Editing Electronic data interchange (section)

==Standards==
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EDI provides a technical basis for automated commercial "conversations" between two entities, either internal or external. The term EDI encompasses the entire electronic data interchange process, including the transmission, message flow, document format, and software used to interpret the documents. However, EDI standards describe the rigorous format of [[electronic document]]s, and the EDI standards were designed, initially in the [[automotive industry]], to be independent of communication and software technologies.

EDI documents generally contain the same information that would normally be found in a paper document used for the same organizational function. For example, an EDI 940 ship-from-warehouse order is used by a manufacturer to tell a warehouse to ship a product to a retailer. It typically has a 'ship-to' address, a 'bill-to' address, and a list of product numbers (usually a [[Universal Product Code|UPC]]) and quantities. Another example is the set of messages between sellers and buyers, such as [[request for quotation]] (RFQ), bid in response to RFQ, purchase order, purchase order acknowledgement, shipping notice, receiving advice, invoice, and payment advice. However, EDI is not confined to just business data related to trade but encompasses all fields such as medicine (e.g., patient records and laboratory results), transport (e.g., container and modal information), engineering and construction, etc. In some cases, EDI will be used to create a new business information flow (that was not a paper flow before). This is the case in the Advanced Shipment Notification (ASN) which was designed to inform the receiver of a shipment, the goods to be received and how the goods are packaged.  This is further complemented with the shipment's use of the shipping labels containing a GS1-128 barcode referencing the shipment's tracking number.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://datatrans-inc.com/edi-856-advance-shipping-notice-asn/|title=EDI 856 Advance Shipping Notice (ASN)|access-date=6 November 2019|archive-date=6 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106214702/https://datatrans-inc.com/edi-856-advance-shipping-notice-asn/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some major sets of EDI standards:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rssbus.com/resources/edi/standards.rst|title=EDI Resource Center: EDI Standards|access-date=2019-02-15|archive-date=2019-02-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216153133/https://www.rssbus.com/resources/edi/standards.rst|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The [[United Nations|UN]]-recommended [[UN/EDIFACT]] is the only international standard and is predominant outside of North America.
* The [[United States|US]] standard [[ASC X12|ANSI ASC X12]] (X12) is predominant in North America.
* [[GS1 EDI]] set of standards developed the [[GS1]], predominant in global [[supply chain]].
* The [[TRADACOMS]] standard developed by the ANA (Article Number Association, now known as [[GS1 UK]]) is predominant in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] retail industry.
* The ODETTE standard used within the European automotive industry.
* The VDA standard used within the European automotive industry, mainly in Germany.
* [[HL7 Services Aware Interoperability Framework|HL7]], a semantic interoperability standard used for healthcare data.
*[[Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act|HIPAA]], The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability ACT (HIPAA), requires millions of healthcare entities who electronically transmit data to use EDI in a standard HIPAA format.
*[[IATA Cargo-IMP]], IATA Cargo-IMP stands for International Air Transport Association Cargo Interchange Message Procedures. It is an EDI standard based on EDIFACT created to automate and standardize data exchange between airlines and other parties.
*[[NCPDP SCRIPT|NCPDP Script]], SCRIPT is a standard developed and maintained by the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP). The standard defines documents for electronic transmission of medical prescriptions in the United States.
* The NCPDP Telecommunications standard includes transactions for eligibility verification, claim and service billing, predetermination of benefits, prior authorization, and information reporting, and is used primarily in the United States.
* Edig@s (EDIGAS) is a standard dealing with commerce, transport (via pipeline or container) and storage of gas.
Many of these standards first appeared in the early to mid-1980s. The standards prescribe the formats, character sets, and data elements used in the exchange of business documents and forms. The complete [[X12 Document List]] includes all major business documents, including purchase orders and invoices.

The EDI standard prescribes mandatory and optional information for a particular document and gives the rules for the structure of the document. The standards are like building codes. Just as two kitchens can be built "[[building code|to code]]" but look completely different, two EDI documents can follow the same standard and contain different sets of information. For example, a food company may indicate a product's expiration date while a clothing manufacturer would choose to send colour and size information.