What Is EDI Translation?

For seamless business-to-business (B2B) communication with trading partners, companies rely on electronic data interchange (EDI). EDI translation is the process that converts data from enterprise-specific formats into standardized formats to ensure EDI compliance with the global standards ANSI X12 and EDIFACT. Without effective EDI translation software, exchanging purchase orders, invoices and shipping notices across different industries and countries with multiple trading partners would be difficult, because most business and ERP systems do not natively read or create documents in EDI formats.

The SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite (BIS) provides a comprehensive solution for EDI translation, enabling businesses to streamline operations, reduce errors, accelerate transaction cycles and ensure secure, compliant data exchange with their trading partners.

EDI translation is the conversion of data, and EDI translation software takes data from various internal formats, which might be irregular or specific to a particular enterprise's systems, and transforms it into a structured, standardized format. These standardized formats adhere to established Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) protocols, such as ANSI X12 (common in North America) and UN/EDIFACT (widely used internationally). The purpose of this conversion is to enable automated exchange of business documents between different companies' systems.

Common business documents exchanged using EDI include purchase orders, invoices, shipping notices, and more. The process involves mapping specific data elements from the source format to their corresponding locations and formats within the target EDI standard. An EDI translator is the software tool or service that performs this conversion. It can process data in various initial formats, including XML, flat files, spreadsheets, PDFs, and even data directly from databases or ERP systems. The output is an EDI file that conforms to the agreed-upon standard and structure. The translation process is typically bi-directional, meaning the software can also convert incoming EDI files back into formats usable by internal systems.

Maintaining efficient and reliable communication with trading partners – including customers, suppliers and vendors – is vital for . However, many modern business systems and enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms are not built with native support for EDI standards. This requires a translation, or transformation, step to convert documents between the internal system format and the external EDI format required by partners.

Without an EDI translation system, companies face hurdles: manual processing of business documents is slow, prone to errors and difficult to scale. It introduces inefficiencies that hinder business velocity. Exchanging data with multiple companies, especially those in different industries or countries that use different standards and formats, becomes complex and costly without automation. Investing in EDI translation software or an integration platform with B2B/EDI capabilities allows businesses to automate the translation step, ensuring that data is accurately converted and efficiently exchanged.

The process of EDI translation mimics the steps of manual data exchange but automates them for speed and accuracy. An EDI translator starts by extracting or collecting the necessary business data from internal systems. This data might reside in ERP systems, databases, spreadsheets or other applications.

Next, the extracted data is fed into the EDI translation software or system. This software applies mapping rules to convert the internal data format into the target EDI standard, which involves structuring the data according to the specific EDI transaction set (e.g., a purchase order, an invoice) and adhering to the segmentation and element rules of the chosen standard (e.g., ANSI X12, UN/EDIFACT). The translation software essentially generates an electronic message in the standardized EDI format.

Finally, the translated EDI document is transmitted to the trading partner. This transmission can occur through various methods, such as AS2, SFTP, FTP or via an EDI Value Added Network (VAN). Similarly, when receiving an EDI document from a partner, the EDI translator converts it from the standard EDI format back into a format that the internal business system can understand and process.

Configuration methods for EDI processing typically involve either manual or integrated approaches. Manual processing involves the EDI translator producing reports that are then manually keyed into internal systems – a process prone to errors. An integrated EDI solution, on the other hand, automates the conversion and direct routing of translated data into or out of systems like ERP or accounting software, significantly increasing efficiency and reducing manual effort.

EDI translation offers numerous EDI benefits for businesses, including:

In the past, some companies opted to build their own in-house EDI translator solutions. However, given the ever-evolving landscape of EDI standards and the complexity and cost of developing and maintaining custom code, this approach has become impractical and expensive. Partnering with an experienced EDI provider ensures a simpler, faster and more cost-effective path to achieving reliable EDI translation capabilities.

When selecting a provider for EDI translations, consider these key factors:

• Beyond price: Beware of solutions that boast low prices but offer limited basic functionality and require users to have extensive EDI expertise. Look for a solution that balances affordability with ease of use and integrated AI features that don't require you to be an EDI expert.
• Automation: Repetitive tasks are common in EDI processing. An EDI translator should feature automation capabilities that allow you to sequence and execute steps end-to-end without manual intervention. Automation is key to achieving speed and efficiency with EDI.
• Scalability: Your business integration needs will likely grow. Select an EDI translation software solution built for scalability that can accommodate an expanding network of trading partners. Your EDI solution should be able to handle increasing data volumes with future-proof integration technology architecture — especially for digitalization in the automotive industry.
• Comprehensive platform: Consider a solution that offers EDI translation as part of a broader integration platform. Such a platform provides flexibility to handle other integration needs, such as API integration and management and self-services, ensuring a unified approach to managing your entire integration landscape.

For nearly 40 years, the SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite (BIS) has been helping companies move data securely and reliably. The BIS Platform is a unified, AI-assisted platform for secure and scalable integration, evolved. With BIS, companies can translate EDI documents, onboard new partners, manage partner communications and integrate internal systems.

Key BIS Platform features for supporting EDI translation:

• Intelligent data mapping: Integrated AI automates the design of data and message transformations. The AI-Assisted BIS Mapping Designer allows users to visually design data transformations required for EDI translation. It includes AI-supported guidance that suggests mapping logic based on data metadata and historical patterns. This simplifies the complex task of mapping internal data formats to EDI standards.
• Integration asset catalog: Accelerate the creation and deployment of new EDI connections and mappings by allowing teams to reuse assets. Assets are built once and can be reused across different workflows or partners. The integration asset catalog includes ready-to-use mappings, partner profiles and templates tailored for all industries, including automotive, retail and financial services.
• AI-powered assistance: BIS embeds AI into the design process, not just runtime. AI-powered assistance that allow business teams any citizen integrator to design, manage and deploy integrations, including EDI mappings and flows, without needing to write code or rely entirely on IT.
• Comprehensive connectivity: Supports a wide range of protocols and methods for transmitting translated EDI documents, including AS2, OFTP2, SFTP, REST, SOAP and more. BIS provides pre-built connectors and APIs for popular applications and services, facilitating the extraction and injection of data for translation.
• Flexible deployment: The platform is built to run anywhere – in the SEEBURGER Cloud, on hyperscalers like AWS, in a private cloud or on-premises. Multiple deployment models allows businesses to manage EDI translation within their preferred infrastructure model while ensuring consistent functionality and governance.
• Enterprise-grade security and governance: BIS offers data encryption and supports compliance with global standards and regulations such as GDPR and ISO 27001. Centralized monitoring, logging and policy enforcement provide full visibility and control over EDI processes.

With SEEBURGER BIS, businesses can achieve agile, secure and scalable EDI integration across their ecosystem. BIS simplifies integration by orchestrating intelligent data flows for a secure and scalable foundation.