EDI standards
EDI standards were developed so that any two organizations using the same standard can exchange documents without custom-building the format from scratch.
Standards typically define:
- Structure - How a document is broken into segments, elements, and envelopes
- Syntax - Delimiters, escape characters, and encoding rules
- Content - A library of document types (purchase order, invoice, advance ship notice, and so on) and the fields each one supports
Boomi's B2B/EDI Management capability supports the following standards through the Trading Partner component:
| Standard | Primary use |
|---|---|
| ASC X12 | North American cross-industry EDI (retail, logistics, manufacturing) |
| UN/EDIFACT | International cross-industry EDI, dominant outside North America |
| HL7 | Healthcare Information interoperability |
| ODETTE | European automotive supply chain |
| Tradacoms | UK retail sector |
| RosettaNet | Electronics, semiconductor, telecom, and logistics B2B messaging (XML-based) |
| Custom Document Standard | Any proprietary or non-standard format, configured to behave like a named standard |
For more detailed information on each standard, refer to EDI standards reference guide, which breaks down what each standard is, who typically uses it, and how it structures a document.
EDI standards define document format, which is separate from transport, how the file actually gets from one company to another. Boomi supports both independently; you choose a document standard for the trading partner's data format, and a communication method for how that data moves. When troubleshooting, remember that a rejected document is usually a standard or mapping issue, while a failed transmission is usually a communication method issue.
