EDI Explained
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the fastest, easiest, and most productive way to conduct business within the transportation, warehousing and logistics industry. Computer-to-computer communication eliminates the need to fax documents and provides a complete and comprehensive audit. Optimiz uses EDI to send and receive messages electronically to and from customers, carriers, and other entities.
Transaction Codes
A transaction code is a basic EDI message type. These codes may be sent (outbound) from ProTrans, or they may be received (inbound) by ProTrans. Each EDI transaction code contains one or more data elements, such as a price or phone number. Some data elements are required; others are conditional or optional as specified by the trading partner. Data elements are combined to form data segments. One or more data segments, usually in a specific order and with a header at the front and a trailer at the back, form the complete transaction code. Once a complete transaction code is generated, it is transmitted using a special “electronic envelope” for privacy.
EDI transaction codes, sometimes called transaction sets, correspond to a specific type of electronic business document, such as an invoice or a purchase order. There are many different documents that ProTrans may exchange with our customers, carriers, and other entities through the use of several different codes.
Available Information
Before beginning EDI communication, both ProTrans and the other party must agree on what information will be sent in the EDI transactions and how that information will be sent. While most common information, such as origin and destination for tenders or total charges on an invoice, are defined by the rules of the public standards, many customers require specific and unique identifiers to be sent via EDI, such as sales order numbers or plant codes. Both parties must determine both how this information will be transmitted between them and stored within their internal systems.
In Optimiz, if a customer-specific reference value must be transmitted via EDI, it should be recorded using the Customer Reference ID reference type. This is the only non-specific reference type that is guaranteed to be transmitted via EDI.
EDI Standards
The ANSI ASC X12 standard for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), also referred to as ASC X12, is the EDI standard most widely used in the US and Canada. The group that has sponsored it since 1979, the American National Standards Institute Accredited Standards Committee, includes over 3,000 experts from more than 350 countries.
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