1

-Ms. Sakshi
2 Chapter 9: EDI – the nuts and bolts

-Ms. Sakshi
3
EDI standards
Customer Supplier

Best
Bread
Super
Food
Freshest
Fruit
Save on
Food
Mighty
Meat
Sava
Store
Very
Veg
 Three customers
 Four suppliers
 Twelve formats or one standard
-Ms. Sakshi
4
EDI standards
 The need for a common format …

… EDI provides a standard for data interchange that is:

 Ready formulated;
 Comprehensive;
 Independent of hardware and software;
 Independent of special interest.

 EDI standards provide a common language for the interchange of

standard transactions.
-Ms. Sakshi
5
Evolution of EDI standards

 Three stages:

 Early applications/common formats

 Sector and national EDI standards

 The international EDI standard

-Ms. Sakshi
6 Early applications/common formats
 Developed by organisations that had to process data from a large number of customer
organisations.

 Standard set by data recipients and the customers conformed to it.

 Examples:
 BACS:
System of electronic payments (from user organisations).
 LACES:
Freight Clearance System (at LHR).
 World Meteorological Office (WMO) System:
System for exchange of weather information and weather reports.

-Ms. Sakshi
7
Sector and national EDI standards

 Application independent interchange standards, formulated by industry sector and / or national

standards bodies.

 Examples:
 ODETTE:
An EDI format developed for, and widely used in, the European motor industry.
 TRADACOMS:
A UK EDI standard for general trade developed by the ANA (Article Numbering
Association).
 ANSI X12:
Developed as an American national standard by ANSI with the aim of replacing the
various sector standards.
-Ms. Sakshi
8
The international EDI standard
 To meet the requirements of international and cross sector trade …

… EDIFACT was developed, under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), as a universal
standard for commercial EDI.

 EDIFACT:
 Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport
 Started in Europe in mid 1980s
 Accepted by US (ANSI) to supersede X12
 Promoted as the world EDI standard

-Ms. Sakshi
9

 EDIFACT is an acronym for EDI For Administration, Commerce and Transport. It

coordinates international standardization by working through the UN/ECE (United
Nations/Economic Commission for Europe).
 It provides: •
 an international EDI standard •
 a set of syntax rules •
 data elements,
 segments and codes •
 messages
 As shown in the following diagram, EDIFACT is the product of the evolution in bringing
the Proprietary Standards of the US and Europe together to form a single international EDI
standard.
-Ms. Sakshi
10 What Comprises an EDI Document?
 An EDI document is comprised of data elements, segments and envelopes that are
formatted according to the rules of a particular EDI standard.
 When you create an EDI document, such as a purchase order, you must adhere to the
strict formatting rules of the standard you are using. These rules define exactly
where and how each piece of information in the document will be found.
 That way, when the EDI translator on the receiving computer reads an incoming
EDI purchase order, it will immediately understand where to find the buyer‘s
company name, the purchase order number, the items being ordered, the price for
each item, etc.
 Then, that data will be fed into the receiver‘s order entry system in the proper
internal format without requiring any manual order entry.
 The graphic below shows a sample purchase order in printed form and how it would
look once it‘s translated into the ANSI and EDIFACT EDI formats
-Ms. Sakshi
 Example EDIFACT interchange:

11
The EDIFACT standard
UNB+UNOA:1+6464:xx+1141:xx+ Interchange Header
BEN0273'
UNH+000001+ORDERS:2:932:UN' Message 1 Header
BGM+220+AC6464' •
DTM+4:20000315:102' •

Data segments
NAD+BY+6464326::91' •
NAD+SU+1149646::91' •
UNS+D' •
LIN+1++PT-1073-R:VP' •
QTY+21:1600' •
LIN+2++PT-1073-S:VP' •
QTY+21:1200' •
UNT+13+000001' Trailer
UNH Message 2
. . .
. . .
UNT
-Ms. Sakshi
UNZ+1+BEN0273' Trailer
12
The EDIFACT standard
EDIFACT interchange structure:
 Each document (order, invoice, etc.) is a Message.
 Several messages are sent as an Interchange.
 Messages are made up of Data Segments,
eg. Order Date or Buyers Name and Address.
 Data segment consists of a Tag and Data Items:
 The tag identifies the data segment.
 Data items are codes, values and qualifiers.

 See next slide for diagram.

-Ms. Sakshi
13
EDIFACT interchange structure (diagram):

Interchange

I’change Message Message Message I’change

Header Trailer

Message Data Data Data Message

Header Segment Segment Segment Trailer

Data Data Data

Element Element Element

-Ms. Sakshi
14 What is a Data Elements ?
 The data elements in an EDI Transaction Set are the individual items of information within the
document.
 For example, within many documents, such as the purchase order and invoice, you will find
data elements such as city, state, country, item number, quantity and price.
 Each data element in a transaction set is defined in the EDI Standard by the type of data it
represents. For example, it would be important to distinguish numeric data from text data or
calendar dates.
 The data element definition will describe: 
1. Data type of numeric,
2. alphanumeric, date or time  Minimum and maximum length
3.  Code values, if applicable, that must be observed with a particular type of data.
 For example, if the data element is unit cost, you would use a currency code element as well to
allow you to indicate what currency (e.g., US dollars or euros) is being used in the unit cost
field. Elements are combined into segments.
-Ms. Sakshi
 15 What is a Segment ?
 A segment in an EDI transaction set is a group of like data elements.on a purchase order, you would expect to see
groups of related data.
 For example, look at the diagram below of a paper purchase order in which only one item is being ordered. Note that
there are four sections, each providing a different set of information
 In an EDI document, each section is described by a particular segment.
 For each type of business document, the EDI standard documentation defines:
  The segments that may be included and which ones are mandatory, optional and/or conditional (i.e. must be
included only if another segment or element is included) 
 For each segment, the elements that may be included – for every piece of information in a paper document there is a
corresponding EDI element.
 These elements are defined in the standards dictionary and each standard has its own dictionary  The required
sequence of the segments and elements 
 How many times a segment may be repeated Now, once all the segments are collected into a prescribed sequence, they
form a complete electronic document, or transaction set.
 Next, the transaction sets must be put into envelopes in preparation for transmission to your partner
16

-Ms. Sakshi
17 What is EDI Envelopes ?

 EDI document transmission uses a system of three ―envelopes‖ to house your

transaction sets – Message envelope, Group envelope and Interchange envelope.
 Just as paper business documents are sent in envelopes and it‘s possible to mail
many documents in a single envelope, EDI documents are exchanged using
several envelopes. 
 Each transaction set is placed in its individual envelope
  A group of transaction sets – e.g., a group of purchase orders – is placed in a
group envelope. (The group envelope is mandatory in ANSI and optional in
EDIFACT.)
  All group envelopes being sent from one sender to one receiver are placed in an
Interchange envelope
-Ms. Sakshi
18

-Ms. Sakshi
19 Message Definition
 A message is a single business document. Each message is identified by a six character name.
 From the buyer-side these include:
 • ORDERS—Purchase Orders
 • CUSDEC—Customs Declaration
 • IFTMIN—Instruction Message
 • REMADV—Remittance Advice
 • PAYORD—Payment Order
 Seller-side messages include:
 • IFTMAN—Arrival Notice
 • CUSRES—Custom Response
 • INVOIC—Invoices
 Messages are made up of a collection of sequenced segments within defined areas. Some segments may be used in more
than one area. The segments that can be used in each area are defined by the EDIFACT documentation. EDIFACT
provides a hierarchical structure for messages.
 Messages begin with the Message Header (UNH) Segment and end with the Message Trailer
 (UNT) Segment. These two segments are the first, and innermost, level of the three levels of
 -Ms. Sakshi
“electronic envelopes” within EDIFACT.
20 An example of an Extended Payment Order
(PAYEXT) message that illustrates this structure

-Ms. Sakshi
21

 Message Structure:
 Segment Tables The message structure is defined in segment tables. These give the ‘rules’
of the message. They also show which segments are used in a particular message and the
order in which the segments must appear.
 Here is an example of a segment table for the Extended Payment Order (PAYEXT):

-Ms. Sakshi
22

-Ms. Sakshi
23

 Segment tables specify if a segment must appear in a message. This is done using the
‘Requirements Designator’ field. Each segment in the table is designated as either
Mandatory (M) or
 Conditional (C). Mandatory means that at least one occurrence of the segment must appear
in the
 message. Conditional means a segment may be used, if needed, but it is not required.
 Segment tables also specify how many times a particular segment may repeat. This is
called the
 ‘Repetition’ field. Here are the requirements designators and repetition as displayed in the
table
 for the Extended Payment Order (PAYEXT) message:

-Ms. Sakshi
24

-Ms. Sakshi
 Example EDIFACT interchange:

25
The EDIFACT standard
UNB+UNOA:1+6464:xx+1141:xx+ Interchange Header
BEN0273'
UNH+000001+ORDERS:2:932:UN' Message 1 Header
BGM+220+AC6464' •
DTM+4:20000315:102' •

Data segments
NAD+BY+6464326::91' •
NAD+SU+1149646::91' •
UNS+D' •
LIN+1++PT-1073-R:VP' •
QTY+21:1600' •
LIN+2++PT-1073-S:VP' •
QTY+21:1200' •
UNT+13+000001' Trailer
UNH Message 2
. . .
. . .
UNT
UNZ+1+BEN0273'
-Ms. Sakshi
Trailer
26

• Interchange header:

UNB Interchange header

UNB+UNOA:1+6464:xx+1141:xx+BEN0273
Control Agency UNOA i.e. UN Level A
Version 1
Sender Code 6464
Code Qualifier
Recipient Code 1141149
Code Qualifier
Date of Transmission 20000305
Time of -Ms.
Transmission
Sakshi 1233
Control Reference BEN0273
27
The EDIFACT standard
Order message:
•
UNH Message Header
UNH+000001+ORDERS:2:911:UN'
Message Number 000001
Message Type ORDERS
Version 2
Release 911
Control Agency UN
•
BGM Beginning of Message
BGM+220+AC6464'
Message Name Code 220 i.e. order
-Ms. Sakshi
Document Number AC6464 i.e. order number
28
The EDIFACT standard
Order message:
• DTM Date/Time/Period
DTM+4:20000305:102'
Qualifier 4 i.e. order date
Date 20000305
Format qualifier 102 i.e. century date
•
NAD Name and address
NAD+BY+6464326::91'
NAD+SU+1149646::91'
Party qualifier BY i.e. buyer
-Ms. Sakshi SU i.e. supplier
Address code 6464326 and 1149646
29
The EDIFACT standard
• Order message:

UNS Section control

UNS+D'
D
Section identification i.e. detail segment
• Separates order header from order lines

-Ms. Sakshi
30
The EDIFACT standard
Order message:
• LIN Line item
LIN+1++PT-1073-R:VP'
LIN+2++PT-1073-S:VP'
Line item number 1 and 2
Item number PT-1073-R and PT-1073-S
Item line number VP i.e. vendor part number
•
QTY Quantity
QTY+21:1600'
QTY+21:1200'
Quantity qualifier 21 i.e. ordered quantity
Quantity 1600 and 1200
• Line item and quantities in pairs
-Ms. Sakshi
31
The EDIFACT standard
•
Order message:

UNT Message trailer

UNT+11+000001'
Count control 11 i.e. eleven segments
Message number
• Message 000001
number matches message header

-Ms. Sakshi
32
The EDIFACT standard
Interchange trailer:
•
UNZ Interchange trailer
UNZ+1+BEN0273
Control count 1 i.e. one message
Control reference BEN0273
• Control reference matches interchange header

-Ms. Sakshi
33
The EDIFACT standard
The Order Decoded:
The order identification is:
 Order Number AC6464
 Order Date 15.03.2000
From Pens and Things:
 Customer Address Code: 6464326
To Packaging Solutions:
 Supplier Address Code 1149646
For ‘Executive Elite’ gift cases in red and silver:
Qty Product
 Line 1 (Red Cases) 1,600 PT-1073-R
-Ms. Sakshi
Line 1 (Silver Cases) 1,200 PT-1073-S
34
Coding standards

 Codes:
 Usable as Keys
 Facilitate sorting
 Cut down on transmission
 Save on storage

 For EDI (and data processing), keys are to be used in preference to text data/descriptions

 Codes must be recognised and accepted by all parties to a trading exchange.

-Ms. Sakshi
35
Coding standards

EAN/UPC codes
 Standard codes for grocery and general retail:
 Coded as Bar Codes on products
 Used in order processing / stock control
 Used in EDI messages.

 EAN European Article Number

13 digit – 2 digit country code

 UPCUniversal Product Code (American)

12 digit – 1 digit country code

 Administered by National Article Numbering Associations (ANA)

-Ms. Sakshi
 Coding standards
36

Code: ccmmmmmxxxxxC

cc Country e.g.:
- UK = 50,
- Netherlands = 67
mmmmm manufacturer prefix no.
xxxxx item reference
C check digit

Examples:
Baked beans, 420g tin: 50 00157 00171 9
Cream of tomato soup, 300g tin: 50 00157 00207 5
50 00157 00023 1
-Ms. Sakshi
Baked beans, 250g tin:
37
Coding standards
EAN code – checkdigit calculation

Code: 500015700171 
5 x 1 = 5
0 x 3 = 0
0 x 1 = 0
0 x 3 = 0
1 x 1 = 1
5 x 3 = 15
7 x 1 = 7
0 x 3 = 0 Sum = 41
0 x 1 = 0 Checkdigit = 50 - 41 = 9
1 x 3 = 3 EAN code =
5000157001719
-Ms. Sakshi 7 x 1 = 7
1 x 3 = 3
38
Coding standards

 EAN code – used in EDI

LIN+1++5000157001719:EN'

 EAN codes can also be used for address point codes, eg:

 The delivery point:

e.g. the goods are sent to a warehouse

 The invoice point:

e.g. the invoice is sent to head office.

-Ms. Sakshi
39
EDI communications

EDI communications can be:

 A magnetic tape or diskette posted or despatched by courier.

 A direct data communications link.

 A value added data service (VADS),

also known as a value added network (VAN).

 The Internet.

The VADS has tended to be the preferred option

(and the Internet, in this context, is another VADS)

-Ms. Sakshi
 Inter Connection Layer
40 It refers to the network infrastructure that is used for the exchange of
information between trading partners.
In the simplest and most basic form it may consist of dial-up lines,
where trading partners dial-up through modem to each other and
connect to exchange the messages as illustrated in the following:
 It may consist of dial up lines, where trading partners dial up
through modems to each other and connect to exchange messages.
 Other methods which can be used : Leased lines, Internet etc.

Phone
Exchange
 Inter Connection Layer
41 The leased lines and I-way, Internet or any reliable network
infrastructure that can provide ability of interconnection can be
used.
Through the interconnection, the EDI partners are able to achieve
document exchanges between themselves:

Dial up/leased line

Communication
Network

Dial up/leased line

 Value Added Network (VAN)
42  VANs are third-party communication networks established for exchanging
EDI traffic amongst the partners.

 Various businesses (trading partners) subscribe to the VAN services. For

every subscriber, the VAN maintains an account, which serves as an
electronic post office box for the subscriber, for sending and receiving the
EDI messages.

 The subscriber’s account receives and accumulates all incoming mail from
other partners that can be viewed by the account owner as and when they
connect to the VAN account.

 There are a number of third-party Value Added Network providers in the

market place. Many of the VANs today, also offer the document exchange
ability of EDI documents with other VANs.
43
 A value-added network (VAN) is a private, hosted service that provides
companies with a secure way to send and share data with its counterparties.
 Value-added networks were a common way to facilitate electronic data
interchange (EDI) between companies.
 A value-added network simplifies the communications process by reducing the
number of parties with which a company needs to communicate.
 The VAN accomplishes this by acting as an intermediary between business
partners that share standards-based or proprietary data
 . VANs are set up with audit capabilities so that the data being exchanged is
formatted correctly and validated before it is transferred to the next party. VANs
are sometimes referred to as added-value networks
 Value Added Network (VAN)
44 Producer
Dial up/leased line
Bank
Translation, Editing,
Compliance checking,
verification, Format
translation, Alerting
services, Storage and
Trader Mailbox

Value Added Network Transport

VAN
Dial
up/leased line

Trader Trader
 Services Provided By The VAN
Document conversion from one standard to another; typically required when two trading partners
45
use different standards for EDI Exchanges i.e. ANSI ASC X12 to EDIFACT or TDCC  to ANSI
ASC X12;

Converting one ANSI ASC X12 document to another ANSI ASC X12 documents; often within the
same system the documents may need to be converted to another type. For example, a Motor
Carrier Details & Invoice (210) document may need to be converted to Generic Freight Invoice
(859).

The sender may follow certain conventions that are different from receiver. Translation from a

sender's conventions of a standard document to the  receiver's conventions; i.e

 translate field separators,

 discard unwanted characters

 format translation from EDI standard to or from flat file, flat file to flat file,  XML, and
other formats

 data translation among the PDF, XLS, MDB or other web-based documents
 Value Added Network (VAN)

The appropriate customer data can be saved in the VAN account and later appended on messages
46 where needed. For example, sender’s Bill of Loading (BOL) number can be stored in the
account and upon receipt of the BOL acknowledgment (997), an acknowledgment message
including  BOL number can be created and transmitted to sender.

VAN provider’s computers also store data such as customer profiles, repetitive waybill codes, etc
which can be used for filling up the EDI transaction document help of customer profile code.
The customer profile stored on the VAN can be accessed using the customer profile code and
the data from the profile stored on the VAN can be used for completing the EDI transaction.

The subscribers can interactively enquire about the status of any EDI transactions made by them.

Subscribers can receive “verify acknowledgments” in the mailbox even when they are not online.

The VAN can alert the subscriber (receiver) that there is data in their mailbox to be picked up through
means such as:

 By sending a fax notification

 By calling a pager or other alerting device that signals users about the waiting mail in
the mailbox
 Value Added Network (VAN)

• The VAN can capture the specified data from transaction which, in turn, can be used
47
for generating customer-specified reports.

• The subscriber may specify the editing requirements, VAN can edit for
completeness and correctness as per requirements. For example, it can verify that
the line item charges on an invoice add up to total value shown  on the EDI invoice

• In situations where such missing or mismatching data is found during the edit process,
the VANs usually send messages to the originator informing it about the
missing/mismatched data and  request re-transmission of the same; For example in
ASC X12, upon receipt of Shipment Status Message (214) with missing data, send a
Status Inquiry (213) transaction to carrier requesting correction and re-transmission.

• Validate and verify the information stored in customers’ databases for missing data
and send messages to appropriate firms requesting correction of the missing data.
 Third Party VAN Providers.
GEIS- Operated by General Electric of USA, has presence in over 50 countries.
48 Cable & Wireless- Highly reliable with a subscriber base of over 2000 top companies of the world,
holds nearly 8% market share of global VAN market.
GNS – It is one of the largest Value Added Network and has presence in 36(? Check internet)
countries.
Transpac – A France based EDI VAN provider owns the largest domestic VAN market share and has
strong presence in Europe. It uses Infonet for offering VAN service outside the domestic
domain.
Infonet- VAN service jointly owned and operated by WorldComm, Singapore Telecom and Transpac.
The owning organizations themselves offer VAN services in the local domains and cover rest
of the world through the Infonet.
Satyam Infoway – The private national Internet Service Provider (ISP) offers EDI VAN services in
India, in association with the Sterling Software of USA. In addition to the standard VAN
services, it offers Web EDI VAN services as well.
NICNet – The National Informatics Center, has established connectivity through 600 points of
presence in India. The NICNet in late 1999 started offering Value Added Network (VAN)
Services to facilitate and encourage the EDI adoption in India. Some of implementations of
EDI in India: Indian Customs, Port Trust and Apparel Export Promotion Council use the
NICNet VAN.
49

-Ms. Sakshi
50
EDI VADS

 Postboxes and mailboxes

(Post and Forward Network)

 The postbox:
where outgoing messages are placed.

 The mailbox
where incoming messages can be picked up.

-Ms. Sakshi
51
EDI VADS - example
Steps 1 and 2
 Sava Store establish a link with the VADS
 Sava Store send an EDI Interchange

Customer VADS Supplier

postbox Best
mailbox Bread
postbox
Super mailbox
Food
postbox Freshest
mailbox Fruit
Save on postbox
Food mailbox
postbox Mighty
mailbox Meat
Sava postbox
Store mailbox
-Ms. Sakshi
postbox Very
mailbox Veg
52
EDI VADS - example
Steps 3
 Sava Store establish a link with the VADS
 Sava Store send an EDI Interchange
Customer VADS Supp

postbox Be
mailbox Bre
postbox
Super mailbox
Food
postbox Fresh
mailbox Fru
Save on postbox
Food mailbox
postbox Migh
mailbox Me
Sava postbox
Store mailbox
postbox Ver
mailbox Ve
-Ms. Sakshi
53
EDI VADS - example
Steps 1 and 2
 Best Bread establish a link with the VADS
 Best Bread retrieves its orders

Customer VADS Supplier

postbox Best
mailbox Bread
postbox
Super mailbox
Food
postbox Freshest
mailbox Fruit
Save on postbox
Food mailbox
postbox Mighty
mailbox Meat
Sava postbox
Store mailbox
postbox Very
-Ms. Sakshi
mailbox Veg
54
EDI VADS - example
The overall VADS network

Customer VADS Supplier

postbox Best
mailbox Bread
postbox
Super mailbox
Food
postbox Freshest
mailbox Fruit
Save on postbox
Food mailbox
postbox Mighty
mailbox Meat
Sava postbox
Store mailbox
postbox Very
mailbox Veg
-Ms. Sakshi
55
EDI VADS
Time Independence
 Sending and receipt are asynchronous.
 Say:
 Sava Store transmits at the end of its overnight processing run.
 Best Bread pick up their orders next morning.

Protocol Independence
 Each user can use its own protocol
 Say:
 Sava Store might have a fixed link using X400.
 Best Bread could use a dial up link.

-Ms. Sakshi
56
EDI VADS
Further VADS facilities:
 Trading Community:
 Inter-network Connections:
 International Connections:
 Privacy, Security and Reliability:
 Message Storage and Logging:
 Message Validation:
 Local Access:
 Charges:
 Software and Consultancy:

-Ms. Sakshi
57
EDI implementation
EDI software

Pens and Packaging

Things Solutions

Production Order
Control Processing
System System

VADS
EDI Software EDI Software

-Ms. Sakshi
58
EDI implementation
EDI software – basic functions:
 Coding transactions into the EDI Standard.
 Interfacing with the VADS.

EDI software – additional functions:

 Trading partner database.
 Support of multiple EDI Standards.
 Facilities for formatting application data to and from the EDI Standard.
 Fax or e-Mail transmission to non EDI users.
 Interfacing with a variety of EDI VADS.
 Encryption the EDI Message.
 Automatic acknowledgement.
 Message tracking and an audit trail.
-Ms. Sakshi
 Direct input and printed output of EDI transactions.
59
EDI implementation
 For full integration of the business application and the EDI
Software there needs to be an interface to transfer data from the
business application to the EDI software and visa versa.

 For example, to send an order

 The supplier record has an EDI indicator.
 Order for EDI suppliers are not printed;
 EDI orders are formatted onto a flat file;
 The flat file is input to the EDI software, formatted into the
required EDI standard and posted into the VADS.

 The reverse process is used for incoming EDI messages – arguably

-Ms. Sakshi
they need to be validated.
60
EDI implementation

 EDI operation:

 A big difference between electronic transactions and their paper equivalents is that with
electronic transactions there is no paperwork to fall back on should anything go wrong - all
incoming transactions need to be secured.

 Frequency of operation needs to meet the requirements of the business cycle – it can be
daily, hourly or as required.

-Ms. Sakshi
61
EDI implementation

 EDI alternatives:

 Large organisation need their own EDI set-up – small companies might:

 Make use of a free-standing, PC EDI facility.

 Making use of an EDI clearing house using:

 Post or Fax.
 Internet access.

-Ms. Sakshi
62
EDI agreements

 To achieve a successful, electronically controlled supply chain, businesses need to agree:

 The nature of the business that is to be done electronically.

 The technical details of how it is to be undertaken.

 The procedures for resolving any disputes that arise.

 The appropriate way to document these details is an EDI Interchange Agreement.

-Ms. Sakshi
63
EDI agreements

 Legal Framework:
 Most business law relates to paper based trading and how that law should apply to the less
tangible form of an electronic message is not always clear.

‘For EDI to be a successful alternative to paper trading, it is essential that messages are
accorded a comparable legal value as their paper equivalent when the functions effected in
an electronic environment are similar to those effected in a paper environment, and where
all appropriate measures have been taken to secure and store the data.’
(EU-IA)

-Ms. Sakshi
64
EDI agreements
 Legal (and related) aspects:
 The point in its transmission and processing at which a message will be deemed to be legally
binding
 The timescale for processing EDI massages.
 The time that message will be retained.
 The procedure for settling any disputes.
 The legal jurisdiction for settling disputes.

 Technical aspects:
 The coding systems for identifying entities.
 The EDI standard that is to be employed.
 The network that is to be used.

-Ms. Sakshi
Model agreements are available from various organisations.
65
EDI privacy and security

 Reliable procedures (data processing standards).

 Controls in the EDI Standards

 Controls in the Transmission Protocol.

 Protection against Tampering (e.g. digital signature)

 Privacy of Message (e.g. encryption).

 Non-repudiation (e.g. message acknowledgement or ‘trusted third party’).

-Ms. Sakshi
66
EDI privacy and security
Apps Digital Signatures Applicati
Encryption
System on
EDI System
EDI Checks EDI
Soft- Protocol Comms
Soft-
Comms
ware Checks ware
EDI
Acknowledgement (phy.)
EDI
Acknowledgement (logical)

-Ms. Sakshi
67
Nuts, bolts and the tool kit
Trading Partner EDI Trading Partner
Interchange Agreement

Application Application
System System

EDI Software EDI Software

VADS
EDI Standards EDI Standards

-Ms. Sakshi
68
EDI – further developments
 e-Procurement systems are being developed using XML formatted messages
in place of traditional EDI.

-Ms. Sakshi
69
Chapter 9 – Exercise 1

 Using the EDIFACT standard information on the web page, format an invoice message for
Packaging Solutions to invoice Pens and Things for the goods requested in the order shown
at Figure 8.2.

 (EDI Information is yet to be set up)

-Ms. Sakshi
70
Chapter 9 – Exercise 2

 Draw up an Interchange Agreement to cover the exchange of orders and invoices between
Packaging Solutions and Pens and Things. You may use model agreements obtained from
the web (or elsewhere) but the agreement must be fully tailored to the needs of these two
organisations. Keep the agreement short; one page should suffice.

-Ms. Sakshi
71
Chapter 9 – Exercise 3

 Draw up a plan for the implementation of EDI at Pens and Things. The plan is initially for
the interchange of orders with Packaging Solutions but should take account of possible
future developments. The plan should be no more than two pages long; state any
assumptions you have made.

-Ms. Sakshi