Electronic Data Interchange Terms Publishers Should Know

Electronic Data Interchange, or EDI, is computer-to-computer communication of business documents, in a standardized format, between two companies. Even though publishers are being put under pressure by big distributors to implement EDI transactions, there is much confusion about what an EDI transaction really is.

Electronic data interchange has created a vocabulary of specific terms that publishers will need to be familiar with. Below is an English version of some of those technical terms.

You can now download the “Guide to EDI for Publishers,” which includes the full glossary of terms, from the white paper library on the Ware-Pak website, along with any of our other white papers. To do so, please click here.

Purchase Order Acknowledgements:
A POA tells the bookstore the status of their Purchase Order: what books were shipped, back-ordered, canceled, the list price, and discount.

Transaction Set:
A transaction set is the EDI term for a business document. Each transaction set has a standard three-digit numerical code that identifies it.

The four most common sets are: 850: Purchase Order (PO); 855: Purchase Order Acknowledgement (POA); 856: Advance Ship Notice (ASN); 810: Invoice

Important Note: Your first two EDI transaction sets must be Purchase Orders and Purchase Order Acknowledgements. Future transaction sets are your choice.

ANSI X12:
This cryptic term refers to the overall set of standards governing the use of EDI documents by all industries in the U.S. It is the protocol that makes sure all items on a document land in the right spaces. Usually called “X12.”

Translation Software:
The program that takes an EDI standardized X12 document and converts, or translates it, into a format that your Order Processing computer can recognize.

Communication Software:
The program that allows you to connect to your EDI mailbox.

Descriptions of EDI Mailbox, VAN, EDI Provider and several additional terms can be found in the white paper “A Guide to EDI for Publishers” in the Ware-Pak White Paper Library. If you’d like to request a PDF of any of the white papers in our library, please contact me directly. I can be reached at (708) 587-4116 or kshay@ware-pak.com