What is EDI? A Beginner's Guide for Growing Businesses

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the standardized electronic exchange of business documents between trading partners. If you're a supplier looking to do business with Walmart, Costco, Target, or any major retailer, EDI is not optional — it's a requirement. When a retailer sends you a Purchase Order (PO), they don't want a PDF. They want a structured EDI 850 document. When you ship goods, they expect an Advance Ship Notice (EDI 856). When you invoice them, they require an EDI 810 invoice. All of these documents follow a strict format called X12 (in the US) or EDIFACT (in Europe), and they're transmitted over secure channels like AS2 or SFTP. The good news: you don't need to understand all of this. That's what EDIPlug is for.