FAQ
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| What is EDI? |
| Who uses EDI? |
| What is the difference between EDI and E-Business? |
| Why do businesses use EDI? |
| Who manages the EDI Standards? |
| How do companies communicate through EDI? |
| Why can't the company just e-mail the information? |
| Do vendors have to maintain direct connections with
all of their trading partners? |
| What do I need to do EDI? |
| |
| What is EDI? |
| Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) represents
the computer to computer transfer of information in a structured
predetermined format between 2 or more business partners, over
a secured network. Top |
| Who uses EDI? |
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Most major companies are capable of EDI and
many are moving toward doing the majority of their typical business
transactions electronically. As the benefits become more obvious
and accessible, in order to keep pace with today's business world,
incorporating EDI into your business structure has become nearly
mandatory. Top |
| What is the difference between EDI and E-Business? |
|
E-Business can be the electronic exchange
of information in any format; EDI is done through a standardized
format and is particularly useful for a large volume of repetitive
documents such as bills-of-lading or purchase orders commonly exchanged
between business partners. Top |
| Why do businesses use EDI? |
|
EDI saves money by making personnel more efficient,
and it improves business capabilities by speeding up throughput,
streamlining inventory, and enabling the automatic processing of
documents. Furthermore, data integrity improves, reconciliation's
are simpler, and EDI can easily be made an integral tool of your
company's customer service. Top |
| Who manages the EDI Standards? |
|
The American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) creates standards specifically for EDI called "X.12". These
standards are then taken and specialized within industries such as
retail, manufacturing, grocery, healthcare, etc. Top |
| How do companies communicate through EDI? |
|
When two companies have agreed to conduct
business via EDI, once they determine common standards and which
documents to exchange, they are considered "Trading Partners". There
are communication protocols available for PC's and mainframe systems
that allow for the exchange of EDI messages with almost any trading
partner. Top |
| Why can't the company just e-mail the information? |
|
By automating the exchange of documents, EDI
eliminates repetitive data-entry and common mistakes due to human
error, two conditions to which e-mail is susceptible. With EDI, the
information is automatically transferred between trading partners. Top |
| Do vendors have to maintain direct connections with all of their trading partners? |
|
No. EDI Gateway interacts with trading partners
via Value-Added Networks (VANs). In a sense, the VANs resemble a
postal service, delivering documents to the addressee on the "envelope" which
accompanies every transmission. Top |
| What do I need to do EDI? |
- EDI management software: For optimum performance, the translation software should be on the same platform as your business application.
- Mapper: Levels of mapper information or integration very greatly from translator to translator.
- Communications software: Can be a module to the translator, a programming tool that enables you to write communications protocols, or a separate application.
- Internet connection: Ideally, the faster your connection, the better.
- Access to a VAN: The value-added-network acts as a gateway between your business and ours.
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