Frends for EDI

What is Frends for EDI?

The Frends for EDI approach categorizes your EDI partner into three archetypes:

1. High-transaction volume partners
2. Mid-size transaction volume partners
3. Small partners without the proper capability for EDI messaging.

The Frends for EDI approach itself is simple. Instead of using a transaction based EDI operator in all of these categories, high-transaction volume partner messaging migrates to direct communication between your Frends iPaaS and their counterpart. Counterpart can be either ERP or your business partner's integration platform. This approach reduces the major part of the transaction cost. Nowadays, it is easier and easier to implement partner-to-partner direct messaging as standards and capabilities have evolved to allow rapid integrations between companies. Additionally, you can choose when to use direct messaging with mid-size partners and when the EDI operator is applicable in between.

Smaller partners without EDI capabilities access the Supplier portal of Frends for EDI. The supplier portal itself communicates with the same APIs provided by Frends iPaaS, thus making the communication with smaller partners transparent and monitorable.

Why Frends for EDI?

1. One channel to process all EDI traffic with centralized monitoring and governance on top of Frends
2. Drastic cost savings by minimizing the existing EDI transaction-based costs
3. The service is entirely transparent, and the customer has ownership instead of the current black-box approach
4. Needed connections to existing ERP and WMS already exist on the Frends platform, meaning implementation costs are much lower than starting from scratch

Large EDI partners

• With high message volume EDI partners, direct EDI messaging is preferred to decrease the EDI operator's transaction costs. EDI may be changed to another messaging standard such as UBL.
• APIs are made as generic as possible to promote reuse with different EDI partners.
• In addition to APIs, direct SFTP communication can be used when needed.
• The partner-specific integration layer takes care of data mapping to and from the canonical integration layer. This way, the canonical layer can be generic and standard for every EDI partner. This architecture promotes reusability and makes the solution easy to maintain and develop further.
• All APIs and integrations are included in Frends monitoring to ensure that messages are delivered and that errors are noticed and fixed as quickly as possible.

Medium EDI partners

• Mid-sized EDI partners have all the same options as the more extensive EDI partners. Still, there is also the option to continue using the existing EDI operator.
• The integration model with medium EDI partners needs to be considered case by case and consider the costs: 1) Is it viable to continue with the current EDI operator? 2) Is there enough cost savings or other benefits to building direct integration with the partner?
• All integrations are covered by Frends monitoring to make sure all messages are delivered successfully. This way, it is easy to locate and fix all possible errors in the message processing.

Small EDI partners

Frends EDI partner portal is a portal for partner without EDI - capabilities. It's composed from ready-made components and can be branded according to customer brand.

• Small EDI partners can send and receive EDI messages via the EDI portal's web user interface without investing in integration platform and integration development.
• EDI portal also provides a view of partners' own messages and notifications of errors and new messages.
• Visual reports are available for an overview of EDI messages.
• Frends for EDI portal uses existing React components and agile development to meet customer requirements and design.

Main features of the Frends EDI partner portal:

1. Partner authentication
2. Creation of new EDI messages
3. View to EDI messages
4. Configuration of notifications and alerts, for example, error alerts and email notifications of new messages

EDI transformations

Frends includes out-of-the-box transformation tasks for EDI messages, including X12, HIPAA, IAIABC, EDIFACT, EANCOM, HL7, NCPDP, SCRIPT, IATA PADIS and VDA. These EDI transformation tasks transform a specific version of any particular standard to JSON and back. With Frends for EDI. It is easy to map and manipulate any incoming or outgoing EDI messages.

Got Interested? Please fill out the form below to see how Frends for EDI helps your enterprise enable transparent EDI messaging.