ERP & EDI: What’s the Link?

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ERP systems use EDI technology for communication between businesses, streamlining administrative tasks and reducing costs. EDI replaces traditional methods and can be done with a computer and internet access. ERP and EDI specialists help manage system requirements and standardize documents. XML is considered a replacement for EDI, but lacks standards for industrial implementation.

ERP systems often use EDI technology to facilitate communication between businesses. EDI, a technology released in the 1980s, has been used to transmit electronic documents both within and between businesses. ERP works to manage an organization’s internal and external resources, helping to improve communication and decision-making by consolidating business processes and operations. ERP and EDI work together to make programs more efficient by adding potential communication facilities and supply chain management technologies to businesses.

EDI has replaced traditional methods of business communication, such as telephone and fax, with electronic means of transmitting documents. The use of computers for the electronic exchange of communications and documents has significantly reduced administrative costs. Although ERP and EDI systems can work together to integrate all members of a company into the same communication system and database, EDI does not require ERP. EDI can be done simply with a computer and Internet access.

ERP systems coordinate supply chain management with the exchange of EDI communications between organizations to streamline administrative tasks. ERP systems can reduce human error, make the business more cost-effective, and aid in communication, essentially amplifying the original benefits that EDI has brought to traditional business. ERP and EDI systems together reduce the amount of documents needed to communicate between businesses.

In the context of supply chain management, EDI is the technology that focuses on providing electronic communications between businesses. This communication may include orders, payment advice and shipment verification. Because many companies use some form of EDI, many ERP systems include EDI technology in their programs. Together, ERP and EDI systems ensure that these documents are standardized according to industry and legal standards.

Consulting firms and organizations often have ERP and EDI specialists to help them manage system requirements. EDI specialists manage translation methodologies and interfacing techniques and support EDI partnership systems. ERP specialists understand the needs and processes of the organization and work to build an ERP system to meet these needs. Both ERP and EDI specialists can also work to train users to make the most of the systems operating within a business.

Extensible Markup Language, or XML, is advocated by some as a replacement for EDI in some organizations. While XML is similar in nature to EDI, it is considered to be different due to the way each technology structures the data it contains. Currently, the XML format is too large and lacks standards to implement it on an industrial scale like EDI technology. However, XML poses no threat to EDI, as all forms of e-commerce support further advances in electronic communication, thus supporting EDI technology.




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