Use Of EDI Research Articles

The Effects of EDI on Industrial Buyer‐Seller Relationships: A Network Perspective

Based on two British case studies involving 25 companies, of which six industrial wholesalers are central actors, this research concluded that, overall, EDI strengthens industrial buyer‐seller relationships. Actors who use EDI in their role as purchasers do in fact experience the advantages normally associated with the use of EDI. But from the suppliers' point of view, the perceived strengthening is unrelated to how and how much EDI is used. Many suppliers have implemented EDI largely to retain their customers, but frequently gain no direct financial benefits from the use of EDI. Thus, the benefits of EDI are not equally distributed. Purchasers of the industrial products studied have not yet made EDI a condition for doing business. At the same time, most suppliers tend to overestimate the amount of additional business they are getting by implementing EDI.The article concludes with a discussion of the managerial implications of these findings – and four strategies for EDI implementation are proposed.

A manager’s guide to electronic data interchange: doing business on the information superhighway

Provides an introduction to EDI for those managers who are new to the field and wish to know more about it. Covers what EDI is, how it works and the technology involved, and provides a comprehensive account of the development, implementation and use of EDI. Gives guidelines for the successful adoption of EDI, from planning, analysis and design to construction, installation and operations, and lists critical success factors for EDI projects.

EDI system definition for a European medical device vigilance system.

EDI is expected to be the dominant form of business communication between organizations moving to the Electronic Commerce era of 2000. The healthcare sector is already using EDI in the hospital supply function as well as in the clinical area and the reimbursement process. In this paper, we examine the use of EDI in the healthcare administration sector and more specifically its application to the Medical Device Vigilance System. Firstly, the potential of this approach is examined, followed by the definition of the EDI System Reference Model and the specification of the required system architecture. Each of the architecture's components are then explained in more detail, followed by the most important implementation options relating to them.

The ebridge project

In many organizations and government administrations, electronic documents are opening the way to faster and more efficient ways of doing business. In fact, electronic information exchange, far from being considered a luxury, is increasingly seen as a staple requirement for survival in today's competitive environment. The increasing use of EDI is a good example of this reality. Another is the development over the past few years of an increasing variety of pan-European information services. The growth in these services is being driven in part by the increasing globalization of trade and by the needs of the Single Market within the European Union. However, the provision of information services on a pan-European basis raises many issues from a security perspective. This article provides an overview of one of these pan-European information services and the steps that have been taken to improve its operational security within the context of the EC-sponsored ebridge project.

The Distribution of the Benefits and Drawbacks of EDI Use in the European Automotive Industry

The Distribution of the Benefits and Drawbacks of EDI Use in the European Automotive Industry

EDI in Germany and the UK: strategic and operational use

Although the strategic aspects of EDI have been emphasised in the literature, there has been a lack of supporting empirical evidence. This paper describes an empirical study of the adoption and use of EDI in organizations in Germany and the UK. The findings suggest that although companies were motivated by both operational and strategic factors, in practice they have been more successful in realising operational benefits. The findings support an evolutionary view of EDI, where strategic gains are more likely to be found in the later stages of EDI usage. Most of the responding organizations seemed to be in an introductory stage, while some were in an interim stage, where some strategic benefits were being accumulated.

Smart Cards, Smarter Policy Medical Records, Privacy, and Health Care Reform

In the months ahead, policymakers in the United States will continue to debate how to control the ever-increasing cost of our nation's health care system. Several legislative proposals introduced in the 102nd Congress included provisions intended to reduce the cost of administering the system,[1] and similar proposals have already been introduced in the 103rd Congress.[2] Indeed, the President has recently unveiled his health care reform proposal. A key feature of most of these reform proposals is the heavy reliance on computer technology to facilitate the flow of sensitive medical records (potentially on a national scale) to achieve administrative savings. A major impetus for relying on computerized medical records is the mobile nature of U.S. society. Census figures indicate that 44 percent of the American population changed their place of residence between 1985 and 1990. Approximately 25 percent of these people changed residences across state lines.[3] Because the health care system is to be reformed on a national scale, conforming to a minimum set of standards, it is crucial that patients' right to privacy and the confidentiality of their medical records also be standard across the nation. Yet thus far, the fact that die law currently does not provide consistent protection for most medical records has been conspicuously absent from reform discussions. Only a handful of states have adopted any laws to protect these records, an d those vary in scope and applicability. For instance, most states recognize a provider-patient privilege (discussed in more detail later). Some states also have specific laws to deal with highly sensitive medical information, such as mental health records and/or AIDS test results. A few states--for example, California, Washington, and Montana--have enacted laws defining access to health information generally, while others deal more with insurance transactions. In addition, different states may have laws governing patient medical records within their statutes dealing with licensing of medical providers and facilities, insurance transactions, or public health reporting. Moreover, state laws often contain provisions more favorable to information exchange than to patient privacy.[4] With the exception of records relating to substance abuse or records in the custody of the federal government, federal law does not protect the confidentiality of medical information. In fact, video rental records are afforded more federal protection than are medical records. As the law now stands, while the unauthorized disclosure of medical records may be ethically reprehensible, in the majority of states in this country it is not illegal. A patient's fundamental need to provide sensitive medical information to a practitioner without fear of the consequences should be fixed arid not fluid--it must be consistent across every state. This will be especially critical with the advent of standardized and automated medical records and insurance claims. As a report to the secretary of health and human services noted, Historically, providers have stored medical information and filed health insurance claims on paper. The paper medium is cumbersome and expensive, two factors that led to the call for the use of EDI [electronic data interchange]. Ironically, it is this negative aspect of the paper medium (its cumbersome nature) that has minimized the risk of breaches of confidentiality. Although a breach could occur if someone gained access to health records or insurance claim forms, the magnitude of the breach was limited by the sheer difficulty of unobtrusively reviewing large numbers of records or claim forms. From the provider perspective, EDI changes the environment dramatically. …

Trends in telecommunication management and configurations

A survey which investigated organizational management of telecommunications and the current and future configurations of telecommunications equipment showed some expected results and some surprises. The survey showed that public academic institutions are in advance of private institutions in the acquisition of different types of telecommunication equipment and connections. Also surprisingly widespread is the use in academic institutions of connections usually identified with business. Fully 8% of the academic institutions report being connected to customers, 14% indicate use of EDI, and 16% indicate connection to suppliers. Another surprising result is that previous investment in telecommunications is a better predictor than revenue (for business firms) or size of student body (for academic institutions) of the presence of rare telecommunications options, if they have acquired experience by a steady progression of telecommunications acquisitions. A final, perhaps more predictable, result concerns the evolution of telecommunication configurations in organizations of all types toward more interconnectability and in the directions of organization wide networks. Over 70% of the organizations are working toward organization wide networks but only 24% to 25% of the organizations consider that they have attained this goal. This trend is evident in both the academic and business environments. While it is not clear how this will impact the availability of data, it is apparent that a need for more interconnectability and ease of communication is being felt by organizations at this time.