HOW TO BECOME EDI COMPLIANT THE EASY WAY

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BOLD VAN Marketing
August 27, 2023
5 min read
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NO I.T. EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Electronic data interchange (EDI) is used by thousands of businesses around the world in numerous industries such as logistics, healthcare, retail, and more. As your business expands and your supply chain grows, You'll be adding new vendors to accommodate the needs of your operation.At some point, it's very likely that one or more of those vendors will require you to use EDI technology for business communications. To do so, You'll first need to become EDI capable – meaning you have the ability to use EDI.However, for two businesses to exchange EDI data, both trading partners need to use identical protocols to ensure the accuracy and security of your EDI data. Getting set up to successfully exchange EDI documents with a specific trading partner is referred to as becoming EDI compliant.

WHAT IS EDI COMPLIANCE?

EDI compliance is simply meeting, or complying with, the requirements set by your trading partner to engage in electronic communication. Each vendor you work with will have a set of compliance requirements based on their industry and their specific organization.Once you become EDI compliant with a vendor, you can seamlessly exchange documents and synchronize data in real-time, providing updates on all of the moving parts in your supply chain as they happen. At some point, your business might have specific requirements that other trading partners will need to meet to become EDI compliant for your organization.While the initial setup might seem technical, in most cases you won't have to make any adjustments going forward, unless they change their requirements. Fortunately, becoming EDI compliant doesn't have to be a painstaking process.

HOW TO BECOME EDI COMPLIANT

Before you can become EDI compliant, you need to see what requirements your trading partner has set. Most companies will have a resource they send you or a link on their website to go through their full list of requirements. Keep in mind, some of their requirements might not be related to EDI at all.Trading partner compliance varies widely, and not all companies provide detailed instructions for becoming compliant. However, most big companies such as Walmart, Amazon, and Costco will have useful resources prepared for you.If you aren't already, you will need to become EDI capable first. To do so, you can either outsource to an EDI provider such as BOLD VAN or you can build an in-house EDI system – the latter requires you to purchase, install, and configure the necessary hardware and software for EDI. You'll also need a secure VAN for exchanging EDI data.Once you're EDI capable, and you have your trading partner requirements, you will configure and test your EDI to make sure you're communicating with the other vendor. From there, you start the process of translating and mapping EDI data to ensure you have all of the necessary protocols set up for EDI exchange with that vendor.In most cases, your trading partner will notify you when their compliance requirements change, and you will need to translate and map EDI data for their new protocols.

EDI COMPLIANCE FROM BOLD VAN

Our clients outsource their EDI to us because they don't like hassling with the technical stuff. Instead of purchasing the hardware and software required for EDI, our service allows you to exchange EDI with any trading partner with our cloud-based EDI software from anywhere with an internet connection.As a BOLD VAN client, EDI compliance is the last thing You'll have to worry about because we handle all trading partner compliance for you – at no additional charge!Our team has worked with EDI for over 25 years, and we've followed closely as trading partner requirements have evolved. From major companies like Caterpillar and 7-Eleven to small businesses you've never heard of, we can get your organization EDI compliant with any trading partner you need.Plus, businesses currently using EDI save up to 80% on their monthly EDI costs by switching to BOLD VAN and taking advantage of our Trading Partner Pricing. You can send EDI data each month, and you're only charged a flat rate based on the number of active trading partners in your EDI network.Contact us today to learn more!

BOLD VAN Marketing
Content Manager

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