EDI

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is an electronic communication method that provides standards for exchanging data via any electronic means. By adhering to the same standard, two different companies or organizations, even in two different countries, can electronically exchange documents (such as purchase orders, invoices, shipping notices, and many others).

It is important to differentiate between the EDI documents and the methods for transmitting them.

Some of the well-known protocols (transmitting medium) are as below:

HTTP/HTTPS, SMTP, SOAP, FTP, EDIINT (AS1/2/3/4) etc.

Some of the well-known formats (EDI documents) are as below:

X12, SAP-XML, EDIFACT etc.

X12 is used in the USA but most of the rest of the world uses the EDIFACT transaction sets.

Many view EDI from the technical perspective that EDI is a data format; it would be more accurate to take the business view that EDI is a system for exchanging business documents with external entities, and integrating the data from those documents into the company's internal systems.

SAP supports EDI through IDoc(s). That means SAP created different IDoc(s) for different EDI.

Msg Type	Basic Type	Description	EDIFACT	X12
ORDERS	ORDERS05	Vendor PO	ORDERS	850, 875
ORDRSP	ORDERS05	PO Response	ORDRSP	855, 865
ORDCHG	ORDERS05	PO Change Request	ORDCHG	860, 876
SHPADV	SHPMNT05	Advanced Ship Notification	SHPMNT	856
WHSCON	DELVRY03	Stock confirmation	RECADV	856, 867, 945
WHSCON	DELVRY03	Stock confirmation & PGI	RECADV	856, 867, 945
SHPCON	DELVRY03	Ship confirmation	RECADV	856, 867, 945
INVOIC	INVOIC02	Customer Invoice	INVOIC	810, 880
PAYEXT	PEXR2002	Extended payment order	PAYEXT	820
PAYEXT	PEXR2002	Multiple payment order	PAYMUL	820
PAYEXT	PEXR2002	Payment order	PAYORD	820
STATUS	SYSTAT01	Acknowledgement	CONTRL	997
STATUS	SYSTAT01	Functional acknowledgement	FUNACK	997

Without EDI (Email, Fax) Vs. With EDI

Here I tried to depict a clear view how important EDI is acting in any kind of ERP business.

In the below points you will be able to co-relate the MM and SD module.

When PO created in SAP through ME21N, the order goes in ORDERS IDoc format and subsequently hit EDI850 and transferred to supplier system as sales order.

Vendor response back with EDI855 at the time the EDI850 reached into vendor system. The response will post in our organization’s SAP system as IDoc ORDRSP (PO acknowledgement).

Any change in PO (ME22N) will send to vendor at real time. For this SAP generated IDoc ORDCHG and that subsequently transform into EDI860 and changes reflect in vendor system.

Vendor response back with EDI865 at the time the EDI860 reached into vendor system. The response will post in our organization’s SAP system as IDoc ORDRSP (PO acknowledgement).

Vendor creates outbound delivery (VL03N)and then it goes as EDI856 that will post in our org. as ASN/inbound delivery (VL33N).

Vendor sends the billing document that mapped to EDI810 and subsequently post in our SAP system as IDoc INVOIC (MIR4).

Vendor payment will send as IDoc PAYTXT and that pass through the EDI820 to vendor.

EDI997 is very important. It carries the functional acknowledgement for each IDoc. It post into SAP as IDoc STATUS.

When each project goes live, we generally use the same inbound response IDoc – STATUS (basic type SYSTAT01) to monitor our outbound IDoc data goes into vendor system successfully or not.