Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the most widely used method for businesses to exchange data electronically with their trading partners. It primarily follows a messaging-oriented approach, where documents are formatted as flat files and often contain batched transaction sets.
EDI operates based on well-defined data exchange standards established by industry bodies. The two main standards are X12, developed by ANSI and EDIFACT, which is more globally adopted. Several other standards have been derived from these, such as HIPAA, which is based on X12 for the healthcare industries.
While X12 and EDIFACT share similarities in their message structure and acknowledgment mechanisms, they also have distinct differences that cater to the specific needs of various industries and regions.
BizTalk360 enhances the administration and monitoring of EDI entities and transactions in BizTalk Server by providing out-of-the-box capabilities tailored for operational efficiency, security, and visibility. This blog post highlights the key EDI-related features in BizTalk360.
In the latest version of BizTalk360 (11.3), we enhanced out of capabilities, including:
Overall EDI capabilities are organised into two sections namely Administration and Monitoring.
AdministrationLet us see BizTalk360 EDI administrative capabilities, which ease the operational efficiency with protective access to the business-critical information!
In BizTalk360’s latest version 11.3, managing Parties, Profiles, and Agreements has become more intuitive and user-friendly. With enhanced validation, users are prompted to enter the required values, ensuring accuracy and completeness. Navigating through an agreement’s Interchange and Transaction settings is now smoother, offering a seamless experience.
The tree-view interface makes it effortless for EDI users to create and manage Parties, Profiles, and Agreements, enhancing usability and efficiency.
EDI users receive notifications for EDI AS2/MDN transactions, including details of failed MDNs. This enables proactive identification of issues in processing AS2 partner transactions.
EDI AS2 MDN Transactions – Attachment in the email
BizTalk360 simplifies EDI status reporting by providing a clear and structured view of EDI transactions, including Functional Acknowledgment Status tracking. With this feature, administrators can effortlessly monitor whether incoming and outgoing EDI messages have been successfully received and acknowledged by trading partners.
The Functional Acknowledgment (997/999) status helps businesses ensure compliance, track message delivery, and quickly identify any processing errors. By integrating FA status into BizTalk360, users gain real-time visibility into EDI transaction lifecycles, reducing manual effort and improving operational efficiency.
This enhanced reporting capability empowers organizations to maintain data integrity, resolve transaction failures proactively, and streamline B2B communication.
BizTalk360’s EDI Dashboard provides a comprehensive and intuitive view of EDI transactions, offering deep insights into Interchanges, Transaction Sets, and AS2 messages. This powerful feature helps EDI administrators efficiently monitor, track, and analyse critical B2B communications in real time.
With this centralized EDI dashboard, businesses can enhance the operational efficiency, improve data accuracy, and ensure smooth B2B communication with trading partners.
The EDI Reporting Manager simplifies enabling/disabling reporting for agreements with a single click, eliminating the tedious process in the BizTalk Admin Console. It also supports bulk enable/disable operations for NRR configurations. Administrators can configure Host Partner details for NRR.
In the latest version of BizTalk360 (11.3) this new capability is introduced to make sure smooth EDI transactions with Partners. It provides insights about the MDN transactions statues promptly.
EDI AS2 Transaction Monitoring enables seamless tracking of AS2/MDN transactions, allowing administrators to proactively identify failures and ensure compliance. Users receive notifications based on the configured MDN status (Processed/Failed) and can choose to attach MDN transactions for either Processed, Failed, or both statuses.
When the MDN Acknowledgement are pending for the partner, EDI operational user can send as attachment for the messages for which Acknowledgement are pending.
BizTalk Agreement Monitoring in BizTalk360 helps prevent EDI transaction failures by ensuring that agreements remain in their expected state. Here’s how it contributes to transaction reliability:
By maintaining the stability of BizTalk agreements, this feature ensures seamless processing of EDI transactions, preventing disruptions and compliance issues.
Certificate Monitoring ensures seamless tracking of certificates used in EDI/AS2 communications, helping administrators prevent failures due to expired or misconfigured certificates.
1. Automated Certificate Expiry Tracking
2. Proactive Alerts & Notifications
3. Centralized Visibility
4. Secure Configuration & Validation
5. Historical Tracking & Auditing
BizTalk360’s EDI capabilities provide a comprehensive solution for managing and optimizing B2B transactions, ensuring business continuity and operational excellence.
To know more about the BizTalk360 features, try out the free trial or book a demo.
