EDI 101 – part II – The Basics of Standards and Syntax So, you’ve decided to come back for more, eh?  Glutton for punishment, I guess. This time around, we’re going to cover the concepts of the “STANDARDS” and also the SYNTAX and the Content of your EDI Document.  Now, again, I’m coming from a background in retail and using the ANSI/ASC-X12 standard.  And we use version 4010, which is, arguably, a few versions behind, but that’s not truly important.  I know that UN/EDIFACT and TRADACOMS have their own standards and documents, but, again, I’m just dealing with what I know – X12. For each industry that uses EDI and the standards, there are different forms that can be used.  The book on My desk for the X12, v 4010, is the size of a dictionary.  And it’s printed on that same super thin paper in tiny little type-face.  And it’s almost 1800 pages of that tiny type.  But not every document is used in every industry that may use EDI and use the X12 standard.  Some are strictly for retailers; some for real estate; some for insurance, for banking, for hospitals.  Some of the documents MAY be used across the industrial lines, but some are very specific and specialized.  Within that X12 standard, there are literally HUNDREDS (at ...

Ah, yes, another song, another title, and another blog for your reading pleasure.  Maybe what the Jackson Five were to sing back in the 70s (but the song was released by The Osmonds, instead) – when they were dominating the charts – much like young Michael would do many years later until he got too … eccentric … and started with skin-lightening, reclusive living, sequined gloves and nose-jobs – doesn’t seem like it would have too much to do with EDI, but stay with Me; you know I can deliver on the goods… Or, maybe better yet, I could have used Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust”… There’s another fitting analogy. What got Me started on this concept was a simple breakdown of a simple part.  Or, rather, the simple part’s interaction with another part… If you don’t know (or even don’t care), I live in Southern California.  However, I live in the desert regions of Southern California – near the resort areas of Palm Springs.  And, as you might imagine, it can be HOT there.  Like 115 degrees in the shade – if you can find the shade…  OK, maybe it’s not THAT bad, but even in September – on the 15th – just a week shy of the first official day of autumn – we can ...

If you were alive and watching TV through the 90s, you probably saw - or at least heard of - ABC's long running "Home Improvement" - starring Tim Allen - and giving a start to Pamela Anderson (Lee) - whose career nearly EVERYBODY should know.  It was a show about "Tim 'the tool man' Taylor" and his family.  Tim was the "host" of a TV Show called "TOOL TIME" - a fictitious handyman show that was sponsored by the equally fictitious Binford Tools. But one of the things that Tim was ALWAYS looking for was "MORE POWER!" from his tools - and just about everything else in his life.  Tim's tinkering with tools would often lead to disastrous results - with an over-powered tool that did far more than it should and was usually pretty destructive. The other day, I wrote a bit about the power of DETAILS in our EDI world.  But this morning, I was reminded that - even with all the details in the world - we're nothing without the tools to use them.  And how our actions and all the details we can monitor and provide, how they're for nothing if the users don't use the tools we provide them. This concept of TOOLS and how we should use them was pushed to the forefront of My ...

With all due respect to Right Said Fred, I’ll take a bit of their song and use it… But, let’s face it - EDI isn’t sexy. It’s not glamorous… We’re not going to get many invites to black-tie-and-beaded-gown-red-carpet-fancy events. There are no EDI “Oscars” or “Emmys” or “Tony Awards” or anything like that. There’s just data. And details. Lots and lots of details. And they do say that “the devil is in the details”… And do I know a thing or two about details! I’ve often been told that I sometimes put in TOO much detail. When I was taking some creative writing courses in college, one teacher was always fascinated and enthralled by the amount of details I’d provide in a story and another always warned Me about too much detail - to let the reader create the image in their mind, of their experiences. If you’ve read much of My work on EDI Talk (or My latest blog over at Inovis), you’ll know I do tend to go into some details - and, yes, sometimes get a bit off track with them… Now, where were we…? OH! Yes. Details. And not the men’s fashion magazine! Truly, however, it is just those details and our attention to them that can make or break our EDI career. How well we provide ...

“Your mama don’t dance and your daddy don’t rock n roll”…  Loggins and Messina (Kenny and Jim, respectively) wrote (and sang?) a bunch of years ago.  It was the year of the Bicentennial, no less.  30 years ago…  Wow.  I remember yesterday. But I digress – like that’s anything new…? But they sang that so many years ago about somebody that was kind of un-cool, un-hip, not-with-it and behind the times.  Or, rather, their parents were. But this can also be used today - right now - when talking about EDI.  We all know that EDI has been around for a number of years now – since the 80s.  A few years later than we heard about non-dancing mamas and daddies not into rock n roll…  Many of the standards we use today – ANSI/X12, UN-EDIFACT and TRADACOMS (to name a few) – all started out in the early to mid eighties.  And, in reality, none of them have changed drastically in the intervening years. Sure, they’ve updated and changed some, but, again, not drastically so.  The basic concepts still exist.  There have been some new documents, some new segments and elements; and there have been some documents, segments and elements that have left, for sure, but they're still pretty much the same.  For example, ANSI/X12 is updated almost every year, with changes, deletions and alterations made.   ...