EDI standard reference guide
This guide covers each EDI standard supported in Boomi's Trading Partner component. For configuration information and setup steps, refer to the Trading Partner component documentation for each standard.
Quick comparison
| Standard | Envelope model | Format |
|---|---|---|
| ASC X12 | Interchange -> Group -> Transaction Set | Delimited |
| UN/EDIFACT | Interchange -> Group -> Message | Delimited |
| HL7 | Message -> Segments (no nested envelope) | Delimited |
| ODETTE | Interchange -> Group -> Message (EDIFACT-based) | Delimited |
| Tradacoms | Transmission -> Message | Delimited |
| RosettaNet | PIP -> Business Message | XML |
| Custom | User-defined | User-defined |
ASC X12
What it is: The Accredited Standards Committee X12 standard, maintained by ANSI. The primary EDI standard used in North America.
Who uses it: Retail, logistics/transportation, manufacturing, and general cross-industry commerce in the US and Canada.
Envelope terminology:
- Interchange - The outermost envelope, containing one or more functional groups, marked by
ISA/IEAsegments - Functional Group - A batch of transaction sets of the same type, marked by
GS/GEsegments - Transaction Set - A single business document (such as an 850 purchase order), marked by
ST/SEsegments
Transaction sets are identified by numeric code; for example, 850 is a purchase order, 810 is an invoice, and 856 is an advance ship notice.
UN/EDIFACT
What it is: United Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce, and Transport. An international standard intended to work across countries and industries.
Who uses it: The dominant EDI standard outside North America, common across European and Asian trading relationships and multinational supply chains.
Envelope terminology:
- Interchange - The outermost envelop, marked by
UNB/UNZsegments - Group - An optional batch of messages of the same type, marked by
UNG/UNEsegments - Message - A single business document, marked by
UNH/UNTsegments
Messages are identified by names rather than numbers; for example, ORDERS for purchase order, and INVOIC for invoices.
HL7
What it is: Health Level Seven, a standard for interoperability of health information systems. Structurally different from the other standards, HL7 is built around clinical workflows rather than commercial transactions.
Who uses it: Healthcare providers, payers, and systems exchanging clinical and administrative data (such as admissions, orders, results, scheduling).
Envelope terminology: HL7 v2 messages don't use a nested interchange/group/transaction envelope the way X12 or EDIFACT do. Instead, a Message is a single event-driven exchange, like a patient admission, opened with a MSH (Message Header) segment. Messages are composed of Segments (each a line of related fields, like PID for patient identification) which contain Fields.
ODETTE
What it is: A standard built on EDIFACT syntax, developed for the European automotive industry.
Who uses it: European automotive manufacturers and their supply chains (parts suppliers, logistics providers).
Envelope terminology: Because ODETTE is EDIFACT-based, it uses the same Interchange (UNB/UNZ), Group (UNG/UNE), and Message (UNH/UNT) structure as EDIFACT. The distinction from generic EDIFACT is in the message set and business rules defined for automotive use cases, not the envelop structure itself.
Tradacoms
What it is: A UK-specific EDI standard, predating EDIFACT, developed by the Article Numbering Association (now GS1 UK) for the retail sector.
Who uses it: UK retailers and their suppliers
Envelope terminology:
- Transmission - The outermost envelope, marked by
STX/END(Start Transmission/End Transmission) headers - Message - A single business document, marked by
MHD/MTR(Message Header/Message Trailer) segments
RosettaNet
What it is: An XML-based B2B standard that defines both document formats and business process interactions.
Who uses it: Electronics, semiconductor, telecommunications, and logistics companies, especially in high-tech supply chains.
Envelope terminology:
- PIP (Partner Interface Process) - The core concept in RosettaNet; defines a specific business process (such as PIP 3A4 for purchase order) rather than just a document format
- Business Message - The XML message itself, composed of a Preamble, Service Header, and Service Content
Custom Document Standard
What it is: A Boomi-specific mechanism, not an industry standard. You can define a proprietary or non-standard document format and manage it through the same Trading Partner framework (validation, tracked fields, monitoring) as the named standards.
Who uses it: Trading partners who don't use a recognized EDI standard but still need document validation and lifecycle tracking equivalent to what X12/EDIFACT partners get.
Envelope terminology: No fixed envelope structure. You define the document's fields and validation rules directly in the Custom Document Standard component. Despite the lack of standard terminology, custom trading partners are tracked and managed the same way as partners on a named standard.
