EDI sample
An EDI sample is simply a type of EDI document that provides data
for the purposes of training or testing. An EDI sample is often
used when deploying EDI and when implementing EDI with a specific trading
partner. The EDI sample will be used as a 'test' transaction
to ensure that the EDI software has been configured according to the
implementation guides of the trading partner. While the EDI sample
is not an actual EDI document, it plays a critical role in the use,
learning and deployment of EDI.
The EDI Sample in Training
The first use of the EDI sample is in training. During your
initial use of the EDI software you have chosen you should work with
EDI sample data to ensure that any mistakes made are not critical to
your business. This form of use for an EDI sample is often associated
with systems that are not "live", meaning that they are not
yet set up to actually communicate with the outside world. The
EDI sample you are working with will be most likely limited in length
and format, and is designed to help you gain a working knowledge of
your software instead of helping you learn EDI.
An EDI Sample in Implementations
During an actual trading partner implementation the EDI sample takes
on a new role. In this stage you and your trading partner will
likely go through a process of exchanging EDI documents that are not
real. This form of an EDI sample is designed to help you and
your trading partner troubleshoot your implementation to ensure that
the information being exchanged is in line with your trading partner's
expectations. This EDI sample, unlike the previous EDI sample,
will actually contain all the segments and data elements of the actual
transactions you will be exchanging with the exception that the data
being exchanged (for instance the sample purchase order) will not be
real.
EDI Sample vs. Real World
When working with EDI sample data it's important to note that there
are always circumstances that are different in real-world deployments. For
this reason you should pay close attention to your EDI data once you
have finished working with the EDI sample data and have switched to "live" information. Using
EDI sample data for training and for validation is a great way to minimize
mistakes, but cannot replicate real world scenarios. EDI sample
data after all can never replace actual business transactions.
Long Term Use of an EDI Sample
Once you have deployed your EDI software and set up your trading partners
your use for EDI sample data will be minimal. You may use EDI
sample data during in-house testing, during deployment of a new trading
partner or during training for a new employee. Regardless, the
EDI sample data will most likely never change and will often be a very
limited simulated set of data resembling the type of EDI data you trade
most frequently.
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