Virtutem Blog Getting started with EDI

EDI!?! One of your largest customers emails to say that you need to start doing EDI with them in order to retain their business. Your sales team secures a new account but one of their requirements is that you must be EDI capable. Your company does not have EDI (electronic data interchange) implemented, so how do you proceed? You can choose to have your in-house staff complete this implementation or retain a technical partner such as Virtutem. Either way, here are some basic steps to get started:Determine what EDI transactions will be required by your trading partner.Choose an EDI translator.Choose a method of exchanging EDI data with your partner company, i.e. VAN or AS2.Create the EDI agreements (maps) for translating the business data to be exchanged.Develop business processed to insure that the required data in your business systems.Exchange test transactions with your trading partner. The next posting will examine the various EDI transactions.