EDI Guides
Plain-English explanations of EDI - what each transaction means, how to read it, the syntax that holds it together, and how the two big standards compare. Every guide links to a free viewer so you can try it on a real file.
Getting started
Basics
What is EDI?
The format businesses use to exchange orders, invoices, and shipments, explained from scratch.
BasicsX12 vs EDIFACT
The two major EDI standards, how they differ, and which transaction maps to which.
BasicsUnderstanding EDI Delimiters
Segments, elements, components, and the separators that structure every EDI file.
EDI structure & envelopes
ANSI X12 transactions
X12
EDI 850 — Purchase Order
How a buyer sends an order, segment by segment, and what each part means.
X12EDI 855 — PO Acknowledgment
How a supplier confirms, changes, or rejects an order line by line.
X12EDI 810 — Invoice
The supplier's bill, how it ties back to the PO, and the three-way match.
X12EDI 856 — ASN
The advance ship notice and its hierarchical shipment / order / pack / item structure.
X12EDI 820 — Payment
How a payer tells a payee what a payment covers, invoice by invoice.
X12EDI 837 — Health Care Claim
How providers bill insurers, and how the 837 connects to the 835 remittance.
UN/EDIFACT messages
EDIFACT
EDIFACT ORDERS
The international purchase order, its UNB/UNH envelope, and key segments.
EDIFACTEDIFACT INVOIC
The EDIFACT invoice and how it differs from the X12 810.
EDIFACTEDIFACT DESADV
The despatch advice, EDIFACT's answer to the 856, and its CPS packing tree.
EDIFACTEDIFACT IFTMIN
The transport instruction and the IFTM family of logistics messages.