> As an EDI Sherpa, you no doubt are used to carrying heavy loads ... > However, to have a balanced view - I hope an EDI Guru, an EDI Evangelist > and > an EDI Agnostic make themselves heard in this thread. > Only then, shall those who seek the answer to "What is EDI ? " find true > enlightenment ... or a good consultant ;)
When I do my "EDI for Dum.." , er, 'EDI For Newbies' presentation, slide one is titled "What is EDI?" The text reads simply: "EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is the one-way transmission and reception of common business documents in computer-system-readable format. Documents are formatted using either public or private standards." I'll stand by that. The colloquial meaning - or meanings - is of course what starts online flame wars. When I get into the use of public standards (eg ANSI ASC X12, UN/EDIFACT), the relevant text reads: "The public standards are just that: public. Virtually all business entities throughout the world use them, they may be used without payment of royalties, and printed specifications are commercially available (if a bit pricey). The standards are very comprehensive - after all, they are designed by committees, and are designed to be used by "anyone in the world." Consequently, in the real world, the "actual" definition of data exchanged by partners is always defined by an Implementation Guide (“IG”) mutually designed and accepted by trading partners. The Implementation Guide agreed to by partners is always a subset of the public standard; that is, it will always comply with the public standard, but trading partners will define which publicly "optional" segments are elements are to be "mandatory", and which "optional" segments and elements will not be used. "While implementations may be and are often defined by the one partner (e.g., the "big customer" who insists that his vendors be EDI-capable), several trade associations have developed implementations and promoted uniformity among their members: Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standard (VICS) - primarily retail. Alcohol Beverage Industry (ABI) standard - wholesale beverage. Uniform Communications Standard (UCS) - wholesale grocery Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) - health care. With the implementation of the 1996 HIPAA, WEDI’s role is now advisory; actual health care implementation standards are mandated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. " I'll stand by that, too. Michael C. Mattias EDI Evangelist Tal Systems Inc. Racine WI [email protected] ------------------------------------ ... Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC> Job postings are welcome, but for job postings or requests for work: <JOBS> IS REQUIRED in the subject line as a prefix.Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
