Industry experts estimate EDI integration makes up over 90% of all supply chain integration today. We've been working with EDI for 30 years. Our Crossfire Engine is built to support all EDI message types.
In Europe, you might see a lot of EDIFACT EDI. In the USA, it's typically ANSI X12 EDI. In other parts of the world it may vary and often CSV and XML files are used for EDI integration.
We work with almost any message format, including
EDI can be exchanged over almost any medium. Many years ago this was done via modems, today the most emerging connectivity is AS2. Crossfire supports the full range of connectivity options.
For VAN connecitivity we use our partners in the USA, Loren Data.
Both methods yeild the same result for businesses. EDI is the standard integration technique within the supply chain industry.
EDI benefits from known and common standards being used across all companies in the same industry. This means many systems will support common EDI standards out of the box, with very minor work required.
Being file based, EDI also benefits in how very little software development is required. Implementations can typically be created using "mapping tools" which convert file formats without the needs for experienced software developers.
EDI suffers from the need for detailed testing as there is no real-time validation of data accuracy or message processing. Once an EDI message is sent, you rely on the other party to inform if the message has failed. This is often mitigated through "control" or "acknowledgement" messages.