What Is The Future Of EDI =LINK=

Driven by needs to maximize tax income, and reduce evasion, tax authorities are introducing rigorous rules requiring real-time approval of invoices before they can be issued to the buyer (eInvoicing / Clearance / Continuous Transaction Control). This is common practice in Latam and India, and Italy and many more countries are exploring some version of this for future deployment.

What is the future of EDI

It also presumes that proven technologies like EDI, APIs for seamless and modern connectivity, as well as ERP and supply chain management applications like order management, warehouse management, and transportation management are already in place and performing their well-proven roles to support the higher-order collaborative process. So, back to answering the question: What is the future of EDI?

EDI is alive and well and will remain critical to business for many years to come. However, the true future lies in using and evolving B2B integration alongside disruptive technologies such as IoT, blockchain and AI, to deliver innovative levels of multi-party supply chain collaboration. IBM is at the forefront of driving this innovation.

As B2B ecosystems continue to evolve, more companies want a more sophisticated kind of connectivity than what EDI has performed for years. Companies want real-time data, top-line security and faster ways for stakeholders to get the information they need to make decisions.

In the past, smaller companies would integrate EDI through in-house processing, but found the cost of entry somewhat high, causing them to opt for third-party EDI services that charge a few cents per purchase order (or PO) rather than an upfront cost. However, as companies get larger, they may find this option no longer works for them.

With such projected EDI growth in the coming years, what will continue to support it? One trend taking off in Europe is the Pan European Public Procurement Online (PEPPOL) EDI protocol. According to Douglas:

So, I m thinking, we maybe will have a lot of new tech to implement the protocols but will always have same way to do b2b . for the IT guy who working in the area, what you need to know is:First, understand very well what EDI is and knows the data formats well, and know as much as business flows ;Seconds, learn the new IT tech to face the new tech challenges.

By visiting the history of EDI we can better understand why this technology has been an industry standard for over 50 years. EDI has continued to evolve and change, and through regular updates and advancements we can make predictions about the future of EDI, and how this technology will continue to meet modern operations.

What is the future of electronic data interchange, otherwise known as EDI? According to EDI experts, the answer depends on several factors, including the technologies involved and the underlying business processes. Basically, it depends on how it is being used. EDI has been used to electronically send and receive documents such as orders, delivery notes and invoices for over 30 years. In most industries, running a supply chain without using EDI would be inconceivable. In this time, companies in these industries have so refined and optimised their processes that they would no longer work without electronic support and modern EDI. Two of the many examples from the car industry are just in time (JIT) and just in sequence (JIS) logistics. However, there are now other technologies available to rival classic EDI. Is it time for a rethink?

The first cloud wave were the infrastructure clouds, also known as Infrastructure as a Service, or IaaS. Examples included AWS, Azure, Alibaba & Google Cloud. In the second wave, software vendors (SW vendors) started moving their applications to the cloud, some earlier, such as Salesforce, others later, such as SAP with S/4HANA. This is another trend that cannot be reversed. Companies are increasingly using cloud applications because they let departments access the tools best tailored to their specific tasks. Earlier concerns such as lack of security or lack of control over data no longer seem to worry companies today. They now recognise that cloud providers can actually guarantee a higher degree of security than they could in house. In short: the cloud is here to stay. Indeed, the future belongs to vendor clouds, otherwise known as Software as a Service or SaaS.

Demographic change is having a significant impact on this. On the one hand more and more EDI experts are retiring, while increasingly few people are being trained in EDI. Nevertheless, EDI retains an important role in the digitalisation of business processes and will continue to be a central component of integration platforms in the future. Drawing from this trend, it can already be predicted that companies that do not use cloud-based integration services are heading for a competitive disadvantage. At the same time, we can see how IT security is becoming ever more challenging, a situation which could also be significantly helped and future-proofed by moving into the cloud.

Some companies have already started using API-based connections for B2B processes. These include Daimler Truck North America and Tesla. In the future, therefore, companies will want API-based connections with JSON, SOAP or REST services as well as the traditional BSB connections through ANSI X12, EDIFACT or VDA messaging through OFTP2, AS2 or VAN.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has enabled the free flow of information between different businesses within a single supply chain for decades. However, despite its importance throughout B2B communications, the future of EDI is still uncertain.

The development of these multiple outcome-orientated components is what we call EDI-as-a-Service. Although our focus has been on uniting all of the different EDI protocols and standards, looking further into the future raises interesting questions about the integration of APIs and web service solutions. However, we do not believe that the solution to EDI challenges will be the abandonment of EDI protocols and standards. Instead, we see the future defined by a fluid accommodation of a wider range of options within a flexible framework.

With the end of each year comes an inevitable desire to look back over the last few years to assess what has happened, and wonder what the years ahead are likely to bring. Unfortunately, however, when it comes to predictions regarding the future of EDI and B2B integration, industry commentators have a poor track record. Many of those who have peered into the tea leaves in an attempt to discern what the future holds for EDI have forecasted its swift demise. In spite of these predictions, however, EDI is still here and still going strong.

But what about recent IT developments? Do they have the potential to replace EDI? Will they supplement EDI? Or will they have little impact on B2B integration moving forward? In order to answer these questions we need to look at each technology in turn.

Bearing the above in mind, the following result of a survey conducted by Project 44 among 200 supply chain executives is not unsurprising. Although 63% predicted APIs will play a significant role in the future of B2B integration, only 5% predicted that EDI, by contrast, will abandon its key role.

Essentially, though they may both play a significant role in B2B interactions in the near future, as EDI and blockchain solve different problems, for the moment at least they cannot be combined. Rather than merging, they will work in parallel with one another, as shown in the diagram below.

Whilst AI could help to augment EDI moving forward through improving message conversion, it has little relevance to message transmission and thus, like APIs and blockchain, falls short of constituting a threat to the future of EDI as a whole. Rather, like APIs and blockchain, AI will evolve alongside EDI, with improvements in both helping businesses to streamline essential business processes.

As we have explored, however, none of these new developments or technologies signal significant change to the role of EDI in the future of supply chain communication. Amongst the clamour of voices every year heralding a new era in B2B integration, it is important to remember that unlike API, blockchain and AI, EDI itself is not so much a technology as a concept. Ultimately anything that can be classified as computer to computer exchange of B2B documents is electronic data interchange. In as far as EDI is considered to have challenges and issues, therefore, those issues are not solved by changing the syntax from EDIFACT or X12 to JSON, as has been proven by similar discussions concerning XML in the past.

In this market relevant and future focussed point-of-view written by our team of professionals, we explore how as sound master data management plan will ensure system inefficiencies are not magnified and considers the priorities of all players within the digital commerce ecosystem.

Electronic data interchange (EDI) is the process of businesses electronically communicating information that was traditionally communicated on paper, such as purchase orders and invoices. But what does this actually mean?

However, global supply chain complexity and current supply chain risks are not fully resolved by current EDI solutions. Unsurprisingly, this has left EDI formats on course to shift once again. The question is, what exactly do these changes look like, and why are they necessary?

Let us not forget that, ultimately, EDI is about simplifying supply chain communications, and this is what EDI-as-a-Service ultimately offers. By increasing control and improving planning, it becomes possible to go beyond trying to maintain your EDI solution and use it to drive bottom-line improvements within your organisation.

If you would like to share your feedback on the EDI Plan, you can tell us what you think by completing our survey. We are also holding Open Conversations face-to-face and virtually. These interactive sessions are opportunities to find out more about the Plan, share your thoughts and exchange ideas with other staff and students.Students are especially welcome to join our virtual session on Tuesday 14 June, which is a chance to share thoughts from your perspective as an OU student. 041b061a72