B2B EDI Integration Best Practices in 2022

EDI is still rapidly changing in 2022. Finding and implementing the right solution can deliver significant benefits to businesses, including: 

Speeding up business cycles by as much as 61%
Reducing transaction errors by at least 30-40%
Despite this, B2B EDI integrations are still complex, siloed, and often out of reach, with as many as 41% of companies still falling short with EDI implementation. Smooth integrations are essential to businesses, and stalling communications can be fatal in the context of global supply chains.

Fortunately, more modern EDI integration solutions are here. This includes Data Interchange’s cloud-based and managed approach to EDI-as-a-Service. Here, we’re going to consider EDI as it stands, and the best practices that can ensure inclusive integrations that allow businesses to enjoy the most effective benefits EDI has to offer.

Standard EDI integration (VAN vs point-to-point)
Standard EDI integrations have been changing supply chain best practices since their inception in the 60s. When thinking about the question “What is EDI?”, it’s helpful to consider the two primary subcategories of standard EDI integration: 

Point-to-point EDI: Most commonly used by companies who deal in high numbers of daily transactions within stable supply chain relationships, point-to-point EDI (a.k.a direct EDI) sets up a direct line of communication between businesses. Agreed-upon protocols between supply chain partners standardise formatting in a cost-effective solution that keeps full control in-house. However, point-to-point EDI can be difficult to set up and maintain, particularly when it comes to new supply chain relationships. 
EDI via VAN: The most common type of EDI solution on the market, EDI via VAN introduces cloud-based flexibility by facilitating communication through ‘mailboxes’ which are secured within private networks overseen by EDI specialists. This makes it far simpler to onboard new supply chain partners and reduces some of the strain of management and onboarding. However, it’s not a fully managed or “friction-free” solution.
Both of these standards have found their place and have without question assisted businesses in paving the way for the type of supply chain communication they need. Despite this, integration continues to be a problem. 

Onboarding supply chain partners with limited EDI experience, as well as inherent complications and the numerous existing EDI formats can all still cause significant setbacks which bring integration to a halt. For example, the need to support various standards and protocols before partners can access VAN can mean onboarding that takes as long as three to six months.

Web EDI: Bringing EDI to the uninitiated
One of the largest challenges with both point-to-point EDI and EDI via VAN is the level of EDI expertise required. This applies to you and your supply chain partners. Even if you understand EDI, it’s hard to count on that level of expertise across every supplier relationship. 

Source: DataInterchange