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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