THE 4 BIGGEST MYTHS ABOUT EDI BUSTED

The demand for electronic data interchange (EDI) has steadily grown over the last couple of decades. As more companies look for technology solutions to streamline their operations, EDI is at the top of the list of companies in the healthcare, retail, tech, and financial services industries.Implementing EDI allows businesses small and large to increase the speed and accuracy of their information transactions, saving time and labor resources. Also, EDI gives organizations more control over their inventory and orders, making them more efficient.However, in spite of the incredible benefits EDI has to offer, many companies are hesitant to implement EDI due to being misinformed. A few myths make EDI out to be much less practical than it is, and we're going to set the record straight.

MYTH #1: EDI IS TOO EXPENSIVE

The biggest myth about EDI is that it's too costly to be cost-effective for growing businesses. In reality, there is some truth to this statement.Unfortunately, too many EDI providers use a pricing model that doesn't favor their customers. This was one of the biggest problems we set out to correct when we started BOLD Van in 1999.We took a new, bold approach that we continue to this day – pricing based on your number of trading partners, not kilo-characters of data. We are the first and only EDI provider to offer trading partner based pricing. Essentially, you get data for one low price.

MYTH #2: EDI DOESN'T KEEP DATA SECURE

Your company's data is a valuable asset, and the last thing you want is for that information to fall into the wrong hands. Sadly, this growing concern is justified by the increasing rate of data breaches we see in the news.Anytime the discussion of transmitting mass amounts of data comes up, security is always one of the first concerns. The good news is EDI is highly secure, and providers such as BOLD VAN utilize the latest in security technologies to keep it that way.Here's a snapshot of the data security that comes standard with most EDI providers:

• Username and password protection
• Incoming data must pass authorization verification that confirms the identity of the sender and registration with your VAN, and also authenticates their digital certificate
• EDI data is encrypted while in transit and requires matching sophisticated algorithms between partners to ensure data integrity
• Electronic signatures and digital certificates provide proof of EDI data sent from a particular trading partner

MYTH #3: EDI IS TOO COMPLEX

Similar to the myth about costs, there is some truth to the myth about the complexity of EDI, but not in the way you think. EDI is complicated, and that's what allows it to manage a tremendous amount of intricate processes.Yet, from a user standpoint, EDI isn't complicated at all – at least, it doesn't have to be. Another problem we set out to solve with BOLD Van was making EDI quick and intuitive to implement.All we need is a bit of information from you and then you can sit back and watch the status of each partner onboarding in real-time. We handle all of the complicated stuff, so there's no hassle on your end.

MYTH #4: EDI DOESN'T INTEGRATE WITH OTHER SYSTEMS

Out of the four myths we've mentioned, this one is the furthest from the truth. An enormous benefit of EDI is the vast amount of software that it smoothly integrates with, allowing companies to boost productivity.Connecting to BOLD Van can easily be accomplished through:

• Our reliable preconfigured data mover
• AS2
• FTP
• SFTP
• Web Services
• X.400
• HTTP
• SMTP
• API
• And more

If you have any questions or concerns regarding integration, please contact us and we'll gladly help you out!BOLD VAN offers a variety of EDI solutions. From cloud-based to full EDI system implementation, we've got the right solution for you. Speak to an EDI Solutions Specialist today 844-265-3777.