What is edi?

Edi is the exchange of electronic business data between companies.
In edi data is exchanged between computers, without human interference.
Examples of edi:

• supplier receives electronic orders from buyer.
• supplier sends invoices back to buyer.

Schematic overview of edi:

So in edi business documents are exchanged between the ERP systems of companies. As the handling of the electronic business documents is computerised, this gives a lot of advantages:

• quick. Eg orders immediately enter your system.
• no manual entering needed.
• no errors in manual entering. Do not underestimate this.
• lower administrative costs.
• better cooperation with your trading partner.

But your ERP software does not speak the 'language' of the ERP system of your buyer.
Neither does it know how to exchange edi documents in a safe way with your business partner.

This is where Bots comes into play. Bots is specialised in translating edi documents from and to your ERP system.

Some edi details:

• Edi is often logistics driven.
• Edi uses standards like edifact, x12, tradacoms.
• Often administrative trade procedures are simplified/standardized.
• In edi, only data is exchanged (e.g. an order) - your administration and the administration of your trading partner are independent: it is not possible to 'look' into the administration of your trading partner (nor can they 'look' into your system).
• In edi data is exchanged between computers, without human interference; this is different from 'internet', where a human enters or reads the data.
• More information: edi on wikipedia.