What is a EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) in Business Central?

A standard for exchanging business documents (POs, invoices, shipping notices) between trading partners electronically.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is a set of standards for electronically exchanging business documents between organizations. Common EDI document types include Purchase Orders (850), Invoices (810), Advance Shipping Notices (856), and Purchase Order Acknowledgments (855).

In the context of Business Central, EDI automates the purchase-to-pay cycle: the buyer sends a PO electronically, the supplier acknowledges it, ships goods with an ASN, and sends an electronic invoice — all without manual data entry.

EDI implementation is expensive (CHF 5,000-20,000+ per trading partner) and requires specialized middleware, VAN (Value Added Network) connections, and ongoing maintenance. It makes economic sense only for high-volume trading relationships.

For companies using Business Central, Zentriq offers a lighter alternative for procurement automation. While EDI handles the full order lifecycle for strategic suppliers, Zentriq PunchOut covers the long tail of suppliers where EDI integration isn't cost-effective. Many companies use both approaches together.

Related terms

• PunchOut Catalog — A supplier's online catalog that connects to a buyer's ERP system via cXML or OCI protocol, allowing direct cart data transfer.
• Vendor (Supplier) — A company or person from whom you purchase goods or services, represented as a Vendor Card in Business Central.
• Purchase Order — A formal document sent to a vendor to order goods or services, with agreed quantities, prices, and delivery terms.
• cXML (Commerce XML) — An XML-based protocol for B2B e-commerce transactions, commonly used in traditional PunchOut catalog integrations.

How Zentriq helps

Zentriq's AI tools automate many of the manual processes around edi (electronic data interchange) in Business Central. Learn about the Zentriq Agent or try Zentriq PunchOut to see how AI simplifies procurement in BC.