EDI Systems

The concept of "electronic data interchange" dates back thirty years. It was the time when the first computers - which were extremely expensive back then - appeared. Moreover, the modem Internet connection had a very low throughput and was also quite expensive, and so only a few companies could afford it.

The first EDI systems were not generally available, either. They were designed for particular companies and their reliability as well as user-friendliness left a lot to be desired.

The first users for whom EDI electronic document interchange had strategic significance were carriers from the sector of transport. It was quite natural since that industry had always generated great numbers of paper documents and their transport at long distances and copying often resulted in slow transit, errors and other difficulties.

Subsequently, other enterprises and units that relied heavily on transport started using EDI. They were warehouses, retail networks, banks and customs agencies.

Today, it would be hard to imagine any business without EDI (Web EDI) support. Only in the USA electronic data interchange is used by 100,00 various companies. American Airlines, Nike, The National Bank and many governmental organizations are among those who take advantage of EDI systems.

Three million documents sent every day by international banks are sufficient proof of EDI's importance for the daily functioning of these institutions. All these transactions are processes by the SWIFT interbank network.

The number of daily transactions confirms that EDI systems are cost-effective and, even more importantly, reliable.