7 - EDI: Changing the Way Companies Do Business

Abstract

This chapter presents the usage of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) in changing the way companies do business. Hundreds of companies in a handful of industries are studying or using EDI; soon thousands of companies in most industries nationwide will be using EDI to help them enhance productivity, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge. Doing business without EDI may well be like trying to do business today without a telephone. EDI Services can reduce the need for hard copy printouts, stuffing, collecting, stamping, mailing, sorting, routing, opening, and rekeying. Users can create purchase orders, invoices, and other business documents on their computer, and then use EDI Services to ship them electronically to the computers of their suppliers and customers. They can also route electronically—for immediate processing—the transactions they receive. EDI Services is a ready-to-use implementation of EDI. It provides the network through which different businesses in different locations can communicate; a translator for computers that don't talk the same language; a regulator for computers that don't talk at the same speed; and security facilities that help protect information communicated beyond company walls.