EDIFACT, EANCOM, XML, or JSON: which EDI format should you use?
EDIFACT means Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport. This United Nations standard structures business messages used in many B2B exchanges. EANCOM is an industry subset based on UN/EDIFACT, frequently used in retail and product supply chains.
XML and JSON are data syntaxes that may be required by a partner or exchange hub. They do not automatically replace the message’s business rules: mandatory fields, codes, statuses, validations, and version rules still need to be defined.
The right format is the one that complies with the partner’s standard or specification while remaining compatible with internal systems. Documented mapping transforms references, units, dates, statuses, and identifiers without losing the meaning of the exchange.
How do you connect EDI to an ERP, WMS, or business application?
An ERP, Enterprise Resource Planning, typically manages orders, items, inventory, invoices, and master data. A WMS, Warehouse Management System, focuses more on warehouse operations, receipts, picking, and shipments. EDI must connect these responsibilities without creating a contradictory second version of the data.
The architecture defines which system creates and owns each piece of information. The ERP may produce ORDERS and INVOIC, while the WMS contributes DESADV or RECADV. A business application can then use statuses, discrepancies, and documents without becoming the owner of every data set.
Integration can use an EDI platform, an integration layer, structured files, or complementary APIs. The choice depends on available interfaces, volume, criticality, and each partner’s requirements.
EDI, API, or supplier portal: which solution should you choose?
An API, Application Programming Interface, is a generic interface that lets applications exchange data directly or trigger actions. EDI serves a more specialized purpose: exchanging structured B2B documents according to a standard, protocol, and partner specification.
A supplier portal is an interface used directly by a person. It is suitable when a partner needs to view an order, upload a document, or confirm a delivery without having automated connectivity. EDI and a supplier portal can therefore coexist depending on each partner’s maturity and volume.
The right choice depends on exchange frequency, standardization, expected timing, the partner’s technical capacity, and the need to keep a structured record of the document lifecycle.
AS2, AS4, or SFTP: how should EDI messages be transported?
AS2 and AS4 are B2B transport protocols or mechanisms, not data formats. They provide mechanisms such as authentication, encryption, signing, and acknowledgements required for reliable partner exchange.
SFTP, SSH File Transfer Protocol, can be suitable when a partner exchanges files through a secure file space. Naming, delivery, retrieval, duplicates, incomplete files, and trace retention must then be handled properly.
Transport alone does not guarantee business quality. A message can be delivered correctly and still be rejected because a reference, unit, identifier, or partner rule is invalid. Content validation and acknowledgements must therefore be monitored together.
How do you onboard a new EDI customer or supplier?
EDI onboarding starts with the partner requirements: expected messages, versions, identifiers, transport, certificates, test environment, timeline, and rejection rules. These must be compared with the actual capabilities of the ERP, WMS, and internal applications.
We then define mapping, validations, test data, and correction responsibilities. Tests should cover normal cases as well as partial quantities, date changes, unknown items, credit notes, rejections, and retries.
Go-live is approved when messages travel in the expected directions, statuses are understandable, and teams know who intervenes when an exchange fails.
How do you monitor EDI flows and handle rejections?
EDI monitoring should provide a view by flow, partner, message, and status. It should show whether a document was generated, transported, received, accepted, rejected, or held for correction.
A rejection can be technical, such as an expired certificate or unreadable file, or business-related, such as an unknown reference, inconsistent amount, or missing mandatory data. Handling should retain the message, partner response, reason, and action taken.
Alerts should be linked to an action: correct data, renew a certificate, retry processing, request approval, or escalate the issue to the partner. A list of logs without an owner or procedure is not enough to operate a critical flow.
How do you prevent duplicates and preserve EDI exchange integrity?
The same message can be received more than once after a network delay, retry, or manual replay. Integration should use message identifiers, document numbers, and correlation references to recognize what has already been processed.
Idempotency, meaning the ability to replay an operation without creating a duplicate, should be planned for sensitive steps. Controls should also cover totals, lines, units, amounts, order-to-delivery relationships, and lifecycle statuses.
Complete traceability links the source document, transformed message, partner response, and record created in the ERP or business application. This supports audits, corrections, and root-cause analysis when a discrepancy appears.
E-invoicing 2026: how does it affect EDI flows?
Since 1 September 2026, all relevant French companies must be able to receive electronic invoices. From the same date, large companies and mid-sized companies must issue electronic invoices and transmit the e-reporting data required by the reform. SMEs and microbusinesses must issue electronic invoices from 1 September 2027.
An EDI integration does not replace an approved platform under the French e-invoicing framework. It can feed or complement management systems, prepare the required data, and maintain partner flows, but the regulated path must remain connected to the authorized actor required by the framework.
The French tax authority, DGFiP, became the France Peppol Authority on 8 July 2025. French reference documents include XP Z12-012 for invoice formats, profiles, and lifecycle statuses, XP Z12-013 for APIs interfacing with approved platforms, and XP Z12-014 for B2B use cases. Koragence is not presented here as an approved platform, DGFiP tax partner, or certified Peppol provider.
How do you secure EDI exchanges?
Security covers transport, certificates, keys, technical access, and the data contained in messages. Integration accounts should have only the permissions they need, and secrets should be rotatable without interrupting the whole setup.
Exchanges can rely on encryption, signing, partner authentication, restricted networks, environment separation, and suitable logging. File copies and intermediate exports should also be limited, retained only as long as useful, and deleted according to company rules.
The required level of control depends on the data, industry, partners, and process criticality. An invoice, order, or logistics document should remain traceable without exposing more information than necessary.
How much does an EDI integration project cost?
Cost depends on the number of partners, messages, formats, connected systems, transport method, mapping rules, tests, and expected monitoring level. A single ORDERS flow into an existing ERP does not require the same effort as a setup covering orders, shipments, receipts, invoices, and multiple partners.
The budget should distinguish initial scoping, mapping design, development or configuration, test environments, partner onboarding, and recurring operations. This prevents the one-off setup cost from being confused with the ongoing cost of keeping flows running.
A first version can target one partner and one critical process, then expand once validations, rejections, and responsibilities are stable. The right scope is the one that reduces a real risk or source of duplicate entry, not one that accumulates formats from day one.
EDI provider, SaaS platform, or internal development: which should you choose?
An EDI SaaS platform can speed up access to existing connectors, formats, and monitoring tools. It is useful when requirements fit its scope and its retention, hosting, support, and reversibility conditions are acceptable to the company.
Internal development provides more control but also transfers responsibility for mapping, protocols, certificates, monitoring, updates, and possible on-call coverage. It can make sense when volume, skills, and criticality justify a lasting capability.
An EDI provider can also frame the architecture, take over existing flows, and coordinate partners without forcing the company to choose between a fully standard platform and a complete internal team. The chosen model should remain documented and reversible.
How does Koragence structure an EDI integration?
We start by mapping partners, messages, systems, responsibilities, and transport constraints. This view distinguishes the flows that are actually needed, the authoritative data sources, and the points where an API or supplier portal is more suitable than EDI.
We then define mappings, validation rules, identifiers, rejection scenarios, and end-to-end tests. Exchanges are connected to the ERP, WMS, or business application without erasing each system’s ownership responsibilities.
Deployment follows a controlled chain: scoping, mapping, development or configuration, partner testing, pilot, production release, monitoring, and documentation. Flows can then be expanded progressively without turning every new partner into an isolated project.
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