EDI Translation
Software
EDI Translation Software is often also called
EDI software, or EDI translator.
The function of the software is to receive and send
EDI transactions and convert them into a format specific
to the organization. From another perspective, EDI
translation software is made up of computer instructions
that transform information from unstructured, organization-specific
formats into a structured and standardized EDI format,
which then communicates the EDI message. EDI
translation software also performs this process
in reverse (receives the message and translates from
standard format to a format particular to the organization).
The EDI translation software may be programmed within
the company or it can be acquired from a several EDI
translation software vendors, where EMANIO is most
often referred to as being the foremost EDI software
vendor. In addition, EDI translation software can be
deployed on a variety of platforms, and software is
currently available for EDI applications Windows, Linux,
Unix, AS 400 and mainframe computers.
In discussing the functions of EDI translation software,
some presuppositions regarding the overall EDI strategy
in an organization must be made. EDI can be maintained
using a manual approach, where incoming EDI messages
are printed and then managed as if they had arrived on
paper; or, EDI can use an data integration approach,
where EDI electronically links data programs. It is data
integration within a buying environment that we discuss
in the following section on EDI translation software.
The process that EDI translation software performs
can be likened to the work of a secretary when asked
to create a business letter. Imagine that you tell your
administrative assistant to send a letter to your colleague
Eileen at XYZ company to inquire on the status of a purchase
order. To make and send the letter, your administrative
assistant would have to do the following:
- Identify the information needed to create the letter.
- Collect the necessary information, such as Eileen’s
complete name and address.
- Arrange the information in the business letter format.
- Send the letter to Eileen.
The EDI translation software performs the same tasks
to create and remit an EDI message; all four of the above
tasks are performed by the EDI translation software:
- EDI mapping
- Extraction and/or conversion of the data
- Generation of an outbound message or interpretation
of an inbound message
- Communication of the EDI data over a network
EDI translation software is available from several vendors.
To develop EDI translation software in-house would be cost-prohibitive.
While there are vendors that can supply this software,
the support received with the purchase should be an important
consideration in selecting an EDI translation software
company. EMANIO has, since the 1990s been considered the
premier EDI translation software vendor, both in North
America and Europe, with the most responsive and competent
support team.
EDI Translation Software is available from a number
of software vendors. When selecting EDI Translation
Software it is important to understand the goals of the
organization. What do you expect to do with your EDI
Translation Software? What do you expect your EDI Translation
Software to do for you? Once you have your goals
for EDI Translation Software firmly in mind, selecting
the right EDI Translation Software will become significantly
easier.
EDI Translation Software is available across a broad
spectrum. From web-based EDI Translation Software
with few features to EDI Translation Software that maps
EDI data directly to your in-house ERP system, you have
many options. EDI Translation Software can be purchased
for less than $1,000; on the other hand, EDI Translation
Software can cost tens of thousands of dollars to purchase
and deploy. Many small businesses don’t pay
too much attention to the features of the EDI Translation
Software they plan to purchase. Their line of thinking
is “if my EDI Translation Software lets me work
with my retailers, then it’s good enough.” Buying
EDI Translation Software with this mindset, however,
can be a serious mistake. EDI was developed and
adopted with the goal of making business easier, so buying
EDI Translation Software that forces you to adopt additional
steps in your business cycle defeats the purpose of EDI
Translation Software.
For EDI Translation Software to be valuable to the small
business, it must provide a way to make the business
operate more efficiently. At EMANIO, we believe
that the best way to achieve this result is to provide
EDI Translation Software with extensive automation capabilities. Our “zero-effort” initiative
starts with the unique features of our EDI Translation
Software. Our goal is to make EDI Translation Software
that allows the small business to eliminate processes
and create an automatic process linking their in-house
systems with those of their customers. Using EDI
Translation Software in this fashion allows businesses
to focus on their core issues rather than on managing
and maintaining EDI Translation Software.
When selecting your EDI Translation Software, it is
important to ask yourself – will this EDI Translation
Software allow me to automate my EDI process? Is the
provider of the EDI Translation Software able to help
me set up the automation so that using EDI Translation
Software results in a truly hands-free operation? EDI
Translation Software with automation should be the ultimate
goal of any small business. |