EDI vs. API (2024)

FAQs

Is API better than EDI? ›

Choosing Between EDI and API

For one, API implementation may be less costly than EDI by not requiring on-going maintenance or translation services. However, those benefits may be offset by the increased complexity of adding new trading partners and collaborating on communication standards.

EDI is a mature and established technology that is ubiquitous throughout the supply chain, retail, and healthcare industries. Implementing an API may only enable communication with a single trading partner, while implementing EDI may enable data exchange with a wide range of external organizations.

EDI is used for exchanging structured business data between trading partners' EDI systems, while APIs are used for integrating and communicating between different software applications for real-time data exchange.

EDI is alive and well and will remain critical to business for many years to come. However, the true future lies in using and evolving B2B integration alongside disruptive technologies such as IoT, blockchain and AI, to deliver innovative levels of multi-party supply chain collaboration.

Application Programming Interfaces (API) are a more flexible way to connect systems from different companies together. Silicon valley lives off them. APIs can use EDI, or do without it. And unlike traditional EDI, they let different systems talk to each other in real time.

Because of EDI's automatic processing, you can avoid manual data-entry errors. EDI can also help with the detection of errors and data anomalies in documents. A higher accuracy rate in documents further adds to data processing efficiency with this method.

Equality, diversity and inclusion. Promoting and delivering EDI in the workplace is an essential aspect of good people management. It's about creating working environments and cultures where every individual can feel safe, experience a sense of belonging, and is empowered to achieve their full potential.

So they created FHIR, which means FHIR is health standard for developers. EDI is basic transfer of data/information/documents and if they are health related and in regard to development of EHR system then it is FHIR. EDI-Is a blanket cross-domain definition on Electronic Data Exchange.

API is the synchronous exchange of small payloads in JSON format via HTTP. EDI is the asynchronous exchange of batches of X12 or EDIFACT transactions as text files over AS2.

1000s of standard business transaction documents can be sent automatically using EDI. Some common examples include: purchase orders, invoices, shipping statuses, customs information, inventory documents and payment confirmations.

What is the difference between EDI and Web service? ›

EDI focuses on the exchange of standardized documents between trading partners. Web services provide specific functionality via standardized web protocols.

FTP allows for exchanging EDI documents between trading partners, but it lacks inherent security features such as encryption and message integrity checks. Pros: Cost-effective: FTP is a widely available protocol that often comes at a lower cost than specialized EDI communication methods.

While EDI focuses on batch processing and long-term partnerships, APIs emphasize real-time interactions and data monetization. Keep reading to learn how both technologies, EDI and API, can complement each other on a single integration platform such as the SEEBURGER BIS Platform.

Some older formats of EDI (EDIFACT or IMP) weren't meant for humans to read and understand them, therefore catching and fixing errors can be challenging. Even when it's possible to read the information, manual error detection is time-consuming and expensive and can still result in errors.

Disadvantages of Electronic Data Interchange(EDI)

The expense of implementation: While EDI offers substantial cost advantages, it can be expensive for small organizations to redesign and build software applications to link EDI with current systems.

REST APIs offer flexibility, compatibility, and security, but can stress servers. Direct Database Access is simpler and useful for prototypes, but has security concerns. The choice between the two depends on the scale, security needs, and database complexity.

APIs are used to integrate new applications with existing software systems. This increases development speed because each functionality doesn't have to be written from scratch.

API integration focuses on connecting live applications and systems, enabling real-time data access and a seamless digital experience. Data integration, on the other hand, deals with consolidating data at rest from various sources, ensuring a single, unified dataset for better decision-making and analysis.

APIs can be vulnerable to a wide range of security risks, which can lead to data breaches, unauthorized access, and other forms of abuse. Why hackers love APIs: Hackers love APIs because they often hold the keys to a lot of valuable information. If not properly secured, APIs can potentially expose sensitive data.