EDI Gateway Terminology

Terminology	Description
ACH	Business enterprise through which banking transactions are routed.
AIAG	Automotive Industry Action Group. An organization that designs and maintains EDI transaction sets for the automotive industry. Also the name of the X12 subset used by the automotive industry
ANSI	American national Standards Institute. An organization that maintains standards on many different topics.
ANSI ASC X12	ANSI Accredited Standards Committee X12. The ANSI subcommittee appointed to develop standards for EDI in North America.
ASN	Advance Shipment Notice. The EDI document transmitted from a supplier to its customer to describe a pending shipment.
Business Process Re-engineering	The modification of computer applications and related procedures in order to streamline processing.
Communications Software	Software to electronically link two computers for the exchange of information.
Compliance Checking	Comparison of EDI data being sent or received with the applicable EDI standard. Normally part of the EDI translation process.
Data Mapping	Provides significant enhancement and transformation of data from multiple sources to multiple target formats. For example, converting a purchase order file in a proprietary format to a set of EDI purchase order transactions.
DEX/UCS	Direct Exchange UCS. EDI transaction sets used by the direct store delivery segment of the grocery industry.
DISA	Data Interchange Standards Association. The organization responsible for performing the administrative duties of the ANSI X12 subcommittee.
Download	The transfer of data from a large computer to a smaller computer used for front-end or back-end processing.
DSD	Direct Store Delivery
EAGLE	An EDI standard developed and used by the hardware and houseware industry. Part of X12.
EC	Electronic Commerce. The conducting of business through electronic means such as EDI, E-mail, fax and file transfer.
ECR	Efficient Consumer Response. Technologies, procedures and practices used in the grocery industry to eliminate supply chain waste and inefficiencies.
EDI	Electronic Data Interchange. The computer-to-computer transfer of business transactions using standard, industry-accepted message formats.
EDI Document	An EDI transaction set.
EDI Translator	See translation software.
EDI VAN	See Value Added Network.
EDIA	Electronic Data Interchange Association. The organization that wrote the original UCS and WINS standards. It currently acts as Secretariat for the EDI standards for the Ocean, Rail, Motor and Air industries.
EDICA	Electronic Data Interchange Council of Australia. The Australian EDI administrative organization.
EDICC	Electronic Data Interchange Council of Canada. The Canadian EDI administrative organization.
EDIFACT	EDI for Administration, Commerce and Transport. Also known as UN/EDIFACT. The international EDI standard developed through the United Nations and administered in the U.S. by DISA.
EDX	Electrical Industry Data Exchange. The organization which develops EDI data requirements for the electrical industry and represents the industry regarding maintenance of the X12 standard.
E-form	Electronic Form. Usually refers to a computerized version of a paper form.
EFT	Electronic Funds Transfer. Computerized systems for processing transactions between financial institutions. The electronic transfer of funds through the banking system.
EIDX	Electronics Industry Data Exchange. The organization which develops EDI data requirements for the electronics industry and represents the industry regarding maintenance of the X12 standard.
Encryption	A procedure for scrambling data to make it indecipherable to an outside observer. The receiver of the encrypted data must use a decryption procedure to unscramble the data.
File	A collection of related records which serves as a basic unit of storage in a computer system.
Financial EDI	EDI activity that supports financial activities such as billing, paying, and reconciliation.
Functional Acknowledgment	An EDI transaction set sent to acknowledge the receipt of a prior transaction set.
GAS*FLOW	The mission of the Natural Gas Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Pilot was to bring together a group of companies performing different roles in the transportation of natural gas to test and validate the use of the GAS*FLOW EDI Implementation Guide.
HCFA	Health Care Finance Administration. Government agency responsible for implementing laws relative to Medicare and Medicaid transaction and information reporting.
Hub	Larger organizations that encourage their paper-based business partners to begin using EDI. Wal-Mart and General Mills are examples of hubs.
Implementation Guide	A publication that documents the EDI messages used by a particular industry or company.
Integrated EDI	An approach to EDI implementation requiring no human involvement in the computer-to-computer exchange of data.
Interconnect	The transmission of EDI data from one VAN to another. Enables trading partners to use different VANs.
ISO	International Standards organization. An organization that works with the UN to maintain the standards for all applications of technology and mechanics for furthering global industry.
Just-In-Time	Also JIT. A business approach that assures the receipt of a product at a manufacturing site just in time to be used in the manufacturing process.
Kit	An EDI software solution that has been pre-configured according to the EDI specification of a hub organization in order to simplify EDI implementation.
LAN	Local Area Network. A network of computers that enables access to the same computer software and files from all locations.
Mailbox	A file storage area where data is placed until it can be retrieved by the intended receiver.
NEX/UCS	Network Exchange UCS. Refers to EDI transaction sets used in the direct store delivery segment of the grocery industry.
Odette	An EDI standard used by the European automotive industry.
PIDX	Petroleum Industry Data Exchange. The organization which develops EDI data requirements for the petroleum industry and represent the industry regarding maintenance of the X12 standard.
Point of Sale	Also POS. A computer application that enables the seller to collect product identification information at the time of sale.
Point to Point	Refers to a type of communication where messages are sent directly from one trading partner to another without the use of a VAN.
Proprietary Data Format	A format that does not comply with X12 or EDIFACT standards. Usually a data format specific to a company or application.
Proprietary Standards	Industry specific or company specific data formats that does not comply with X12 or EDIFACT standards.
Protocol	A set of conventions between communication devices that validates the format and content of messages to be exchanged, and controls the communication session.
Quick Response	Also QR. Refers to technologies, procedures and practices used in the retail industry to eliminate supply chain waste and inefficiencies.
Re-engineering	The modification of computer applications and related procedures in order to streamline processing.
Stand-alone EDI	An approach to EDI implementation where the EDI software is not linked to computer applications.
Standard	Something established for use as a rule. Within EDI, the agreed-to format for exchanging business transactions.
TDCC	Transportation Data Coordinating Committee. The organization within the U.S. originally responsible for developing EDI and furthering its growth.
Tradacoms	Message standards for data interchange between major UK retailers and suppliers.
Trading Partner	A customer, supplier or other partner with whom business is conducted using EDI.
Transaction Set	The EDI equivalent of a complete business documents such as an invoice, a purchase order, or a remittance advice.
Translation Software	A program used to convert data to and from EDI formats.
UCC	Uniform Code Council. The organization that administers the UPC symbols and other retail bar code and retail standards.
UCS	Uniform Communication Standard. An EDI standard designed for and used by trading partners within the grocery industry.
UPC	Universal Product Code. A code that uniquely identifies a product. Used extensively in the retail and grocery industries.
VAN	Value-added Network.
VICS	Voluntary Inter-industry Communication Standard. A committee active in EDI on behalf of the retail industry. Also the name of standards (now part of X12) that were developed by that group.
WINS	Warehouse Information Network Standard. A standard developed to support warehouse applications. Now part of X12.
X12 Standards	A public EDI implementations widely used in North America. The standard incorporates many industry-related standards such as VICS, WINS, AIAG, PIDX, EIDX and UCS.
Year 2000	A set of issues pertaining to the format of dates when 19 cannot be assumed to be the first two digits of the year.