Electronic Data Interface (EDI) is nothing new in B2B trading. In fact, if you look into the history of EDI, it’s origins being in the last 1960s and it hasnt really changed since. What has changed, however, is the way B2B operates.
Independent retailers expect modern ordering and don’t have the time to flip through last week’s catalog, all while you have to comply with EDI standards mandated by big box stores. Maintaining inventory across countless portals, partners, and your back-end systems means countless hours spent manually keying in order data that could, instead, be handled by EDI interface integration.
EDI integrations connect all portals to your internal systems, like ERP or financial software, so you can eliminate all the data entry from your team’s day-to-day. Instead of having to manually type out every purchase order, EDI interface integrations orchestrate an automated flow of documents between business partners.
Without integrations to your other systems, EDI remains in a silo, putting your business at risk of stockouts or broken compliance that could sacrifice your trading relationships.
Whether or not you’ve integrated, if you sell through big box retail stores, you’re forced to meet EDI requirements. When this is managed without a software solution, your team is left keying data by hand, reconciling countless spreadsheets, and troubleshooting mismatched documents, line by line.
This is inevitably prone to errors and becomes an unnecessary cost. All those hours spent doing what could be handled by integrations for fractions of the cost of headcount make integration a no brainer. As margins tighten, supply chain leaders are empowering teams to take on more senior tasks while offloading entry-level data management to digital tools.
Beyond empowering teams to take on more business-critical roles, EDI integrations mean your entire operations become a scalable entity. Financial teams have real-time data for receivables, operations can mitigate chargebacks from retailers, and IT no longer needs to manage brittle connections. But the most significant benefits are strategic:
By offloading manual EDI processes to digital tools, companies can save hundreds, if not thousands, of people's hours per year. Instead of having to hire more headcount as you grow into more stores, you can retain who you have today and have them take on more important roles in your company.
EDI integration isn’t just about transmitting documents; it means you remain compliant with all your partners. When your documents are on time and error-free, you build more trust, opening up more opportunities for shelf space.
The more successful your business becomes and the more partners you add, the more complex operations become. With EDI integration, you can scale without linear increases in headcount.
With EDI docs flowing between systems automatically, your team has immediate access to order statuses, shipping confirmations, and invoices for faster decision making.
The solution you choose for EDI integration depends on your technical maturity, trading partner mix, and internal requirements.
The long-lasting, well-known EDI software providers use point-to-point or one-to-one connections between your systems and each trading partner. They give you control over document formats, but it does require IT resources to maintain. Legacy systems are more enterprise-focused and are priced accordingly.
Integration middleware solutions see the gap for growing businesses and have started to build integrations that are price-conscious. Similarly to legacy systems, they provide point-to-point integrations, meaning they pass off data directly from ERP to trading partners. While this can work, it does require technical setup and negates other channels. With point-to-point, every channel or partner requires a custom connection to your ERP. Popular middleware platforms include solutions like Cleo, MuleSoft, and Boomi.
An order management system built specifically for B2B, connects all your channels and partners to your existing systems in one clean workflow. It only requires one connection to your ERP to manage all orders across your supply chain. There are a lot of variations in order management systems (OMS), with some eCommerce platforms rebranding for B2B. While eCommerce is a great sales strategy, narrowing down a system built for B2B is the key to properly automating your EDI - eCommerce platforms do not have this capability.
OrderEase’s own B2B EDI Integration Platform includes built-in capabilities designed specifically for B2B suppliers looking to unify EDI, portals, and multichannel order sources in one system.
The rise of the modern APIs has introduced flexibility to EDI. API and EDI integration allows businesses to connect eCommerce, logistics, or inventory systems directly into the EDI workflow.
Rather than relying solely on batched EDI messages, APIs can push or pull data instantly, enabling faster response times and more dynamic business rules. This hybrid model, where EDI handles structured B2B compliance and APIs deliver real-time agility, is becoming the gold standard for modern order operations.
Not all EDI software is created equal. When evaluating which solution to go with, consider how the platform supports integrations and how much work it takes to manage.
Top-performing EDI software solutions offer features such as:
Solutions like OrderEase combine traditional EDI functionality with broader B2B order management capabilities, so your team can manage order channels and portals in the same interface as their EDI flows.
Smooth trading partner integration is the key to successful relationships. While each retailer or distributor may have unique requirements, OrderEase makes this complexity manageable with a pre-configured approach to integration that helps you scale as you grow.
EDI isn’t going away anytime soon, but how companies manage and integrate it is evolving fast. OrderEase is built for that future. We bring structure to every B2B order, whether it arrives via EDI, portal, or email. Our platform replaces disconnected systems and brittle middleware with a B2B Order Management System that standardizes all your orders and turns them into operational leverage.
If you're still relying on batch processes, spreadsheets, or piecemeal integrations, now is the time to rethink what’s possible.