EDI Transactions and Standards

EDI transactions are standardised electronic documents used by trading partners to send and receive business information.

Businesses across the world achieve huge benefits and efficiencies by improving the way in which they interact with their trading network. By utilising EDI transactions, businesses can operate frictionlessly by digitising and automating the exchange of information. Digitisation helps to optimise the entire supply-chain by reducing the need for human intervention and associated errors, as well as saving time and money.

At Transalis, we can help with the accurate exchange of digital documents, such as purchase orders, invoices, or Advanced Shipping Notices (ASNs), all of which are mapped and formatted to recognised technical standards, whether that’s according to industry sector or country.

Glossary of EDI Transaction Standards

We’ve put together a ‘mini glossary’ of some of the most common standards governing EDI transactions, all of which are supported by EDI specialist, Transalis:

EDIFACT

Widely accepted as a universal EDI standard for those wishing to trade globally. It has a set of syntax rules, characters and other data elements ratified by the United Nations.

ANSI X12

This is the main standard to use if you are using EDI transactions to trade with companies in the USA, and is currently used by more than 300,000 companies worldwide.

EANCOM

Developed by the international standards organisation GS1, this is a subset of
EDIFACT. EANCOM messages are seen as the equivalent of manually derived documents, e.g. data set-up, business transactions, financial documents and reporting.

TRADACOMS

For those looking to trade with partners in the UK, TRADACOMS is a UK-based standard designed for domestic trade encompassing 26 messages for EDI transactions.

VDA

Commonly used in the German automotive industry, VDA is a motor industry standard. There is no naming convention within the specifications for each element and no easy conversion to other standards, however, Transalis eDI™ can do all of this for you.

IDOC

A SAP format for digital data transfers, specifically helping to ensure integration with your trading partner’s formats.

XML

Standing for eXtensible Markup Language, XML defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format compliant with recognised communication protocols.

Transalis is GS1 certified: if you are looking for more detailed information about EDI transactions and standards go to GS1.

The Transalis team has experience in setting up EDI transactions using a wide range of standards.

We know that most businesses do not want to get involved with the complex ins and outs of EDI. They just want to enjoy the benefits and rely on their provider to do the heavy lifting.

Because we make compliance easy, you do not have to spend time on the technicalities of EDI transactions or keep up with regulatory requirements.

Our customers value Transalis eDI™ solutions because we meet their business needs and expectations.

Our Customer First approach:

• price transparency
• no VAN (Vaue Added Network) charges
• frictionless migration to maintain BAU
• shorter lead times for implementation
• comprehensive training
• ongoing support

Find out more:

SpaceNK instantly made £60k savings with Transalis eDI™

EDI Made Simple

Transalis eDI™ provides substantial cost savings with no hidden fees. Unlike other EDI software providers everything, including unlimited message volumes, is included in your annual subscription.

How an EDI document is structured

An EDI document is built from individual pieces of data known as elements, such as an item number, a cost or a buyer's location. Groups of elements are grouped into segments, for example the buyer's full address, and the completed document is referred to as a transaction set.

Four principles govern how the letters and symbols within it are used. Syntax sets out the characters used and the order they appear in. Codes interpret common details such as date formats, currencies and country names. Message designs define the structure of a message type such as an invoice or order and the syntax rules it follows. Identification values set out how different values in the document are identified, including where they fall in the order of information.

Our EDI standards accreditation

Under EURINV19 protocols, businesses can signal to other traders that they are able to process EDI documents to a recognised common standard. Transalis is also one of the few UK tech firms to be certified as an AS4 Peppol provider, reflecting compliance with the highest level of international public procurement standards. Together, EURINV19 and AS4 Peppol support safe and secure trade through greater supply chain interoperability.