The primary purpose of EDI is to replace traditional paper-based communication with electronic documents, allowing businesses to exchange information more efficiently and accurately. EDI does not focus on data encryption in email, web server operations, or customer service automation directly.
An EDI Translator is responsible for converting internal data formats into EDI formats and vice versa. The EDI Gateway handles communication between systems, the EDI Validator checks the accuracy and compliance of EDI messages, and the EDI Router directs messages to appropriate destinations.
All EDI standards define a set of rules and formats for data exchange, ensuring that information can be consistently and accurately transmitted between different organizations. EDI standards are not proprietary, they do not focus solely on secure email communication, and they are used for a wide range of transactions beyond just financial ones.
An EDI document contains a standardized format for transmitting specific business data, which allows different organizations to interpret and process the data consistently. It is not raw data, proprietary codes, or unformatted text files.
EDIFACT (Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce, and Transport) is a widely used international EDI standard. ANSI X12 is primarily used in North America, while XML is a data format that can be used for EDI but is not a standard in itself. EDIINT refers to a standard for EDI communication but not for data formats.