A listing of all the Data Elements, and sometimes the Segments and Documents, unique to the specific system of Standards being used.
The basic building block of EDI, Data Elements represent unitary pieces of information. For example, the Data Elements street address, city, state, and country are combined to make a Segment.The sample (in English only) ANSI X12 Envelope structure helps graphically explain these EDI concepts.
Also known as message(s), in simple terms these are invoices, purchase orders, and other business transactions that are exchanged daily. When documents are exchanged electronically (as with EDI), their definition is far more complex. The need to define everything down to the last period and comma leads to a necessary amount of detail that may seem bewildering at first glance. A document begins with Data Elements, the smallest pieces of information. Data Elements are combined into Segments, which in turn form Documents that are transmitted in electronic Envelopes.For example, a phone number is a Segment that can be further divided into Data Elements such as country code, area code, and local number.
See also Standards.
The sample (in English only) ANSI X12 Envelope structure helps graphically explain these EDI concepts.
A D-U-N-S number is a Dun & Bradstreet Universal Number System (D-U-N-S) identifier. This code is assigned by Dun & Bradstreet . Contact Dun & Bradstreet to find out if your company has been assigned a D-U-N-S number, or to request one, visit the Dun & Bradstreet web site.
Electronic Data Interchange. The computer-to-computer transfer of business transaction information (such as invoices and purchase orders) using standard, industry accepted, message formats.
A set of numbers and letters assigned to a trading partner to identify them.
Electronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce, and Transport. This is the international EDI standard as developed through the United Nations. Also known as UN/EDIFACT.See also ANSI ASC X12 (the U.S. standard).
For EDI, Envelopes are a combination of control Segments that define the start and end of individual EDI documents for a given transmission session. There are three types of envelopes - Document envelopes contain segments (made up of data elements), Functional Group envelopes contain all Document envelopes of a specific type (e.g., purchase orders), and Interchange envelopes contain all Functional Group envelopes being sent to the same destination. The Interchange envelope also contains the identity and electronic address of the sender and receiver, transaction counts, and other control information.The sample (in English only) ANSI X12 Envelope structure helps graphically explain these EDI concepts.
An EDI document that is sent in response to another EDI document or packet of documents to notify the sender of the original document that it was received. It acknowledges only the receipt of the document or documents, and does not imply agreement with, or understanding of, document content.