EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) has been a cornerstone of B2B communication for decades. It has revolutionized the way businesses exchange information. It streamlines the structured data exchange between organizations, reducing manual data entry and accelerating business processes.

Over the years, EDI has evolved to meet the changing needs of the business world. The EDI market will continue to remain strong in the coming years. According to market research, the EDI market is expected to grow from $30.67 billion in 2023 to $64.79 billion by 2031. The market is expected to double over the next 7-8 years, registering a CAGR of 9.8%.

Furthermore, the EDI software market size is expected to grow from $1.98 billion in 2023 to $4.52 billion by 2030, demonstrating an impressive CAGR of 12.5%.

This article explores some key trends illustrating how EDI, often labeled as a technology of the past, is embracing digital technologies to stay relevant and prominent in the digital age.

1.  Emerging cloud-based EDI solutions

Over the years, many solution providers have focused on developing cloud-based EDI solutions. Some of the reasons for its widespread popularity and adoption are the below features:

1. Cloud infrastructure: Cloud-based EDI solutions utilize cloud infrastructure provided by third-party service providers, guaranteeing unbeatable security features and availability. This enables organizations to avoid the hassles of investing in and managing their own on-prem EDI hardware and software.
2. Subscription-based services: Organizations subscribe to cloud-based EDI services on a pay-as-you-go or subscription basis. This pricing model allows for predictable costs and reduces the upfront capital expenditure associated with traditional EDI infrastructure. Furthermore, these solutions provide flexibility to ramp up or down the service depending upon seasonal business needs, like handling increased order volume during shopping seasons.
3. Global accessibility: Cloud-based EDI systems are accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. This remote accessibility is particularly valuable for organizations with distributed teams or those needing to manage EDI processes away from their primary office locations.

2. Increased API adoption

APIs facilitate seamless data flow between various systems. APIs and EDIs can work together to provide an enterprise with flexible and efficient B2B data exchange capabilities. Here are a few examples where APIs can work alongside EDIs to create enhanced B2B processes.

1. Shipment tracking: A logistics provider manages shipments for various clients and receives shipment status updates from carriers through EDI 214 transactions. The company develops a customer-facing shipment tracking API to give customers real-time visibility into their shipments. Customers can access the API to receive up-to-the-minute information on their deliveries.
2. Product catalog updates: An ecommerce platform utilizes a traditional EDI to receive supplier catalogs. They implement a product catalog API to ensure their online catalog remains current with the latest product information. This API connects to their suppliers' systems and automatically updates the online catalog whenever new products or changes are detected.

Unified platforms that combine EDI, API and application integration capabilities will see increasing prevalence in the coming years.

3. Self-service for trading partners

Organizations are increasingly enhancing their partner collaborations by developing web-based interfaces or platforms that enable their trading partners to independently manage some of their EDI-related tasks, transactions and information. Here's an explanation of this trend:

1. Self-onboarding: Self-service portals often provide tools and templates for onboarding new trading partners. For instance, a large retail giant can expose a web interface for its suppliers to self-onboard on the EDI platform by capturing critical information like partner ID, messages to be transacted and communication protocols to be used on the web interface, which can trigger set-up configuration.
2. Document submission and validation: Trading partners can submit EDI documents, such as purchase orders, invoices and shipment notices through the portal. The portal may include validation checks to ensure data accuracy and compliance with EDI standards.
3. Transaction tracking: Self-service portals provide tools for partners to track the status of their transactions and document exchanges. This real-time tracking capability reduces the need for partner inquiries and status updates.

4. Rising mobile accessibility

Mobile accessibility provides users on-the-go access to their organization's EDI systems and related data using smartphones or tablets. This is particularly valuable for individuals needing to perform EDI-related tasks while on the move, outside the office or working remotely. Mobile applications and platforms provide real-time visibility into EDI transactions and data exchanges. Users can check EDI transactions, respond to alerts and monitor data exchanges at any time, improving responsiveness and reducing delays in critical processes.

5. RPA adoption 

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that automates repetitive, rule-based tasks using software robots or bots. RPA can be implemented to streamline and optimize various EDI-related processes as illustrated below:

1. Automated reporting: Bots can be created to generate automated reports related to EDI transactions, performance metrics and compliance with service level agreements (SLAs). The reports can be sent to relevant stakeholders at scheduled intervals.
2. Purchase order acknowledgments: RPA can automate creating and sending purchase order acknowledgments, confirming receipt and commitment to fulfill the order.
3. Exception handling: RPA bots can be programmed to identify discrepancies in EDI transactions and trigger predefined actions, such as sending alerts or routing the transaction for manual review.

6. Emerging industry standards

The emergence of industry-specific standards, some of which are stated below, is poised to impact EDI processes profoundly.

PEPPOL, which stands for Pan-European Public Procurement Online, aims to streamline and standardize electronic procurement processes across Europe and facilitate cross-border trade. PEPPOL is widely used in Europe and is supported by many governments and public sector organizations for electronic procurement and invoicing. It simplifies cross-border trade by providing a common framework and specifications for businesses exchanging electronic documents with public sector entities and other companies across European countries. While PEPPOL is not an EDI standard like EDIFACT or ANSI X12, it facilitates using various EDI standards and formats for document exchange within its framework.

HL7 FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is an emerging standard for healthcare data exchange and aims to improve interoperability and data sharing in the healthcare industry. FHIR is designed to make it easier to exchange healthcare data, such as electronic health records (EHRs), between systems, providers and patients. As FHIR uses modern web-based APIs, it can complement existing EDI processes by providing more agile and immediate data exchange capabilities.

As the business and technological landscapes continue to evolve, EDI is growing in tandem. Organizations are poised to unlock unprecedented efficiencies and opportunities in their EDI processes as they leverage modern data formats and adopt industry-specific standards. Advancements in areas like AI and machine learning, blockchain and IoT integration will further enhance EDI's predictive analytics capabilities, optimizing supply chain management and decision-making processes. The next decade promises to be a time of innovation and transformation for the EDI industry, with a plethora of modern-age technologies fueling its growth.