GETTING STARTEDWITH EDI EDIx12

www.edi2xml.com

1. Determine what level of EDI user you will be -Light, Medium or Heavy?

Your team should evaluate your EDI needs and expectations before

anything else.

- How many Trading Partners do you have or plan to have in the future?

- How many EDI documents will you be exchanging with your Trading

Partners? and what documents are they (Invoice 810, PO 850, ASN 856)?

- What is the expected EDI transaction volume in a given month? (will you

be trading hundreds of documents per day/per month?)

2. Are you looking to outsource your EDICommunication?Many businesses that have their own internal IT department and EDI

expert tend to support their EDI Communication internally.

However, there are EDI as a Service options available for all those

businesses that cannot afford to have their own IT and EDI team in-house.

This service takes the weight off of the company's shoulders and handles

all EDI conversions (from EDI x12 to XML or EDIFACT to CSV, as examples)

and all communication with your Trading Partners (sends and receives

documents to and from your Partners).

The higher your Trading Volume is and the more Trading Partnersand Documents you have, the more you fall in the 'Heavy' Category.

3. Determine what your Trading Partners'requirements are right awayJust because EDI Communication is a standardized method of exchanging

documents (in a pre-defined format) between Partners, doesn't mean each

unique Partner can't add their own little tweaks to documents or request a

specific communication protocol.

For example, Partner A may request you send them EDI x12 documents via a

VAN and Partner B requests you send them EDI x12 BUT with certain

changes in the format and be sent to their sFTP site.

4. Do your research & choose the right EDIService Provider It's important to look for an EDI Service Provider that will fit best with your

business and trading requirements;

- Can they handle your EDI transaction volume?

- Are they able to automatically convert incoming EDI files into your

requested format (for easy integration into your Management System) and

vice versa for outgoing transactions?

- Are they flexible enough to handle all of your Trading Partners'

requirements

- Does their service fit within your budget?

(if you chose to outsource your EDI)

EDI-FACT