EDI Mapping and Translation

Mapping is a movement of information - basically of putting the format of one data document onto another. For instance, it takes the format of an otherwise incompatible data format and makes it into an EDI compatible data document, or conversely, takes an EDI document and makes it readable. There are various tools on the market for doing such tasks, which are readily available through the Internet or at an EDI support centre.

These mapping tasks require software, as it is bringing in line a foreign piece of documentation with EDI standards. The following diagram intends to show how mapping services would be a middle man between companies that have the ability to use and read EDI and those that do not.

A mapping service allows EDI documents basically to be “copied” onto another differently formatted document such as EDI to spreadsheet - which goes from the electronically transmitted message form to one that may be read easily by a person without EDI knowledge.

The mapping services are mostly able to integrate directly with one or multiple systems within the organization such as ERP software, warehouse management system, CRM, or any other back end system or database. It can also be integrated via direct database connection, flat file or XML file.

Companies offer different input options and pathways of integration. Data is able to be translated to any data format, such as EDI, X12, EDIFACT, or various versions of XML. The communication options are also fairly flexible, as companies use different methods. Mapping can occur through Internet EDI, Web Forms, FTP’s, HTTP’s and traditional VANs.

EDI is used to exchange business information and documents in standard electronic formats using computers. Translation software helps in this exchange by converting data extracted from the application data base into a standard EDI format for transmission to one or more trading partners.

EDI- formatted data received from the same trading partners can be converted into a file format your application system recognizes. This data is then processed and written onto your database. It is important to understand the structure of the EDI translation process.

The EDI translation process depicts data transfer from the Company database to Flat file to EDI translator to EDI-formatted data through the transmission system to EDI-formatted data to the EDI translator to the Flat file to the Trading Partner’s data base. This software then allows for any document sent from a trading partner to be translated and read.

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