Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is simply the process of transmitting business documents electronically between enterprise internal application systems through computers and public information networks.
In other words, EDI is a process in which suppliers, retailers, manufacturers and customers automatically exchange and process commercial documents between their respective application systems through the public EDI network. What problems can EDI solve for you
Save time and reduce cost: Because the document transfer between trading partners is fully automated, there is no need for repeated input, fax, telephone notification and other repetitive work. Therefore, it can greatly improve the work efficiency of enterprises, reduce operating costs and make communication faster and more accurate.
One of the means to improve management and service quality: after integrating EDI technology with enterprise MIS systems such as warehouse management system, automatic replenishment system and order processing system, it can realize the rapid exchange and automatic processing of commercial documents, simplify procurement procedures, reduce working capital and inventory, and improve cash flow. It also enables enterprises to respond to customers' needs more quickly.
Business development needs: at present, there are many large manufacturers, retail enterprises and large companies at home and abroad. Trading partners in need use EDI technology. Whether these enterprises have EDI capability is an important indicator when evaluating a new trading partner. Some internationally renowned enterprises will even reduce or cancel orders for suppliers without EDI capability. Therefore, adopting EDI is one of the important means for enterprises to improve their competitiveness.
EDI business application fields:
In the field of commercial trade, by adopting EDI technology, the production management, material demand, sales management, warehouse management and commercial POS system of different manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers and retailers can be organically combined, so that these enterprises can greatly improve their operating efficiency and create higher profits.
Commercial EDI business is especially suitable for those manufacturers who have a certain scale and a good computer management foundation, wholesalers and retailers who use commercial POS systems, and suppliers who provide products for internationally renowned manufacturers.
Transportation field: In the transportation industry, the application systems of shipping, air transport, land transport, ocean shipping agents, ports, warehouses, insurance companies and other enterprises can be linked by using the electronic data exchange service of container transport, which can solve the problems of long processing time and low efficiency in the traditional file transmission process. It can effectively improve the cargo transportation capacity and realize electronic logistics control. So as to realize international container multimodal transport and further promote the development of container transport in Shenzhen Port.
Customs clearance automation: In the field of foreign trade, customs, commodity inspection, health inspection and other port supervision departments can keep close contact with foreign trade companies, processing enterprises with supplied materials, customs declaration companies and other related departments and enterprises by adopting EDI technology, so as to avoid enterprises from returning to multiple foreign trade management departments for declaration, approval and other work. Greatly simplify import and export trade procedures and improve the speed of customs clearance of goods. Finally, improve the investment environment and enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in international trade.
In other fields: taxation, banking, insurance and other trade links, EDI technology also has broad application prospects. Through EDI and electronic commerce technology (ECS), many applications can be realized, such as electronic tax declaration and electronic fund transfer (EFT).
Technical characteristics of EDI:
The biggest technical features of EDI are as follows:
EDI files are exchanged through a dedicated EDI value-added network. Because most EDI documents are commercial documents with certain commercial value, it is safe and reliable to exchange them through EDI value-added network managed by specialized institutions. This is a problem that Internet technology can't solve at present. With the rapid development of modern science and technology, EDI technology is constantly being integrated with other advanced technologies, including Internet technology, to provide users with more flexible, diverse and simple ways of use, so that they have a broader field of e-commerce services.
No matter how different the application program and data format of the user's internal MIS system are, before the exchange through EDI value-added network, a software called "translator" should be used to translate different data formats into EDI formats that meet international standards. It is this method that makes it possible to automatically exchange data between different application systems of different users.
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