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An EDI file is basically just a text file with strictly formatted text inside which makes it easy to exchange data. EDI was designed to give companies a standard way to exchange data. There is no standard for the file extension, but it is normally .txt or .edi, and some trading partners will specify what it should be.
Every EDI ANSII (American National Standard for Information Interchange) X12 file starts with an ISA segment, and ends with an IEA segment. Sometimes the file can contain multiple ISA-IEA blocks, it is permitted in the EDI specs. However, most trading partners only permit 1 ISA-IEA block per text file. If you are unsure, it's best just to plan to have 1 ISA-IEA block per text file.
The ISA segment must be exactly 106 characters, and each element contained in an ISA segment has a specific length.
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This is a typical 997 EDI file. Generally 997's are the smallest average size of all EDI files, although some can be quite large. The 997 is called a Functional Acknowledgment, and in practice they are used to confirm acceptance or rejection of a file, or to give acceptance or rejection notice of all transaction sets contained in the file.
ISA*00* *00* *ZZ*112233 *10*998877 *040622*2308*U*00304*000000001*0*T* ~GS*FA*112233*998877A*040622*230855*1*X*003040~ST*997*0001~AK1*RQ*200154068~AK2*840*1678~AK5*A~
AK9*A*1*1*1~SE*6*0001~GE*1*1~IEA*1*000000001~
Please note - The file above has no line breaks in it, so it shows as just a jumble of characters. A segment is what normal people would regard as a line (after the file has been broken into segments)
While this file looks pretty complicated, it's actually quite easy to read, and like all X12 files, it starts with "ISA" and ends with the "IEA" segment. Below is just the "ISA" segment plus one extra character (because it's extremely important).
ISA*00* *00* *ZZ*112233 *10*998877 *040622*2308*U*00304*000000001*0*T* ~
The ISA is important because it is the only fixed length segment in the standard, and as such, it can be parsed and used without knowing what else is in the file.The ISA segment is probably the most important segment for a a parser, because it tells the parser how to read the next segment and how to break the file into segments.
The ISA segment MUST be 106 characters. There is a min/max definition of each element. If you don't have enough data to fill that element it should be padded with spaces on the right to make it the maximum size. The ISA02 and ISA04 are commonly empty elements, but need to be padded to make up the fixed length width of the segment. Sender IDs and Receiver IDs are commonly less than 15 characters, and therefore must be padded.
The ISA (Interchange Control Header) segment is always the first segment in an EDI ANSII X12 document. It's always exactly 106 characters long, and it's purpose is to give information about how to read this file, who the file is coming from, and who it's intended for.
Here's how you program to read the ISA segment
- Read the first 3 characters of the file. If they aren't "ISA", this either isn't an ANSII X12 document, or it's not properly formatted. Your EDI framework should save the file to your "error documents" directory, update the edi_incoming database entry to set the read_attempts to 1, the read_successful to 0, set the read_date_time to the current time.
- Now read the 4th character. It is the Element Delimiter. Throughout the file it is the character you will use to separate the elements. The Element Delimiter cannot be contained in the element data. IE. in this file the element delimiter is * . That character must not appear in the data anywhere. While the EDI spec does have a way to escape this character in the data, most companies EDI systems are not setup to deal with escaping data, so standard practice is to make sure this character does not appear anywhere in the data.
- Before the year 2000, it was common practice to pluck the data out of the ISA segment by reading a substring. In PHP, that would be something like:
$AuthorizationInformationQualifier = substr(4,2); (read the 5th and 6th characters)
$AuthorizationInformation = substr(7, 10) (read the 8th through 17th characters)
and continue until all the elements were read.
However, some companies needed a 4 digit year, not just a 2 digit year, so they broke the EDI spec and required a 4 digit year. To adjust for that, it's easier now to just take a substring of 108 characters, then using the Element Delimiter (* in this file) break off the first element, and keep doing that until you get to the 9th element (which is the Interchange Date) , then check to see if the 9th element is 6 or 8 characters long. If it's 6 characters the year is 2 characters, if it's 8 characters, the year is 4 characters long. Of course, all dates in EDI files should be 20?? now, so if the year is 2 characters just prepend a "20" to it. Then continue breaking off the first element until you get to the 15th element (the Interchange Usage Indicator, either "T" or "P"), strip the Element Delimiter, and the next character is the Segment Terminator. You will use the Segment Terminator to break the entire file into segments (what normal people think of as lines).
Now, you need to verify all the data you have just collected. Each element should be verified to be the correct size, and spaces should be stripped off the ends of all elements (remember they are right-padded). Then you should verify you have an EDI record that uses that Interchange Sender ID and that Interchange Receiver ID, you might need to check the Interchange Control Number to make sure this file hasn't already been read, or the number is unique (depending on the implementation, check your trading partner specs).
Anyway, that's how to program the ISA segment (simple isn't it?). I could provide more details, but if you need to know more, ask a question in our forum or send us a message. I will try to add the PHP function we use for stripping elements off the segments.
© EDI Shack 2024 http://edishack.com
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The biggest question in EDI is always: What does it cost?
Of course there is no one answer, it depends on who you're dealing with. Are you dealing with a VAN, an integrator, or doing it in-house? Costs vary wildly, and paying more doesn't guarantee you a better system.
The definition of VANs is "Value Added Network". The term comes from before the internet was available, and VANs provided a way to get your EDI document to and from your business partner. Before the internet, VANs were indispensable for doing EDI. Today, in the world of low-cost internet, the basic reason to use a VAN is gone. Anyone can send a file from one company to another. Of course, EDI should be sent securely to protect the data contained in it, but with the modern internet that's easy to do.
| VANS - A lower initial cost and a more expensive cost structure | |
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Below is a fairly typical lower cost structure
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Below is a fairly typical (but expensive) cost structure
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Yeah, for some companies it's not a problem, but for most small companies paying a VAN is out of the question, it's just too expensive. Fortunately, there are many newer integrators to deal with now, unfortunately their prices are usually lower, but not that much lower.
The cost of VAN's and integrators force most small companies to roll their own EDI systems. While this is lower cost, most small companies don't know enough about EDI to make good decisions on who to hire to get a robust, scalable EDI systems, and they end up with a mishmash of EDI components and no comprehensive system that "just works".
We are not making the claim that our EDI Magic programs and components are the only logical choice, the best choice or the least inexpensive choice if you don't use a VAN or integrator. However, we can't estimate the cost of an open source solution as it depends almost entirely on who you hire to do it for you. We can estimate the costs for EDI Magic though.
We deal with either the Logistics industry or the medical (HIPAA) industry quite often so here's an estimate for a scenario for both of these.
| EDI Magic | |
| Below is sending a 210 (invoice) and receiving a 997 in reply | Below is sending a 270, and an 837 and receiving 999's, 271's and 835's in reply |
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| Total cost (excluding extra programming) $795 | Total cost (excluding extra programming) $2580 |
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You need to send some data to another company, and you're wondering how to do it. Generally, the first time it happens you're dealing with a much larger company, and they know how to do it. You're going to use EDI, and that's the end of the investigation phase.
EDI is the most common automated data transfer method for B2B, and for good reason. EDI has been around since the 1950's, it's a well thought out, very standardized file format and file transfer protocols.
Nobody denies that EDI is complex. The EDI specs book for one version of X12 EDI is 1930 pages. However, it's the detail of the specifications that makes EDI the best choice for automated data transfer. In EDI both partners know exactly what format the data will be in, know which elements will be included in the file, and which elements won't be included.
It may not seem obvious at first, but it's the detail and complexity of EDI that has made it successful. It's quite possible when an EDI transaction set is setup properly, it will send thousands or tens of thousands, of files without any errors. When an outgoing EDI file is setup and mapped from a SQL Query (in many cases) to an EDI file it takes developers fluent in EDI, and each data element needs to be mapped. That attention to detail makes it much more likely that data errors will be caught in the setup process and requires a great deal of thought of how to make the incoming data fit the EDI transaction set.
Why is it so important automated files are perfect? Think about it, your trading partner is relying on that data, and normally the data goes right into their system without anyone ever looking at it. Think about sending a company like GM the list of parts you just loaded onto a truck. Then say your data was wrong, and you actually sent 1200 parts but your EDI file said 1000 parts. GM would accept the list without anyone verifying it. If you had a daily shipment and you mistakenly added 200 parts to each list, by the end of the month you would be short thousands of parts, and GM would be paying you for the parts they actually used. Your company could be in big financial trouble quite quickly. Or, let's assume your part numbers were perfect, but your file isn't. The GM EDI engine would reject your file. If you're not reading the response files, you don't know it. At the end of the month, GM doesn't have the information to pay you, and it might take you weeks or months to get it straightened out. In the meantime, your company is out an entire months' worth of parts. It's important that automated files are perfect, and you read the reply files.
Many of your trading partners will have Chargebacks (also known as “expense-offsets”). They are monetary penalties imposed by retailers for non EDI compliance. Retailers impose chargebacks because supplier noncompliance creates disruption and losses for the retailer. Hence, retailers create “expense offset policies” to help them recuperate the losses they experience when suppliers are non-compliant. Retailers usually deduct chargebacks from the check payment to the supplier. Chargebacks are difficult to control because every trading partner has its own chargeback schedule. Suppliers usually get chargebacks because they have issues keeping up with changes from the retailers (vendor manuals and routing instructions are constantly changing).
Each trading partner will have a different chargeback schedule, some retailers charge as much as $50-$100 per EDI mistake or error. Some trading partner’s chargeback schedules contain hundreds of unclear reasons for chargebacks. You should hire an EDI provider that knows every trading partner’s chargeback schedule and EDI requirements.
Fortunately, the EDI specs and your trading partners companion guide lay out exactly what you need to make sure automating data transfer goes smoothly, and hiring an experienced EDI developer to implement it will be money well spent. EDI can be expensive, but once it's setup and running well, your business will run much smoother.
At EDI Shack we take contracts to fix EDI implementations constantly because the original developer didn't quite understand EDI, and implemented a system that sends a file, but doesn't properly keep track of everything. These poor companies have normally spend hundreds or thousands of hours fixing problems that could have been avoided with a better EDI implementation. It's always cheaper to get it done right the first time.
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Addenda – Refers to a version of the HIPAA mandated transaction sets that corrects identified implementation issues noted in the original TR3.
ASC X12N/005010X222– The HIPAA mandated (ANSI) ASC X12N Professional Health Care Claim transaction format.
ASC X12N/005010X222A1 – The Type 1 Errata modifications mandated for use with the ASC X12N/005010X222 837 Professional Health Care Claim transaction format.
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Well, of course you're here, so you know about EDI Shack, but there are many online EDI resources. This list is not complete, but hopefully it is useful.
EDI VALIDATORS
https://www.edivalidation.com/
Libraries / Frameworks
Python library for parsing ANSI ASC C12 files BadX12