I don't see much on EDI in the forums, which surprises me considering how much talk there is in the industry.

All I know about EDI is the obvious that the name implies - electronic data interchange. Well, that and that it's going to make my purchasing job a lot easier.

Is EDI a standardized protocol for placing orders with suppliers, or is it just a name applied to any form of customer-supplier interaction that is simplified by electronic means?

I ask because there is a large buying group here in Canada that's going to be emphasizing EDI in the near future and there may be an opportunity to develop an integrated software package that their stores can use to manage their purchasing/sales.

EDI is a particular standard... in particular, ASC X12.

However, X12 is a fairly loose standard, leaving many options

open when going to setup a protocol between two companies.

Thus, it doesn't give a precise protocol... rather, it gives

a lot of structure to the various protocols than can be

developed. In trying to accommodate everybody they leave a

lot to be decided upon by the companies... making the result

very expensive and fairly custom.

In some cases industries have taken the X12 standard and refined

their own more specfic standard that fits within X12, but leaves

a lot less to be decided company-by-company... and thus making

it much cheaper to implement. The best example is probably the

auto industry.

Hope that helps.