Master Data Series – Part 1: Why Master Data Is the #1 Cause of EDI Failures in SAP

When EDI works, it feels like magic—smooth, invisible, and automatic. It gives the illusion of “set it and forget it.” But the reality behind the scenes is very different: your EDI team (or provider) is doing a lot of proactive, coordinated work to make that automation look effortless.

At the heart of it all? Master data.

Getting EDI right requires that your master data is not only complete and accurate, but also continuously maintained to align with both SAP requirements and the expectations of your trading partners.

What Makes EDI So Dependent on Master Data?

Your EDI team needs to:

• Know your trading partner requirements inside and out
• Spot changes in SAP master data that could impact transactions
• Quickly resolve discrepancies before they result in failures

When this vigilance breaks down, errors follow.

Common master data-related failure points include:

• Outdated sold-to or ship-to information
• Mismatched material data, such as UPCs, EANs, or customer/vendor material numbers
• Missing or incorrect output condition records, often due to poor key combination strategy
• Inconsistent or incomplete units of measure, especially when your setup doesn’t match what your customers send

Why EDI Fails Where Manual Processes Don’t

Let’s say a customer sends an order via email. A customer service rep notices that the material number is off—maybe it includes an extra letter. Thanks to their knowledge of the business and the product description, they realize what the customer meant. So they:

• Manually correct the material number
• Update the customer material info record
• Reply with a friendly “FYI” email to help avoid the mistake next time

This kind of intuitive fix is second nature in a manual workflow.

Now picture the same scenario through EDI. The order comes in electronically and gets translated directly into SAP. The system tries to match the material number and customer material number—neither are recognized. SAP rejects the order, creating an IDoc error.

That “quick fix” in the manual process now becomes a multi-step investigation. Your EDI team must dig in, coordinate with customer service and master data, and reprocess the failed order. Multiply that by dozens of transactions, and the costs add up fast.

What’s Coming in This Series

This is the first in a series of deep dives into SAP master data and its impact on EDI. Upcoming topics will include:

• Material Master – How different views affect EDI processing
• Pricing – Spotting and preventing pricing errors early
• Condition Records – Why your output strategy matters more than you think, especially when scaling your EDI solution