Business Marketing Solutions^TM

Who needs EDI? Practically any company, who delivers, sells, buys, or otherwise transacts business, especially with other businesses, needs some type of EDI system. As technology advances, the use of EDI expands. Even XML is relying on the standards established with EDI. The options now available make it affordable for even small to medium size companies. Many people are reviewing this web site because someone told them they “had to” establish an EDI system to be able to sell their product to a particular company. Don’t panic!!!There is a system out there that can be tailored to your needs and fit your budget…trust me. If you want to sell and deliver your products efficiently, you should take an honest look at the options available to you. Knowledge is Power and... ... we are dedicated to empowering you!!!

What are some of the options available?

• VAN: Value Added Network: This is a traditional method of transmitting EDI documents.

• Internet-based: This is a web based EDI communication system designed to offer an alternative to VANs. It requires software to set up trading partner mapping. This can be done by the company itself or it can be outsourced to a web based EDI provider. For the small to medium size businesses, this is probably the best choice. The total cost will depend on the number of partners you wish to establish, total usage and whether or not you will be integrating the system into your complete accounting, shipping, billing, etc.

• EDI Consultant: If you have complicated needs, you should consider using a consultant to help you migrate through the process. E-mail for help…if we can’t help you directly, we’ll try to find someone who can help.

EDI is currently being used by many types of industries which include retail, education, insurance, mortgage banking, entertainment, and numerous governmental agencies. However, this is only a partial list. This list is growing as technology and dependence on EDI grows.

EDI allows thousands of totally unrelated business to communicate and process business transactions electronically. This is possible because EDI relies on a standard set of guidelines developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), who acts as the coordinator for national standards in America.

The ANSI committee makes the entire EDI system universally accessible by enforcing the same rules and methods on everyone. This means that all businesses benefit from a standard common interchange language allowing different internal data processing systems to function independently with minimal reprogramming.