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 ...