Electronic data interchange (EDI) is the computer-to-computer exchange of business documents in a structured, predefined standard format. The main purpose of EDI is to avoid and prevent additional human intervention of reading and processing information between trading partners by establishing a standard data format. As a result, traditional processing delays and errors due to document transfers and data reentry can be eliminated.
EDI can be used to transmit documents such as invoices, purchase orders, health care claims, remittance advice, status inquiries, receipts, shipping documents, and other standard business correspondence between organizations. EDI can also be used to transmit financial information and payment in electronic forms, generally referred to as electronic funds transfer. Because of this, the presence of EDI becomes more and more widespread in today’s market, especially with the growth of electronic commerce across the Internet. It is important to understand EDI and how it improves the traditional way of exchanging information between trading partners so that productivity and efficiency can be increased.
There are numerous benefits to utilizing EDI: increased productivity and efficiency, eliminated or reduced manual processing and data entry, reduction in lost paperwork, and improved accuracy and flow of information. Using EC Gateway saves money, reduces overhead costs, and eliminates costly errors. The EC Gateway provides lights-out, unattended processing for your entire message management environment.
