The information you need to be successful with SAP EDI

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) integration with SAP is a critical step for businesses looking to streamline supply chain processes, reduce manual effort, and ensure data accuracy across partners. Whether you're new to SAP or just beginning to explore EDI, this guide covers foundational concepts and frequently asked questions. From understanding IDocs to requirements for partner setup, we’ll walk you through the essentials of making your SAP system EDI-ready.

EDI Basics

What is EDI?

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the automated exchange of standardized business documents—like purchase orders, invoices, and shipping notices—between systems without human input. It replaces manual processes such as emails, faxes, and data entry, enabling real-time, error-free communication between trading partners. By integrating directly with ERP and supply chain platforms, EDI improves accuracy, speeds up transactions, and lowers operational costs.

What Types of Documents Can Be Exchanged Using EDI

EDI supports the automated exchange of a wide range of business documents commonly used in procurement, order fulfillment, logistics, and finance. These include:

• Purchase Orders (850): To initiate product or service orders.
• Order Acknowledgments (855): To confirm receipt and acceptance of orders.
• Advance Ship Notices (856): To communicate shipment details before delivery.
• Invoices (810): For billing and payment processing.
• Inventory Reports (846): To share stock availability and updates.
• Payment Remittance Advice (820): To indicate completed or upcoming payments.
• Shipping Instructions and Status Updates (940, 945): To manage warehouse operations and logistics.

By automating these document flows, EDI ensures faster, more accurate transactions across supply chain, finance, and warehouse management operations—reducing manual effort and improving overall efficiency.

What Are Common EDI Standards and Transmission Protocols

EDI relies on standardized formats and secure transmission protocols to ensure consistent, automated communication between business systems.
Common EDI Standards include:

• ANSI X12: Widely used in North America across industries like retail, logistics, and healthcare.
• EDIFACT: An international standard commonly used in Europe and global trade.
• VDA: Frequently used in the automotive sector, especially in Germany.
• EANCOM and ODETTE: Adapted for retail and automotive supply chains in Europe.

Common Transmission Protocols include:

• VAN (Value Added Network): Think of this as an online mailbox that routes EDI messages to the proper receiver
• AS2 (Applicability Statement 2): A secure, internet-based protocol for real-time EDI exchange.
• FTP/SFTP: File-based transfer over secure or standard networks.
• HTTP/HTTPS: Often used for web-based or API-integrated EDI connections.
• API/Web Services: Emerging protocols for real-time integration with cloud-based platforms.

Choosing the right combination of EDI standards and protocols ensures compatibility, security, and performance across your business network and trading partners.

Overview of EDI in SAP

Key Components of SAP EDI

SAP EDI integration relies on several core components that work together to automate data exchange:

• IDocs (Intermediate Documents):These are structured electronic messages used to transfer data between SAP and other systems. IDocs are central to SAP's EDI processes, and are structured around standard business transactions.
• Partner Profiles:These define how SAP communicates with each trading partner, specifying message types, processing rules, and technical details for inbound and outbound messages.
• Ports: A port defines the connection point for sending or receiving IDocs, such as to an EDI subsystem or another SAP system.

Business Integration Points for EDI in SAP

EDI in SAP is tightly integrated with core business processes, enabling automated communication with external trading partners across various functional areas. Key integration points include:

• Procure-to-Pay (P2P):Automates the exchange of purchase orders (ORDERS), order acknowledgments (ORDRSP), shipping notifications (DESADV), and vendor invoices (INVOIC) between SAP and suppliers.
• Order-to-Cash (O2C): Supports customer-facing processes by sending order confirmations, delivery notes, and invoices to customers via EDI, streamlining sales and fulfillment workflows.
• Logistics Execution:: Integrates with warehouse and shipping functions through IDocs for delivery processing, shipment notifications, and goods movement (e.g., DELVRY, SHPMNT).
• Finance and Accounting: Facilitates EDI transmission of payment advice (REMADV), remittance details, and invoice reconciliation between SAP and financial institutions or vendors.
• Master Data Synchronization: Allows exchange of material master data, customer/vendor master records, and pricing conditions to maintain consistency across systems and partners.

These integration points ensure that business transactions flow seamlessly and accurately between SAP and external systems, reducing manual effort and accelerating business cycles.

SAP EDI Configuration & Setup

What Are Message Types and How Do They Relate to IDocs?

In SAP EDI, a message type defines the kind of business document being exchanged—such as a purchase order (ORDERS), invoice (INVOIC), or delivery note (DELVRY). Each message type is linked to a specific IDoc type (or Basic Type), which determines the structure and format of the data being transmitted. When an EDI process is triggered, SAP uses the message type to identify which IDoc to generate or interpret, ensuring the correct data is sent to or received from a trading partner. This mapping is essential for the smooth processing of business transactions across systems.

How are SAP Partner Profiles Used?

In SAP, partner profiles are used to route data in and out of the system and associate them with a specific partner (i.e. customer, vendor etc.). You need to set them up to enable inbound and outbound documents of certain types such as orders or invoices to flow into and out of the system. If they are not set up with the right data, you can't post IDOCs to create business documents, nor can you output the necessary data to your EDI subsystem.
They contain a few components:

• Partner Number and Type: This links back to your SAP Business Partner number. The type will say if it's a customer (KU), vendor (LI) etc.
• Inbound Parameters: The key piece of the inbound parameters tell the system how to receive your inbound IDOC. What type to expect and what process code - linked to a function module - will be used to process your IDOC data.
• Outbound Parameters: Similar to inbound parameters, these tell SAP what kind of IDOC you want to generate, described by things like the message type and process code. Also, where to send it (the port). You can add other parameters in here that might be used by your EDI subsystem under the EDI Standard tab

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SAP EDI Readiness Self-Assessment

This self-assessment is designed to help SAP teams and IT leaders evaluate their current EDI set up before finalizing an EDI project.

Let’s talk about your SAP EDI readiness—no commitments, just a helpful conversation.

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