off you’ll be come this time next year.

Using the GLN or EBID extract report to cross-reference the entities in your internal system, you can determine those entities that may need to be updated, added or deleted within your AGIIS subset, or perhaps within your internal system. It may be that you have a new customer not already in AGIIS, or you have an updated address for an existing customer that is different from what is in AGIIS today. By providing AGIIS these updates, the rest of the subscriber community can also apply the updates to their internal systems. The result is data synchronization from the manufacturer, distributor, retailer, all the way down to the grower. When it comes time for end-of-the year reconciliation, all parties are dealing with the most up to date information. This leads to faster processing time, fewer data entry errors and less manual intervention, all of which improves your company’s bottom line.

AGIIS also provides subscribers the option to receive a daily, weekly or monthly Update Extract. This report provides changes to an entity in the subscriber’s subset, allowing them to apply these changes to their internal system. When subscribers routinely apply these updates, synchronization between the subscriber and the AGIIS data becomes stronger.

Generating an Extract

So how do you go about receiving a GLN/EBID subset extract or an Update extract? AGIIS users with the “Manage Extracts” user privilege can generate a GLN or EBID subset extract. Under the “Files” menu in AGIIS, click on the “Schedule Extracts” link, and then the “Request Entity Subset Extract” button. Then, simply choose the extract type, GLN or EBID, and the format in which you wish to receive the report. Available formats include XML, CSV, or Fixed Length Text. Once the report is ready, you are notified via email with instructions on how to retrieve the report. To receive an Entity Update extract, simply email Member Services and let us know the frequency and file format preferred. Update extracts are available in XML, CSV, and ASCII.

Now that you know more about subset and update extracts, why not get a jump on the year ahead and begin your synchronization with AGIIS now? You could wait until the last minute, much like my wife and me preparing for a college exam, and you just might get lucky and end up with good results (darn her)! More likely though, the longer you hold off, the better the chances are that you will find yourself in a position more like mine – By trying to do too much with too little time, you end up with a result that is less than desirable!

For more information on how you can use AGIIS extracts to improve synchronization, please contact Member Services at Member.Services@AgGateway.org or call us at (866) 251-8618.