EDI
What is EDI?
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is the electronic exchange of structured business documents between companies using standardized formats.
EDI documents include invoices, purchase orders, order confirmations, delivery notes, shipping notices, and credit notes. EDI helps businesses minimize errors, speed up document processing, and improve collaboration with customers and suppliers.
As electronic invoicing becomes mandatory in more countries, many businesses are reviewing how their current EDI setup supports new compliance requirements.
If you’re preparing for upcoming regulations, download our E-Invoicing Guide for a complete overview of deadlines, country requirements, and compliance formats.
Manage outbound documents and EDI with the same solution
With Lasernet Output Management software from Tabellae, you get a solution, where you can manage both outgoing business documents and EDI from a single platform. This removes the need for a separate EDI system to exchange documents electronically.
What is EDI used for?
EDI is commonly used to exchange invoices, purchase orders, order confirmations, delivery notes, and other business documents between ERP systems.
By automating document exchange, EDI enables companies to communicate faster with trading partners and reduce manual work.
It is widely used by all sizes of companies across industries.
For example, EDI in the logistics and transportation industry is often used to handle deliveries and bookings, while in the service and utilities industry it is often used to handle e-invoicing, also known as EDI invoicing.
EDI Benefits
The Key benefits of EDI include:
- Faster document exchange
- Fewer manual errors
- Reduced administrative costs
- Improved supply chain efficiency
Businesses use EDI to automate the exchange of business documents with customers, suppliers, and trading partners. By replacing manual document handling with standardized electronic formats, EDI improves accuracy and reduces administrative costs.
How does Lasernet simplify EDI?
If you work with EDI and have many suppliers, you are probably familiar with the problem of customers and suppliers not having the same format.
With Lasernet as your EDI solution, data is handled automatically with a minimum of manual functions, and the solution is cost-effective due to a low number of consultant hours for customizations.
You get a rules-based setup where:
- Templates become easy to develop, design and maintain.
- You can avoid creating the same format for different customers
- You can turn sections on/off depending on whether they are needed or not
Get free advice on your EDI options
Want to learn more about the possibilities with Lasernet for EDI from Tabellae and how we can help your business? Contact us, and get free advice on your EDI options.
Support for all major EDI formats
Tabellae provides an EDI solution that enables EDI invoices to be converted from the supplier’s to the customer’s EDI format and vice versa.
This allows you to exchange invoices, purchase orders, order confirmations, delivery notes, and other business documents without worrying about format compatibility.
Unlike other EDI solutions that has limitations in terms of formats, Tabellae supports a wide range of EDI formats, including:
- PEPPOL, EDIFACT, ODETTE, OIOUBL, UBL, XML, CSV, E2B, Finvoice, Svefaktura, EHF, xRechnung, ZUGFERD, and sub-standards such as DAVID, BYG-e and HANKOM protocols.
An EDI system that supports all EDI formats will not only facilitate workflows within your company, but also ensure that your customers and suppliers always receive electronic order confirmations, orders and e-invoices in the desired format.
Which EDI system should I choose?
There are a number of different EDI systems around the world, covering different needs depending on the size and industry of your business. However, you don’t need a standalone EDI system to manage your electronic invoices.
Tabellae’s Output Management solutions, which handle the company’s external business documents from creation, design, formatting and distribution of business documents, can also be used as the company’s EDI system.
With an EDI solution from Tabellae, you can avoid expensive costs for external EDI systems.
EDI process (technical)
Processes
The increasing focus on electronic exchange of business documents such as EDI invoices requires an EDI system that supports the process, which typically consists of a number of steps – and therefore documents:
- Buyer submits an electronic order
- Seller confirms the order
- There may also be order changes and notifications
- Item is delivered and invoice is sent (possibly together with shipping documents)
The above process is supported by Lasernet, which performs two tasks in the process.
- Conversion to/from the relevant EDI format, according to e.g. an EDI invoice
- Send and automatically distribute documents – directly via FTP or via a VANS
The advantage of using Lasernet for this task is that there is only one format to/from the ERP system, regardless of whether you work with many different trading partners.
Shipping
There are a number of ways to send and receive EDI documents, e.g. EDI invoice. Thus, Lasernet can use:
- FTP
- VANS (e.g. Sproom, KMD, IBM, OB10, Itella, Basware or Evenex)
- SMTP (email)
Often it’s the trading partner’s preferences that are met. Unless otherwise agreed, it is cheaper to send the documents directly via internet/Lasernet.
Want to learn more about the possibilities with Lasernet for EDI from Tabellae and how we can help your business?
Send me an email and I’ll contact you to set up a time for a counseling session that suits you.
