Different Types of EDI

EDI (electronic data interchange) is a collection of standards that specify how business documents can be understood by different software systems, even if they are not compatible with each other. The two most prominent types of EDI are X12 and EDIFACT.

Other standards include HL7, EDIGAS, and TRADACOMS. X12 is the most popular standard in the US, Canada, and Mexico, while EDIFACT is the most popular standard in Europe and Asia. The distinguishing features between these and other EDI standards consist of technical details, including how the document is formatted, the content required in each section of the document, and the way sections are labeled.