A comprehensive alphabetical list of common Business and Data Integration Based terms

A

ABI– see Application Binary Interfaces

Abstract Data Type- a mechanism provided by Extensible Markup Language schemas to force substitution for a particular element type. When an element or type is declared to be ‘abstract’ it cannot be used in an instance document. A member of that element’s substitution group must appear in the instance document.

Accredited Standards Committee X12- The group authorized by the American National Standards Institute to develop and maintain the EDI Standards used primarily in the United States. (See also- ANSI; ANSI ASC-X12; American National Standards Institute). In 1979, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) chartered the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 to develop uniform standards for inter-industry electronic exchange of business transactions, namely electronic data interchange. ANSI X12 was originally conceived to support companies across different industry sectors in North America however today there are more than 300,000 companies worldwide using X12 EDI standards in daily business transactions. ASC X12 also contributes to UN/EDIFACT messages that are used widely outside of the United States.

Acknowledgement- In the sphere of Enterprise Integration, a response to a command returned to the originator. Every command needs a response. Acknowledgement messages are standardized and may contain the following information- confirmation of message receipt, success/failure of processing for syntax and content, or reason code for each type of failure.

ACH–  see Automated Clearing House

Active Tag- A class of RFID tag that contains a power source, such as a battery, to power the microchip’s circuitry. Active tags transmit a signal to a reader and can be read from distance beyond 100 feet

Advance Ship Notice (ASN)- An electronic version of a printed packing slip that tells a buyer that goods have been shipped, how they have been packed items and the estimated arrival time. Also referred to as a Delivery Notice or Dispatch Advice.

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)– One of a number of standards for securing data during transmission by encrypting it.

AES- See Advanced Encryption Standard

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)- The national standards body for the United States. ANSI, through its accredited standards committees, keeps the standards for all applications of technology and mechanics for U.S. Industry. Business documents in the U.S are often referred to by their ANSI code such as 204 (Tender Offer), 990 (Tender Response) 850 (PO), 810 (Invoice) and 856 (ASN).

ANA- Article Number Association, an association of businesses set up to facilitate standardization across the supply chain.

Analytics– Refers to the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data; and the process of applying those patterns towards effective decision making. Can be understood as the connective tissue between data and effective decision making within an organization.

ANSI ASC X12 (X12) – American National Standards Institute, Accredited Standards Committee X12, which comprises government and industry members who create EDI standards for submission to ANSI for approval and dissemination.

ANX- The IP-based network for the US automotive industry. The ANX Network is a premium data network designed to support an entities’ most mission-critical business data and processes, such as financial information, product development and design materials, and business-critical applications. 

AI– See Artificial Intelligence

API- see Application Programming Interface

API Governance- A policy driven approach to enforcement of API Management from design to development to runtime. Includes but not limited to the following- versioning, tracking what users are calling what services, data protection, interface guidelines and standards, Schema versioning, API policy tracking, and retirement of API versions.

API Integration– method of integrating to a Application Programming Interface (API)

API Integration Platform– Software platform that can be configured to connect and process data provided by an API, and transform and normalize that data to a consuming application.

API Lifecycle Management- Framework that describes the promotion process (life-cycle) of an API version from initial concept, definition, development environments, test environments, and production environments, to eventually sunsetting of an API version.

API management– An organized approach to using APIs to open up an organization or system’s dats so that it can be utilized by other parts of the organization or third parties in new and useful ways. It is an evolution of the earlier Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) paradigms and spans B2B, B2C, Mobile, Integration, Identity and Security.

Application Acknowledgment– A transaction set used in the industry to return a response to a transaction set that has been received and processed in an application program. For example, the Purchase Order Acknowledgment transaction is used to respond to the Purchase Order transaction with content such as whether the receiver can fulfill the order and if it can be done on time. A Tender Response is used by a transportation carrier in response to a Tender Offer request with content on if a shipment will be accepted or declined based on the information in the Tender Offer request.

Application Advice- A transaction set that accepts, rejects or identifies errors in the content of any transaction set beyond normal validation and syntax checks.

Application Binary Interface (ABI)- An interface between two binary program modules; often, one of these modules is a library or operating system facility, and the other is a program that is being run by a user.

Application Interface Software– Software that imports and exports data between in-house applications and the translation software.

Application Programming Interface (API)– In computer programming, an application programming interface is a set of subroutine definitions, communication protocols, and tools for building software. In general terms, it is a set of clearly defined methods of communication among various components. APIs allow applications to communicate with one another. When people speak of “an API”, they sometimes generalize and actually mean “a publicly available web-based API that returns data, likely in JSON or XML” via a SOAP or REST based interface.

Artificial Intelligence– the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages. Examples include Ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft, Spam Filters, Plagiarism Checkers, Robo-Readers, Mobile Check Deposits, Flights using Autopilots, Chatbots.

AS1- Applicability Statement (AS1). Also Known as EDIINT AS1. A protocol developed by the IETF to implement secure and reliable messaging over SMTP and S/MIME. It was the first AS protocol to be developed and uses signing, encryption and MDN conventions. (MDN refers to Message Disposition Notifications or the ability to provide “Return Receipts”). As with any AS file transfer, AS1 file transfers typically require both sides of the exchange to trade SSL certificates and specific business partner names before any transfers can take place.

AS2- Applicability Statement (AS2). Also Known as EDIINT AS2. A protocol developed by the IETF to implement secure and reliable messaging over HTTP. Allows data to be sent over the Internet using the HTTP protocol. AS2 uses the same signing, encryption, and MDN conventions used in the original AS1 protocol. AS2 messages are usually sent across the internet using the HTTP or HTTPS protocol. AS2 has been widely deployed as a point-to-point connectivity method. AS2 offers many advantages over standard HTTP, including increased verification, and security achieved through the use of receipts and digital signatures. AS2 transactions and acknowledgements also occur in real-time, increasing the efficiency of document exchanges. Walmart was one of the first companies to help drive the adoption of AS2 across the retail sector.

AS3- Applicability Statement (AS3). Also Known as EDIINT AS3. The most recent protocol developed by the IETF to implement secure and reliable messaging over FTP. AS3 is based upon the secure version of the FTP protocol, rather than HTTP. AS3 transport is S/MIME over FTP and operates a client/server model like FTP, as opposed to the peer-to-peer approach used by AS2. AS3 also uses MDN’s (receipt notifications) like AS2. AS3 is a push/pull protocol and the client side AS3 does not require a listener to be always aware of inbound traffic (whereas AS2 always requires a persistent connection for the listener). AS3 may be especially well suited for banking and other industries where there are heavy investments in FTP scripting, applications and security.

AS4- Applicability Statement (AS4). Also Known as EDIINT AS4. Offers secure B2B document exchange using web services. AS4 offers secure B2B document exchange using web services and was developed by the sub-committee of the OASIS ebXML messaging services technical committee. AS4 is still in its draft definition format. The AS4 profile provides the market place with an entry level solution that allows companies to begin utilizing their internal SOA based platforms for external B2B messaging while at the same time taking on some of the more complicated aspects of web services. The European Aerospace industry is proposing to use AS4 as its communication standard for sending ebXML related B2B documents between business partners AS4 was developed by the sub-committee of the OASIS ebXML.

ASN- See Advance Ship Notice.

Asynchronous- A communication technique by which each character is sent bit-serially and is surrounded by start and stop bits used to indicate character borders. Examples are file transfer and email.

Attribute- A term used to describe a characteristic of an item. An attribute would hold a value to describe a characteristic such as a package width, length, or height.

Audit trail- A security-relevant chronological record, set of records, and/or destination and source of records that provide documentary evidence of the sequence of activities that have affected at any time a specific operation, procedure, or event.

Augmented Analytics- the use of machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) to enhance data analytics, data sharing and business intelligence.

Authentication– A mechanism that allows the receiver of an electronic transmission to verify the sender and the integrity of the content of the transmission through the use of an electronic “key” or algorithm shared by the business partners. The algorithm is sometimes referred to as an electronic or digital signature.

Automated Clearing House (ACH)- the electronic clearing and settlement system used for financial transactions by US commercial banks and other institutions.

B

BAI– see Bank Administration Institute

Bank Administration Institute (BAI)- A Financial Services Group responsible for defining the Cash Management Balance Reporting Specifications. BAI1 and subsequently BAI2 were defined as the basis for agreement between a bank and its corporate customer on how data from the bank’s account processing software would be communicated to the customer’s account processing software. Bank Administration Institute (BAI) is a file format used by banks to transfer financial data. In 2008, the Bank Administration Institute transferred copyright ownership of the BAI file format to the Accredited Standards Committee X9, Inc. 

Barcode- An array of’ rectangular marks and spaces in a predetermined pattern. Usually used for automatic product or shipment identification.

Batch Control Totals- Ensures that batch processing has been performed correctly by comparing output to hash totals, currency or quantity totals, record or document counts.

Batch Processing- The processing of computer information after it has accumulated in one group or batch.

BI– See Business Intelligence

Big Data- Extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.

Bill of Lading- A document that is used by a vendor and a freight carrier that describes the freight classification of the goods being shipped by the vendor.

Bisynchronous- A communication protocol whereby messages are sent as blocks of characters. The blocks of data are checked for completeness and accuracy by the receiving computer.

BiTA– See Blockchain in Transportation Alliance

Blockchain– A growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. By design, a blockchain is resistant to modification of the data. The technology allows digital information to be distributed, but not copied. The information is constantly reconciled into the database, which is stored in multiple locations and updated instantly.

Blockchain in Transportation Alliance (BiTA) – BiTA is a member-driven organization; members are primarily from the freight, transportation, logistics and affiliated industries. Alliance members share a common mission of driving the adoption of emerging technology forward. We accomplish this by developing industry standards; educating members and others on blockchain applications/solutions and distributed ledger technology (DLT); and encouraging the use and adoption of new solutions. BiTA members are leading the effort to develop and embrace a common framework and standards from which transportation, logistics, supply chain and freight marketplace participants can build revolutionary blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) applications

BOD- See Business Object Definitions.

Business Object Definitions (BOD)- BODs are business messages exchanged between software applications or components. A BOD is a message structure that contains an application area and a data area to operate on. The application area of the BOD describes the application context to associate with the processing

Business Document- A set of information components that are interchanged as part of a business activity.

Business Intelligence (BI)– a technology-driven process for analyzing data and presenting actionable information to help executives, managers and other corporate end users make informed business decisions

Business Partner- The entity with which EDI business documents are exchanged. This may be either the sender or the receiver of information in EDI.

Business Partner Agreement-  In RosettaNet, Business Partner Agreements contain the general contract terms and conditions, participant roles (buyers, sellers), communication and security protocols, and business processes (valid actions, sequencing rules, etc.). Extensible Markup Language-based Business Partner Agreement documents capture the essential information upon which business partners must agree in order for their applications and business processes to communicate.

Business Process- A set of related activities that, when correctly performed, will satisfy an explicit business goal.

Business Process Modelling- Also called ‘as is’ modelling, a component of the RosettaNet concept development used to identify the elements of a business process and create a clearly defined model of business partner interfaces as they exist today.

Business Process Management-   A discipline in operations management in which people use various methods to discover, model, analyze, measure, improve, optimize, and automate business processes.

Business to Business (B2B)- The practice of buying and selling between companies through the use of electronic transactions.

Business to Business (B2B) Integration- The secured coordination of business information among companies and their information.

Business to Business (B2B) Managed Services- The outsourcing of portions or all EDI services to a third party trusted provider. See also Integration Brokerage

Business Validation- the act of verifying that a set of end-to-end business processes function as intended. If there are problems in one or more business applications that support a business process, or in the integration or configuration of those systems, then the consequences of disruption to the business can be serious. 

 

C

Canonical– A unified data format that is 1) Agnostic to any other data format 2) Can be easily integrated to any other existing format and 3) Independent from any application. A canonical data model is considered a super-set data structure and businesses that use this approach map there application data to a canonical data construct for each object. Once the data is in the canonical object, it can be mapped to any other data format without worry of data gaps.

Cargo-IMP Standard-  The predessor standard by IATA to the Cargo-XML standard and used for

specifications regarding space allocation, air waybill, flight manifest, accounting, status, discrepancy, embargo, customs, CASS billing, dangerous goods, allotments, and surface transportation. IATA stopped supporting this standard in 2014 but still widely used.

Cargo-XML Standards- The IATA Cargo-XML messaging is emerging as a preferred standard for the electronic communication between airlines and other air cargo stakeholders such as shippers, freight forwarders, ground-handling agents, and regulators, as well as customs and security agencies. This new standard is based on multimodal and cross-border messaging.

CDI- see Cloud Data Integration

CEDI- The Common EDI Forum, which has developed a set of message implementation guidelines for the UK’s grocery industry.

CEFACT- Also known as UN/CEFACT. The United Nations Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business.

CDM– see Channel Data Management

CDN– see Content Delivery Network

Channel Data Management (CDM)- Practice to help businesses that sell into the indirect channgel harness channel information by collecting and transforming partner data to make it ready for decision-making processes and business applications. In the context of integration, CDM services include data acquisition of POS and Inventory data, transformation, validation, enrichment and analytics to provide insights to inventory and products sold into the indirect channel vs. what has been sold and inventory positions in the channel

Chaincode – A program that initializes and managed a ledgers state through submitted applications. It is the Hyperledger equal to Smart Contracts

Citizen Integrator- Refer to business users who perform integration tasks Many organizations cannot afford to wait for IT to integrate and connect disparate applications. By strategically fostering citizen integration, IT organizations can enable business users to automate connections themselves. 

Cloud Service Integration (CSI)- Tools and technologies that connects various applications, systems, repositories, and IT environments for the real-time exchange of data and processes into cloud environments and accessible by multiple devices via the internet.

Cloudstreams- Prepackaged and configurable sets of integration flows, selected by users from a catalog.

 Collaboration- The process of two or more knowledge workers within or across organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. 

Collaboration Applications– Applications that support the collaborative work or business process management within or across Enterprises.

Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR)- A concept that aims to enhance supply chain integration by supporting and assisting joint practices. CPFR seeks cooperative management of inventory through joint visibility and replenishment of products throughout the supply chain

Comma Separated Values (CSV)- A delimited text file that uses a comma to separate values. A CSV file stores tabular data (numbers and text) in plain text. Each line of the file is a data record. Each record consists of one or more fields, separated by commas. The use of the comma as a field separator is the source of the name for this file format.

Composer REST server– Generates a REST Server and associated API from a deployed blockchain.

Content Delivery Network (CDN)- is a geographically distributed network of proxy servers and their data centers. The goal is to provide high availability and high performance by distributing the service spatially relative to end-users. Allows for a quick transition of assets needed to load internet content.

CONTRL- A message which is the EDIFACT equivalent of the Functional Acknowledgement (FA).

CPFR- See Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment.

Classifier- A term used to describe how items such as products are grouped

Clearing House- A third party used for centralizing the sending and receiving of electronic messages or documents between business partners. Messages/documents are held by the third party until the receiver is available to receive them.

Communications- The means of electronically linking two computers to exchange information.

Community Management- In the context of Enterprise Integration refers to the integration onboarding management of a trading network ecosystem around a business process or set of processes. Typically consists of program design and tools to manage the onboarding workflow, with automation, and progress dashboards.

Compliance Checking- Checking process used to ensure that a transmission complies with ANSI X12 syntax rules (US).

Conditional (C)- A data element requirement designator that indicates that the presence of a specified data element is dependent on the value or presence of other data elements in the segment. The condition must be stated and must be able to be computer-processed.

Confirmation- A notification that the transmission has been received by the intended receiver. See also Functional Acknowledgment.

Connector- In the context of Enterprise Integration, a connector is software that provides a connection between an integration platform component and external resource. The resource can be any source of content, such a database, protocol, or API.

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)- Consumer packaged goods are consumable goods such as food, beverages, footwear, and apparel, tobacco, and cleaning products.

Continuous Replenishment Program- The concept of continuous supply of goods between supplier and business partner based on automated exchange of current demand, inventory, and stock management information, within the framework of an agreed supply policy. The aim of continuous replenishment is to achieve a responsive and precise flow of product to the store with minimum stock holding and handling.

Control Envelope- Used to validate the receipt of correct and complete data.

Control Number- Also known as reference number. An identification number used to distinguish a standard data element (data element identifier) or a standard segment (segment identifier).

Control Segment- A control segment that has the same structure as a data segment but is used for transferring control information for grouping data segments.

Control Structure- The beginning and end (header and trailer) segments for entities in EDI.

Control Validation- Confirmation that information within the control segments is correct.

CORDA- An open source blockchain project, designed for business and allows businesses to build interoperable blockchain networks that transact in strict privacy. Utilizes smart contract technology that allows businesses to transact directly

CPG– See Consumer Packaged Goods

CRM– see Customer Relationship Management

Customer Experience (CX)– Identified as the customers’ holistic perception of their experience with your business or brand. CX is the result of every interaction a customer has with your business, from navigating the website to talking to customer service and receiving the product/service they bought from you.

Customer Relationship Management- An approach consisting of the combination of practices, strategies and technologies that companies use to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle, with the goal of improving customer service relationships and assisting in customer retention and driving sales 

CSV– see Comma Separated Value

CX– see Customer Experience

D

DApps– See Decentralized APPS

Data Compression- a reduction in the number of bits needed to represent data. Compressing data can save storage capacity, speed up file transfer, and decrease costs for storage hardware and network bandwidth.

Data Element- One or more data items, forming a unit or piece of information as defined in the data dictionary of a system of EDI Standards, and contained in an EDI message or transaction set. The term “data element” is often abbreviated as “DE” followed immediately by the data element number (i.e., data element 128 would be abbreviated as DE128) in some texts.

Data Element, Composite- Two or more related data items separated by a delimiter character, grouped together to form a unit or piece of information as defined in the data dictionary of a system of EDI Standards, and contained in an EDI message or transaction set.

Data Encryption Standard (DES)- One of a number of standards for securing data during transmission by encrypting it.

Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA)-  The trade organization that acts as secretariat for ANSI ASC X12 and the Pan-American EDIFACT Board in the United States.

Data Management- an administrative process that includes acquiring, validating, storing, protecting, and processing required data to ensure the accessibility, reliability, and timeliness of the data for its users

Data Mapping- the process of creating data element mappings between two distinct data models. Data mapping is used as a first step for a wide variety of data integration tasks, including: Data transformation or data mediation between a data source and a destination.

Data Segment- Intermediate unit of information in a message. A segment consists of a pre-defined set of functionally related data elements which are identified by sequential position within the set.

Data Segment Directory- Publication that shows the format of all segments in the standard.

Data Synchronization- Data synchronization is the electronic transfer of standardized product and location information between business partners and the continuous synchronization of that data over time.

Data pool- a GDSN-compliant mechanism for business partners to share and synchronize data. As well as storing product data, a data pool provides the necessary functions and workflow to communicate with the GLOBAL Registry and with other data pools.

Decentralized Applications (DApps)– is an application whose back-end code runs on a decentralized peer-to-peer network. DApps established a way to reduce the impact of third parties on the functions of an application.

Decryption- The translation of scrambled or secretly coded data at the receiving end of an encrypted transmission (See also Encryption).

Dedicated Line- A point-to-point line in a data communication system between two computer devices that is always connected.

DELFOR- Delivery Forecast message.

Delivery Notice- European term for an Advanced Ship Notice (ASN).

Delimiters- Integral part of the transferred data stream, they consist of two levels of separators and a terminator. Delimiters are specified in the interchange header. From highest to lowest level, the separators and terminator are segment terminator, data element separator, and component element separator.

Delivery Trailer Manifest- A list of shipments contained on a less-than-truckload trailer ready for delivery. The list includes information relevant to the delivery of the shipments loaded in the trailer, such as pro number, equipment identification and date available.

DELJIT- Delivery Just in Time message.

Delivered In Full, On Time (DIFOT)- a measurement of logistics or delivery performance within a supply chain. Usually expressed as a percentage, it measures whether the supply chain was able to deliver: the expected product in the quantity ordered by the customer at the place agreed by the customer at the time expected by the customer.

DES- See Data Encryption Standard

DESADV- Dispatch Advice Message.

Digital Certificate- A computer-based record or electronic message issued by an entity that (1) identifies the entity issuing it; (2) names or identifies a certificate holder; (3) contains the public key of the certificate holder; (4) identifies the certificate’s validity period and (5) is digitally signed by the entity issuing it.

Digital Integration Hub- Architecture that aggregates multiple back-end data into a low-latency and high performance data store accessible via an API layer. The data store is synchronized with the back ends via multiple integration patterns.

Digital Signature- An electronic signature that can be used to authenticate the identity of the sender of a message and via the encrypted document digest, to ensure that the original content of the data that has been sent is unchanged.

Digital Transformation- While the definition will look different for every company, it can in general terms, refer to the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business resulting in fundamental changes to how businesses operate and how they deliver value to customers. 

Digital Twin- a digital representation of a physical object or system. The technology behind digital twins has expanded to include large items such as buildings, factories and even cities, and some have said people and processes can have digital twins, expanding the concept even further. Typically used in logistics to demonstrate the geolocation of a physical shipment.

DIH- See Digital Integration Hub

Direct Connect EDI- A form of EDI which does rely on an intermediary, see point-to-point.

Direct Store Delivery (DSD)-  The practice of delivering product directly to store and notifying the store of the delivery electronically rather than by paper.

DISA- See Data Interchange Standards Association

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)- A distributed ledger (also called a shared ledger or distributed ledger technology or DLT) is a consensus of replicated, shared, and synchronized digital data geographically spread across multiple sites, countries, or institutions. There is no central administrator or centralized data storage.

DLT– See Distributed Ledger Technology

DIFOT- See Delivered In Full, On Time

Download- The process of receiving data from another computer at a remote site onto the computer under the control of the operator.

Drag and Drop Mapper– A data mapping tool set for low to no code environments where users can leverage a user interface, typically via a browser,  to drag a field and hence map data from a source data structure to a target data structure.

Drop Ship- a supply chain management method in which the retailer does not keep goods in stock but instead transfers the customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer, another retailer, a distributor, or a wholesaler, who then ships the goods directly to the customer

DSD- See Direct Store Delivery

DSTU- Draft Standard for Trial Use. A standard approved by the ANSI ASC X12 committee prior to full approval by ANSI.

DUNS number- Dun & Bradstreet identification number often used in EDI transmissions.

E

EAI-  See Enterprise Application Integration

EAN-  see European Article Number

EANCOM- A subset of EDIFACT messages, developed by GS1, to allow business partners to exchange commercial documents in a simple, accurate and cost-effective manner. This standard was originally conceived in 1987 by the EAN General Assembly and was to be developed on the then emerging international UN/EDIFACT standard. The EANCOM messages, maintained by GS1, are more detailed in nature compared to the TRADACOMS message set. EANCOM was originally developed for the retail sector and has subsequently grown to become the most widely used UN/EDIFACT subset and is now found in a variety of other industry sectors such as healthcare, construction and publishing.

ebMS– See ebXML Messaging Services

ebXML Messaging Services (ebMS)- The secure, reliable method of transmitting electronic data defined as part of the ebXML specifications. It can use a variety of low level transmission protocols including HTTP and SMTP. ebXML Messaging Service offers a secure and reliable SOAP/Web Services based packaging, routing and transport protocol as defined by the ebXML specifications. The ebMS is an open standard and as such is communication protocol neutral although the most common underlying protocols are HTTP and SMTP. ebMS essentially offers a way to exchange ebXML based B2B documents between different business applications using SOAP/Web services.

ebXML– A standard for an e-business framework that enables enterprises of any size, in any location to meet and conduct business electronically. Developed under the auspices of OASIS and UN/CEFACT.

EDI- See Electronic Data Interchange.

EDItEUR- The trade standards body for the global book and serials supply chains.

EDI Mapping– a process through which EDI mapping rules are implemented via software that will translate data in and out EDI format of other application or data formats.

EDI Mapping Specification– also referred to as EDI Mapping Spec. Refers to the mapping rules of data from source to target where the source or target data structure is based on an EDI standard.

EDI Specification– an artifact that contains the segment, data elements, and business rules used to support a message or full business process choreography requirement.

EDI Translation- The conversion of application data to and from a standard EDI format.

EDI Translator- Computer software used to perform the conversion of application data to and from a standard. Usually licensed rather than developed in-house. May have subsystems for mapping, auditing, and document management.

EDIFACT- Electronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce and Transport. The international EDI Standard as developed through the United Nations. United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport is the international standard that was developed by the United Nations. The work of maintenance and further development of this standard is done through the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) under the UN Economic Commission for Europe. The EDIFACT standard provides a set of syntax rules to structure, an interactive exchange protocol and provides a set of standard messages which allow multi-country and multi-industry exchange of electronic business documents. EDIFACT is widely used across Europe, mainly due to the fact that many companies adopted it very early on. EDIFACT has seen some adoption in the ASPAC region, however, there are currently more XML-based standards being used in this particular region today.

EDIFICE- B2B industry group in high tech and electronics industries in Europe. Also EDIFACT EDI standard subset for those industries.

EASEE-gas- Established in 2002 in order to develop and promote business practices to simplify and streamline gas transfer and trading across Europe.

EDIG@S- EDIG@S has become the de facto standard used in the exchange of commercial information between traders & shippers, TSOs, DSOs and producers involved in the European gas supply chain. It is also included in the Network Code for Interoperability and Data Exchange Rules as the data format solution for common data exchanges.

EDI over the Internet- A protocol for exchange of information in a decentralized, distributed environment designed by the Internet Engineering Task Force.

EFT- See Electronic Funds Transfer

EIAJ- Japanese EDI standard.

Electronic Commerce- Conducting business between computers through the use of digital exchange.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)- The computer-to-computer transfer of business transaction information using standard, industry-accepted message formats.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT)– Electronic payment in which funds are transferred between bank accounts at different financial institutions

ELD- See Electronic Logging Device

Electronic Logging Device (ELD)–  electronic device  that is attached to a commercial motor vehicle engine that is used to electronically record a driver’s Record of Duty Status (RODS), which replaces the paper logbook some drivers currently use to record their compliance with Hours of Service (HOS) requirements. The driving hours of commercial drivers are typically regulated by a set of rules known as the hours of service in the United States and as Drivers’ working hours in Europe.

Electronic Mail- The process of sending, receiving, storing, and/or forwarding messages in digital form via telecommunication.

Element- The smallest item of information in the standard.

Element Delimiter- Single character delimiter; follows the segment identifier and each data element in a segment except the last.

Element Reference Number- The number that identifies each element from the segment diagram with its corresponding definition in the data dictionary.

Email- The standard abbreviation for Electronic Mail, a method of exchanging messages (“mail”) between people using electronic devices. 

Encryption- The process of transforming clear text (data in its original form) into cipher text (the output of a cryptographic algorithm) for security or privacy.

End-User- Anyone who uses a computer system or its output.

Enterprise Performance Management–   a field of business performance management which considers the visibility of operations in a closed-loop model across all facets of the enterprise. Specific to financial activities in the office of the chief financial officer, EPM also supports financial planning and analysis.

Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) – The use of middleware to integrate the application programs, databases, and legacy systems involved in an organization’s critical business processes.

Enterprise Resource Planning- Packaged software systems using database technology and a single interface to control all the information related to a company’s business, including customer, product, employee, and financial data.

Enterprise Service Bus- implements a communication system between mutually interacting software applications in a service-oriented architecture. A set of rules and principles for integrating numerous applications together over a bus-like infrastructure. The core concept of the ESB architecture is that you integrate different applications by putting a communication bus between them and then enable each application to talk to the bus.

Envelope- The combination of header, trailer, and sometimes other control segments, that define the start and end of an individual EDI message.

ENX- The IP-based network for the European automotive industry.

EPC- Electronic product code. A 96-bit number whose format is governed by EPCglobal, a subsidiary of the GS1 standards body. Each RFID tag will contain a unique EPC.

EPCglobal- A subsidiary of the EAN.UCC international standards body which governs the format of EPCs.  It is an organization set up to achieve worldwide adoption and standardization of Electronic Product Code technology.

EPM- see Enterprise Performance Management

ESB- see Enterprise Service Bus.

Ethereum- An open source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality. Ethereum supports a modified version of Nakamoto consensus via transaction-based state transitions. Ether is a token whose blockchain is generated by the Ethereum platform.

European Article Number (EAN)-  a standard describing a barcode symbology and numbering system used in global trade to identify a specific retail product type, in a specific packaging configuration, from a specific manufacturer. 

Evaluated Receipts Settlement- Method for initiating payment to a supplier that replaces the invoice. Used primarily in the auto industry. First the price is agreed upon by a blanket or other purchase order. Next, a material release tells the supplier the quantity to deliver. An advance ship notice confirms the quantity actually being delivered, and payment is triggered upon receipt.

Event Broker- Cloud service that plays the role of the intermediary in an event driven architecture , setting up the event publisher and subscriber and facilitating there interactions.

Event-Driven EDI- Applications and translator exchanging message sets as soon as they are created or received.

Excel- a spreadsheet program included in the Microsoft Office suite of applications. Spreadsheets present tables of values arranged in rows and columns that can be manipulated mathematically using both basic and complex arithmetic operations and functions.

eXtensible Markup Language- Extensible Markup Language is designed to improve the functionality of the Web by providing more flexible and adaptable information identification. It is called extensible because it is not a fixed format like Hypertext Markup Language (a single, predefined markup language). Instead, Extensible Markup Language is actually a metalanguage (a language for describing other languages) that allows individuals to customize markup languages for limitless different types of documents. Extensible Markup Language can do this because it is written in Standard Generalized Markup Language, the international standard metalanguage for text markup systems.

F

Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) Specification-  Draft standard describing data formats and elements and an application programming interface for exchanging electronic health records. The standard was created by the Health Level Seven International health-care standards organization.

FHIR– see Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources

File- A collection of related records treated as a basic unit of storage in a computer system.

File, flat- A computer file where all the information is run together in a single character string.

File Structure- The format into which a file is arranged by the computer, so that the information it contains can be retrieved on demand.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)- A standard method of transmitting files from one computer to another over the internet. File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to exchange and manipulate files over a TCP/IP based network such as the internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server applications. FTP is also often used as an application component to automatically transfer files for internal functions within programs. FTP can be used with user-based password authentication or with anonymous user access.

File Transfer Secure Protocol- is an extension of FTP which adds support for the Transport Layer Security (TLS) and the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) cryptographic protocols. FTPS should not be confused with SFTP, an incompatible secure file transfer subsystem for the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. It is also different from Secure FTP, the practice of tunneling FTP through an SSH connection

FIN– The SWIFT FIN is a message transfer based store and forward system. FIN is the main messaging mechanism used today on SWIFTNet and is used by corporations for liquidity and risk management purposes.

Forecast Collaboration- process that allows a buyer to collaborate with suppliers on forecast of components, materials, or finished goods and provides a mechanism for the suppliers to provide commitments on supply with any available upside that could be consumed.

Freight Settlement- Settlement implies multiple required actions being simultaneously closed with each freight transaction. In addition to a “proof of delivery” triggering the payment, the carrier provides detailed data electronically on service milestones such as pick up, transit time and delivery time. This service information is a required part of the transaction—no data, no payment.

Freight Visibility- process by which a shipper or provider of freight logistics service can get real-time views into the geo-cordinates and updates on freight.

FTP-  see File Transfer Protocol

Functional Acknowledgement- A transaction set transmitted by the receiver of an EDI transmission to the sender, indicating the receipt and syntactical acceptability of a message. It does not provide acknowledgement of the content of the message, just that the message has been successfully received and interpreted. Often abbreviated and referred to as “FA”.

Functional Group- A collection of related transaction sets. Beginning (GS) and ending (GE) segments are used to envelop a complete functional group.

Functional Group Segments (GS/GE)- These segments identify a specific functional group of documents such as purchase orders.

G

Galia- French automotive industry body.

Gateway- The interconnection between public or private networks, enabling the transmission of documents in EDI format across multiple networks.

GDD- See Global Data Dictionary

GDPR-  See General Data Protection Regulation

GDSN- See Global Data Synchronization Network

Global Data Dictionary (GDD)- a GS1 standard which allows all the potential attributes of an item to be defined. These attributes may include size, brand information, logistical information, etc.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)- is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individual citizens of the European Union and the European Economic Area. It also addresses the transfer of personal data outside the EU and EEA areas.

Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN)- Launch for EAN and UCC, GDSN provides a framework that allows all data pools to interoperate and share data seamlessly via internet-based, interconnected network of interoperable data pools and a global registry known as the GS1 Global Registry, that enables companies around the globe to exchange standardized and synchronized supply chain data with their trading partners using a standardized Global Product Classification

GLN- see Global Location Number

Global Location Number (GLN)- A unique number that is assigned to locations to enable them to be identified uniquely worldwide. These global location numbers can be used to identify any legal, physical and functional locations. Global locations numbers are reference keys to computer files where information about the company or location can be found. The GLNs replace the names and addresses of locations and are particularly useful when automating processes; they allow computers to route information to the correct destination with no manual involvement. GLNs must be used when identifying locations and business partners within Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) business messages and data pools, and they can also be used in bar codes to identify a physical location or to provide relevant information for delivery or invoicing purposes.

GLOBAL Registry- A central service which holds pointers to data held in local data pools, provides an index for companies looking for product data held in local data pools and ensures data pools are fully compliant with GS1 standards.

Global Company Identifier- RosettaNet-branded term for the Data Universal Numbering System. The Global Company Identifier is the RosettaNet object and Data Universal Numbering System is the specified solution.

Global Data Dictionary- The repository of definitions and attributes of all data elements used within GS1 Business Message Standards.

Global Product Classification (GPC)- a standard way of categorizing products that provides a way to link different company classification systems and offers a common language for collaborative business processes.

Global Standards Management Process (GSMP)- The governing body for the development of global data synchronization standards within the GS1 framework. Open to industry participants and solution providers, the GSMP provides the process for developing business requirements and global standards for technical implementations.

Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)- A unique identifier for each product in the GS1 registry.

GPC- see Global Product Classification

GS1- A worldwide network of standards bodies and service providers which develops global supply chain standards and solutions used by over one million companies for bar coding, electronic business messaging, data synchronization and through the EPCglobal Network, radio frequency identification.

Goods Received Note (GRN)- A document raised by a customer receiving goods to confirm what has been received, so that invoices may be approved for payment.

GSMP- see Global Standards Management Process

GTIN- see Global Trade Item Number

H

Hardware- The physical parts of a computer system, such as the central processing unit, tape drives, disk drives, modem, etc.

Header- The specific segment that, in simplest terms, tells the receiving computer where an individual EDI message starts.

HCM- See Human Capital Management

Health Level Seven (HL7)- refers to a set of international standards for transfer of clinical and administrative data between software applications used by various healthcare providers.

HIPPA- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, established by the U.S Congress in 1996 A key component of HIPAA is the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans and employers. The standards are meant to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the North American health care system by encouraging the widespread use of EDI in the U.S health care system.

HL7- See Health Level Seven

HTML- See HyperText Markup Language

HTTP-  See HyperText Transfer Protocol

HTTPS- See HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure

Hub- EDI term for a company that initiates a B2B program with its business partners, usually a buyer. See also Spoke.

Human Capital Management (HCM)-  a set of practices related to people resource management. These practices are focused on the organizational need to provide specific competencies and are implemented in three categories: workforce acquisition, workforce management and workforce optimization.

HyperText Markup Language (HTML)- is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets and scripting languages such as JavaScript.

HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)-  A protocol used to request and transmit files, especially web pages and web page components, over the internet or other computer network.

HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)- a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol with the SSL/TLS protocol to provide encryption and secure identification of the server. HTTPS connections are often used for payment type transactions across the internet and for the exchange of sensitive information between corporate business systems.

Human Readable EDI- Ability to view the EDI documents for converting EDI data and metadata to human readable representation (eg..HTML).

Hybrid Integration Platform (HIP) – A framework defined by Gartner for systems integration that considers the following four dimensions: 1) Constituents-stakeholders in the integration project, 2) Endpoints- are where the systems to be integrated reside, 3) Integration models- Entities to be integrated and 4) Deployment Models – different connection environments.

Hyperledger- An umbrella project of open source blockchains and related tools, started in December 2015 by the Linux Foundation, and has received contributions from IBM, Intel and SAP Ariba, to support the collaborative development of blockchain-based distributed ledgers.

Hyperledger Fabric- A modular blockchain framework which acts as a foundation for developing blockchain-based products, solutions and applications using plug-and-play components that are aimed for use within the private enterprises.

I

IAAS– See Infrastructure as a Service

IATA-  See International Air Transport Association 

IDEA- International Data Exchange Association. Organization based in Brussels that promotes the global expansion of EDI.

IDOC- stands for intermediate document, is a standard data structure for electronic data interchange between application programs written for the popular SAP business system or between an SAP application and an external program. IDOCs serve as the vehicle for data transfer in SAP’s Application Link Enabling (ALE) system.

ID System (EPC Tags and readers)- The ID System is a component of the EPCglobal Network that consists of EPC tags and readers. EPC tags are radio frequency identification devices that consist of a microchip and an antenna attached to a substrate. The Electronic Product Code is stored on this tag, which is applied to cases, pallets, and/or items. EPC tags communicate their Electronic Product Codes to EPC readers using radio frequency identification. EPC readers communicate with EPC tags via radio waves and deliver information to local business information systems using EPC Middleware.

IETF- See Internet Engineering Task Force.

iPaaS-  See integration Platform as a Service

Implementation Guide- A publication listing EDI messages that are in use in a particular industry or application. It indicates how the information in those messages should be presented on a segment-by-segment, and data-element-by-data-element basis, including which segments and data elements are needed, which are not and what code values will be expected in the application of that particular message.

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)- a form of cloud computing that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. In an IaaS model, a cloud provider hosts the infrastructure components traditionally present in an on-premises data center, including servers, storage and networking hardware, as well as the virtualization or hypervisor layer. The IaaS provider also supplies a range of services to accompany those infrastructure components. These can include detailed billing, monitoring, log access, security, load balancing and clustering, as well as storage resiliency, such as backup, replication and recovery. These services are increasingly policy-driven, enabling IaaS users to implement greater levels of automation and orchestration for important infrastructure tasks. For example, a user can implement policies to drive load balancing to maintain application availability and performance.

Industry Specific- Useful to only one particular group of companies grouped together by a common focus area. In context of EDI it refers to the ability of an EDI Standard to be used by only one industry.

Integration Brokerage- a service offering within the market category of IT services that is oriented toward electronic data interchange (EDI) and B2B e-commerce integration services. These services include initial integration and recurring managed services but can also include cloud service integration, mobile app integration and Internet of Things (IoT) integration. One form of IB is focused on B2B integration and is often called B2B-or EDI-managed services because of its origins and sustained, prominent use in e-commerce. Another form of IB, delivered from system integrators is focused on internal application-to-application (A2A) integration. More recently, these two different types of IB started to compete with each other in A2A and B2B scenarios, and also increasingly for cloud service integration (CSI), mobile app integration and (nascent) IoT integration

integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)-  a Cloud Service for application, data, process, and EDI scenarios. iPaaS is often used by large business-to-business (B2B) enterprises that need to integrate on-premises applications and data with cloud applications and data and can support cloud-to-cloud, cloud-to-on-premise, on-premise-to-on-premise, IoT, and B2B integration use cases.

Interactive EDI- Two applications exchanging EDI directly within a pre-programmed context.

Interchange- The exchange of information from one company to another. A group of transaction sets sent from one sender to one receiver at one time.

Interchange Format- A specific data layout that defines a structured business document. The interchange format specifies the sequence, representation, and grouping of granular data elements, and may describe each element in terms of data type, options, cardinality, size, and valid values.

Interchange Control Header- The data segment that indicates and identifies the beginning of an interchange.

Interchange Control Trailer- The data segment that indicates the end of an interchange.

Interchange Envelope- Specific data transmission information in the header and trailer segments, representing an exchange between a single sender/receiver combination, ISA/IEA-approved.

Interconnect- Two VAN’s who link to one another’s address.

International Air Transport Association (IATA)- Supports aviation with global standards for airline safety, security, efficiency and sustainability

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)- A large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the internet architecture and the smooth operation of the internet.

Internet of Things (IoT)- A network of physical devices embedded with electronics, software and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data.

Intermediaries– A third party that offers intermediation services

Interoperability- The ability of different information systems, devices or applications to connect, in a coordinated manner, within and across organizational boundaries to access, exchange and cooperatively use data between stakeholders.

Invoice- A request for payment that communicates to a buyer the specific items, price, and quantities delivered that must be paid for by the buyer. Payment terms will usually accompany the billing information.

IoT– See Internet of Things

IoT Integration– the extension of integration between Internet Connected devices or sensors and the applications that support the consumption of the data to make use for business purposes.

ISDN – Integrated Services Digital Network- A set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services.

ISO- International Standards Organization. An international organization, working with the United Nations, that maintains the standards for all applications of technology and mechanics for global industry.

ISO 27001- A specification for an information security management system (ISMS). An ISMS is a framework of policies and procedures that includes all legal, physical and technical controls involved in an organization’s information risk management processes.

ITIL– See Information Technology Infrastructure Library

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)-  a set of detailed practices for IT service management (ITSM) that focuses on aligning IT services with the needs of business. ITIL describes processes, procedures, tasks, and checklists which are not organization-specific nor technology-specific, but can be applied by an organization towards strategy, delivering value, and maintaining a minimum level of competency. It allows the organization to establish a baseline from which it can plan, implement, and measure. It is used to demonstrate compliance and to measure improvement. 

J

JavaScript Notation (JSON)- A lightweight type of data interchange format. An open-standard file format that uses human-readable text to transmit data objects consisting of attribute–value pairs and array data types

JIT- Just In Time. A technique of managing inventory pioneered in Japan, under which materials are delivered by suppliers to a manufacturer as they are needed for production, rather than for storage or inventory.

Java Message Service-  A messaging service based on API that provides the facility to create, send and read messages. It provides loosely coupled, reliable and asynchronous communication. 

JMS- See Java Message Service

JNX- The IP-based network for the Japanese automotive industry.

JSON- See Javascript Notation

K

KNX- The IP-based network for the Korean automotive industry.

M

MAI- See Mobile Application Integration

ML – See Machine Learning

Machine Learning- a method of data analysis that automates analytical model building. It is a branch of artificial intelligence based on the idea that systems can learn from data, identify patterns and make decisions with minimal human intervention.

Mailbag- ANSI-defined standard for interconnects between VAN (EDI) addresses.

Mailbox- A file storage area within a computer, usually one used by a Network Service Provider, where information is placed until it can be retrieved by the intended receiver.

Manifest- A document from the vendor who is shipping goods to a customer that describes where the goods will arrive. Multiple destinations may be included.

Mapping- The act of determining what pieces of information in the company’s database should be placed into each data element of an EDI message or transaction set, or in reverse, what data elements of an EDI message or transaction set should be placed into the company’s database.

Marketing Automation- Refers to software platforms and technologies designed for marketing departments and organizations to more effectively market on multiple channels online (such as email, social media, websites, etc.) and automate repetitive tasks.

MDN- See Message Definition Notification

Message- A block of information in EDI making up a business transaction, or part of a business transaction.

Message Broker- architectural pattern for message validation, transformation, and routing. It mediates communication among applications, minimizing the mutual awareness that applications should have of each other in order to be able to exchange messages, effectively implementing decoupling

Message Definition Notification- an electronic return receipt which a trading partner can optionally request during an AS2 interchange. The use of MDNs help enforce data integrity and non-repudiation in AS2.

Message Header- The service segment starting and uniquely identifying a message.

Message Queueing- The process of queue of messages sent between applications. It includes a sequence of work objects that are waiting to be processed. A message is the data transported between the sender and the receiver application; it’s essentially a byte array with some headers on top.

Message Structured Diagram- The graphic display of the layout of a message.

Message Trailer- The service segment ending a message.

Message Type- An identified and structured set of data elements covering the requirements for a specified type of transaction, e.g., an invoice.

Message Standards- The system of syntax, data elements, segments and messages (transaction sets) with which EDI will be conducted.

Microservices- a software development technique—a variant of the service-oriented architecture architectural style that structures an application as a collection of loosely coupled services. In a microservices architecture, services are fine-grained and the protocols are lightweight.

Microservices Infrastructure – A composite of various application platform and infrastructure technologies used to build, run, and manage fine-grained distributed application components (Microservices).

Mobile Application Integration (MAI)– The integration of mobile applications with third party systems

MQTT-  See MQ Telemetry Transport

MQ Telemetry Transport (MQTT) – A publish/subscribe, extremely simple and lightweight messaging protocol, designed for constrained devices and low-bandwidth, high-latency or unreliable networks. The design principles are to minimize network bandwidth and device resource requirements whilst also attempting to ensure reliability and some degree of assurance of delivery. These principles also turn out to make the protocol ideal of the emerging “machine-to-machine” (M2M) or “Internet of Things” world of connected devices, and for mobile applications where bandwidth and battery power are at a premium.

 

N

NAK- A form of negative acknowledgment of an error detection in the transmission.

Network Management- Identifies fault, accounting, configuration, security, and performance management.

National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP)- An ANSI-accredited, standards development organization providing healthcare solutions

National Standards Body- The organization in a country that is tasked with keeping the standards for all applications of technology and mechanics for the industry of that country.

NCPDP- See National Council for Prescription Drug Programs

Network- An electronic communications system that links computers together to allow EDI to take place.

Network Service Provider- A company that maintains a network and offers its services and capabilities to others for a fee.

Notification of Shipment- A transaction set that advises of the delivery schedule and provides a description of the shipment.

 

O

Open Applications Group Integration Specification (OAGIS) – OAGIS defines a common content model and common messages for communication between business applications. This includes application-to-application (A2A) and business-to-business (B2B) integration.

OAGIS– See Open Applications Group Integration Specification

OAGIS BOD- An OAGIS Business Object Definition. A BOD is a message container that contains a Noun and a Verb. Noun represents the business function and the verb defines the Action. 

OASIS- Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards. A not-for-profit global consortium that drives the development, convergence and adoption of e-business standards.

Object- Any entity about which we store data and the operations to manipulate that data.

OCR– See Optical Character Recognition

ODETTE-  The Organization for Data Exchange by Tele Transmission in Europe is a group that represents the interests of the automotive industry in Europe. They are the equivalent of the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) in North America. The organization develops tools and recommendations that improve the flow of goods, services product data and business information across the whole automotive value chain. ODETTE has been responsible for developing communications standards such as OFTP and OFTP2.0, constant improvement processes such as Materials Management Operations Guideline / Logistics Evaluation (MMOG/LE) and automotive-specific document standards as defined via the link below.

OFTP- ODETTE File Transfer Protocol. The messaging protocol for the European automotive industry and has been in use since the mid-1980s. OFTP has also seen adoption across the retail, white goods, manufacturing, government, transport, insurance and banking industries to name but a few. The OFTP protocol is very simple to use, consisting of only fourteen commands. The protocol is extremely efficient, allowing large transmission windows to be utilized while incorporating file restart, data compression and security. OFTP has been designed to enable companies to communicate easily via point-to-point connections.

OFTP v2.0– An update on the OFTP protocol which has been designed from the outset to be used over the internet. OFTP2 offers a number of benefits over OFTP including data compression, file encryption and exchange of digital certificates between business partners. OFTP2 enables the handling of very large files (typically Gb in size) and offers support for additional character sets such as Chinese and Japanese. To date, OFTP has been mainly used in Europe, however, as OFTP2 has been designed to operate across the internet, it can help business partners connect to one another all over the world. Many automotive manufacturers in Europe have been deploying OFTP2 since 2008 and it is widely expected to become a standard communications protocol for use across the global automotive industry over the next few years.

Onboarding–  In the context of EDI and B2B integration, onboarding is the process necessary to bring onboard a trading partner to a business process using a defined methodology.  While typically, an onboarding process can be people centric, the process can be optimized with tools.

On time in Full (OTIF)- A supply chain KPI (Key Performance Indicator) measuring if: The expected product has been delivered. The ordered quantity has been delivered. The quality measurement is conformance to the required level.

OpenPEPPOL- a non-profit international association under Belgian law (Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif – AISBL) and consists of both public sector and private members. The association has assumed full responsibility for the development and maintenance of the PEPPOL specifications, building blocks and its services and implementation across Europe. The purpose of OpenPEPPOL is to enable European businesses to easily deal electronically with any European public sector buyers in their procurement processes, thereby increasing opportunities for greater competition for government contracts and providing better value for tax payers’ money.

OpenPGP- The most widely used email encryption standard. It is defined by the OpenPGP Working Group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a Proposed Standard in RFC 4880.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)- electronic conversion of images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned document, a photo of a document, a scene-photo or from subtitle text superimposed on an image.

Orchestration- The automated configuration, coordination, and management of computer systems and software to support a required workflow.

OSI- Open Systems Interconnect. Structure based on seven-layer model developed by ISO, which will allow different computer manufacturers’ machines to communicate with one another.

Open Network- A network with which outside parties can communicate.

OTIF- See On Time in Full

P

P2P– See Procure to Pay

PaaS– see Platform as a Service

Payment Terms- Also called Terms of Sale. Refers to the agreement of payment of invoice between supply-side business partner and demand-side business partner, e.g., Net 30 indicates that the invoice is to be paid within 30 days.

PDF- The Portable Document Format is a file format developed by Adobe in the 1990s to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems.

PEPPOL- A set of artifacts and specifications enabling cross-border eProcurement. The use of PEPPOL is governed by a multi-lateral agreement structure which is owned and maintained by OpenPEPPOL.

PGP- An encryption program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication for data communication. PGP is used for signing, encrypting, and decrypting texts, e-mails, files, directories, and whole disk partitions and to increase the security of e-mail communications.

PIDX- XML document schema used in the Energy industry.

Pilot- The process of testing a part of the final system as a gauge to determine the viability of a concept prior to implementing the system for full production.

Pilot Project- A project conducted between two or more EDI business partners to test the viability of a proposed EDI System.

PIP- Partner Interface Processes. RosettaNet PIPs define business processes between business partners via XML-based dialogs.

PIP Blueprint- A business model that specifies how Partner Roles (buyer, seller, assembler, catalogue publisher, etc.) interactively perform interface activities that collaboratively achieve a business objective. The PIP Blueprint document includes narrative and diagrams.

PIP Choreography- The exchange sequence of Partner Interface Process messages specified using Business Process Specification Schema.

PIP Design and Development Process- A structured process that describes the work and steps required to create a PIP Specification based upon requirements as detailed in the Specification Requirement Document.

PIP in Production– Two business partners using a RosettaNet Partner Interface Process as the business process interface for a live transaction (not in pilot or testing).

PIP Interchange Model– The structure of the exchanged information between business partners in a specific context; content structure described using either Unified Modelling Language or Extensible Markup Language schemas.

PIP Protocols– Technical interface diagrams that visually describe and define the PIP Blueprint.

PIP Specification- Detailed document that provides a definitive description of a system for the purpose of developing or validating the system.

Platform- The type of computer system being used.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) – a category of cloud computing services that provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure typically associated with developing and launching an application.

Point-to-Point– Refers to a type of communication whereby messages are sent directly from one business partner to another without the use of a VAN.

Process Dependencies- interdependence between processes based on information, materials or other resources in specific states, and to describe the influence of time events on the execution of processes

Procure to Pay (P2P)- the process of requisitioning, purchasing, receiving, paying for and accounting for goods and services. It gets its name from the ordered sequence of procurement and financial processes, starting with the first steps of procuring a good or service to the final steps involved in paying for it.

Procurement Networks- a type of business process network: integration as a service tailored with applications to support one or more procurement processes, such as: Purchase to pay, with e-catalog management and purchase order document exchange Supplier information management, with credential document and firmographic data storage E-sourcing, with opportunity listings for suppliers and support for supplier electronic bid submission The defining characteristic of a procurement network is Multi Enterprise integration support that enables suppliers to view information from and participate in processes with multiple buyers, in the same account.

Proof of Work- A computer algorithm that blockchain networks use to ensure the network remains decentralized, and to prevent a computer on the network from building its own version of history.

Proprietary Standard- An industry/company-specific data format developed by a company for transmission of data to and from its business partners. Proprietary formats do not comply with the ASC X12 series of standards.

Proprietary Ordering System- An industry company-specific system that allows a supplier to provide order entry capabilities to its customers.

Protocol- Communication standards that determine message content and format, enabling uniformity of transmissions.

Protocol Conversion- See Protocol Mediation.

Protocol Mediation- The process of enabling two systems with different protocols to communicate.

Pub/Sub- See Publish/Subscribe

Publish/Subscribe- a messaging pattern where senders of messages, called publishers, do not program the messages to be sent directly to specific receivers, called subscribers, but instead categorize published messages into classes without knowledge of which subscribers, if any, there may be. Similarly, subscribers’ express interest in one or more classes and only receive messages that are of interest, without knowledge of which publishers, if any, there are.

Punchout- an e-procurement software application that makes it possible for a buyer to access a supplier’s Web site from within the buyer’s own procurement application. … A vendor catalog that is enhanced for this process is known as a punchout catalog.

Purchase Order- A document issued by a buyer to a seller that details the terms of sale under which the buyer will purchase the seller’s goods.

Purchase Order Acknowledgment- Confirmation to the buyer that the supplier will be filling the purchase order as requested.

Q

Qualifier- Part of an EDI address

Quantum Computing- The use of quantum-mechanical phenomena such as superposition and entanglement to perform computation. A quantum computer is used to perform such computation, which can be implemented theoretically or physically.

R

Ramp- A program of activity to electronically enable a group of business partners to send and receive documents in agreed formats.

RAW data- Raw data refers to data that have not been changed since acquisition. … Editing, cleaning or modifying the raw data results in processed data.

Receiver- The party to whom the EDI message or transaction set is transmitted.

Receiving Advice Transaction- A transaction set that includes the quantity, description and condition of the product received.

Reference Architecture-  A reference architecture comprises a document or set of documents which provide recommended structures and integrations of IT products and services to form a solution. The reference architecture embodies accepted industry best practices, typically suggesting the optimal delivery method for specific technologies.

Registry- A mechanism whereby relevant repository items, and metadata about them, can be registered so that a pointer to their location, and all their metadata, can be retrieved as a result of a query.

Repository- A location or set of distributed locations which hold the data (such as that associated with a product), pointed at by a registry, and from where the data can be retrieved.

REpresentational State Transfer (REST)- An architectural style for providing standards and interoperability between computer systems on the web, making it easier for systems to communicate with each other. REST-compliant systems, often called RESTful systems, are characterized by how they are stateless and separate the concerns of client and server. 

REST– see REpresentational State Transfer

RESTful API- An application program interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. A RESTful API — also referred to as a RESTful web service — is based on representational state transfer (REST) technology, an architectural style and approach to communications often used in web services development.

RFID- Radio Frequency Identification. A technology that allows data held on a microchip to be broadcast using a wireless transmitter. Data from the RFID chip can be read even when the chip is not in line of sight.

RICE– Synonym for Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort. Practice used by product managers to prioritize product roadmap features.

RPA– see Robotic Process Automation

Robotic Process Automation- an emerging form of business process automation technology based on the notion of metaphorical software robots or artificial intelligence (AI) workers. RPA systems develop the action list by watching the user perform that task in the application’s graphical user interface (GUI), and then perform the automation by repeating those tasks directly in the GUI. This can lower the barrier to use of automation in products that might not otherwise feature APIs for this purpose.

RosettaNet- A non-profit consortium dedicated to the collaborative development and rapid deployment of open, business process standards that align processes within the global trading network. More than 700 multinational and regional companies in the high technology, logistics, and adjacent industries, as well as solution providers, participate in RosettaNet’s strategic standards and services development. Fortune 1000 companies worldwide have implemented RosettaNet business process standards. RosettaNet is a subsidiary of GS1 US. To date, the consortium has established several regional affiliate organizations – in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand – giving a voice to various business economies seeking to adopt and influence RosettaNet’s global standards. RosettaNet is also represented locally in Europe. These standards form a common e-business language, aligning processes between supply chain partners on a global basis. The RosettaNet document standard is based on XML and defines message guidelines, business processes interface and implementation frameworks for interactions between companies. Using RosettaNet Partner Interface Processes (PIPs), business partners of all sizes can connect electronically to process transactions and move information within their extended supply chains. Further information about RosettaNet PIP documents can be found from the link below.

S

SCM- See Supply Chain Management

Secure FTP- see SFTP.

Secure Shell (SSH)- A set of standards and an associated network protocol that allows a secure channel to be established between a local and remote computer.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)-  The standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private.

Segment- A part of an EDI message or transaction set, made up of a number of related data elements separated by a delimiter, conveying a part of the business transaction being made.

Segment Code- A code that uniquely identifies each segment as specified in a segment directory.

Segment Delimiter Character- Marks the end of a variable-length segment.

Segment Diagram- The schematic that depicts the format and composition of a segment.

Segment Directory- A listing of the segments unique to the specific system of EDI Standards being used, and usually part of the data dictionary.

Segment Hierarchy- The order of occurrence of segments within a transaction set.

Segment Identifier- A predefined code that identifies the segment.

Segment Name- A name that identifies the segment.

Segment Qualifier- A data element that gives the segment a specific meaning.

Segment Specifications- Distinct attributes of a segment, including structure and content.

Segment Tag- A composite data element, in which the first component data element contains a code that uniquely identifies a segment as specified in the relevant segment directory. Additional component data elements can be conditionally used to indicate the hierarchical level and nesting relationship in a message and the incidence of a segment’s repetition [EDIFACT].

Segment Terminator- A special character that indicates the end of a segment

Self-billing- Customers can generate the invoice themselves and remit payment electronically via EDI.

Self Integrating Applications- Concepts that will enable applications to integrate themselves into an existing application portfolio by using a combination of automated service discovery, metadata extraction and mapping, and machine learning.

Self Service- In context of integration and trading partner management, self service refers to the ability for the paying customer to provide onboarding, configuration, development, and support services on the underlying integration platform provided by a third party solution provider.

Seller- The party in a business transaction who sells goods or services to a buyer for good and valuable consideration.

Sender- The party who transmits the EDI messages.

Sequence Table- A portion of a standard that indicates the possible segments, their sequence, and their attributes for each area of a transaction set.

Service mesh-  A new paradigm that provides containers and microservices-based applications with services that integrated directly from within the compute cluster

Service Oriented Architecture- a style of software design where services are provided to the other components by application components, through a communication protocol over a network. The basic principles of service-oriented architecture are independent of vendors, products and technologies.

SFTP- Simple File Transfer Protocol. A network protocol that provides file transfer and manipulation functionality over any reliable data stream. It is typically used with the SSH-2 protocol to provide secure file transfer. (See also SSH). It was designed as an extension to the Secure Shell protocol (SSH) version 2.0 to provide secure file transfer capability, but it is also intended to be usable with other protocols as well. SFTP can be used in a number of different applications such as secure transfer over Transport Layer Security (TLS) and transfer of management information within VPN applications. This protocol assumes that it is run over a secure channel, such as SSH, that the server has already authenticated the client and that the identity of the client user is available to the protocol.

SFTP Client- software that initiates connections to sftp servers that initiate the “put” or “get” of data files via sftp. The SFTP client can run automatically on sftp infrastructure or initiated from software on an end users computer.

SFTP Server- Infrastructure that serves and manages sftp client connections and data management on the platform.

Shared Visibility Ledgers– Augments point to point communications with a new third party visibility overlay for information and event flows allowing for improved multi party collaboration

Shipment Notification- An EDI transaction sent by the shipper of material to the receiver advising that the shipment has been sent, and providing details such as manifest, PO number, estimated time of arrival, carrier, etc.

Siloed Repositories– also referred to as data siloes. It is a repository of fixed data that remains under the control of one department and is isolated from the rest of the organization. 

Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)- A lightweight XML based protocol for exchanging structured information in a de-centralized, distributed environment, defined by the W3C.

Simple data elements- A data element containing a single value.

Smart Contracts- Self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller being directly written into lines of code. The code and the agreements contained therein exist across a distributed, decentralized blockchain network.

SMTP- Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. The protocol that is most commonly used for transferring email between servers over the internet.

SOA- See Service Oriented Architecture

SOAP- See Simple Object Access Protocol  

SOAP Server- Infrastructure that can handle and support SOAP Messaging Protocol layer of a web services protocol stack for web services.

SOC 2- A report based on American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) existing Trust Services principles and criteria. The purpose of the SOC 2 report is to evaluate an organization’s information systems relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, and confidentiality or privacy.

Software- The programs residing on disk, tape, or other storage media used by the computer to accomplish its tasks.

Specification Builder– A tool that allows a business user to create the EDI guidelines with associated segment, elements, data, and associated business requirements needs by the business and required by the trading partners of a business.

Spreadsheet- an interactive computer application for organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in cells of a table.

Spreadsheet as a Platform- A platform built on Spreadsheet technology that enables users to build collaborative work and process applications, dashboards, and real time analytics.

Spoke- EDI term that refers to a business partner, usually a supplier to a buyer company (known as a Hub).

SSH- See Secure Shell. A set of standards and an associated network protocol that allows a secure channel to be established between a local and remote computer.

SSL- See Secure Sockets Layer

Standards- Something established for use as a rule or basis of comparison. In the context of EDI, this usually refers to the system of message standards that are in use between business partners.

Standards Body- A committee, usually made up of representatives of the users of a given Standard, and either accepted by industry or charged by a government to maintain the Standards in question.

Standards, Proprietary- Those systems of EDI messages that are developed by the business partners themselves for a specific application, and do not fit in any of the systems of Standards developed by any of the accepted Standards Bodies around the world.

Standards, Public- Those systems of EDI messages that are prepared and published by or through the accepted Standards Bodies around the world.

Standards Validation- In the context of EDI standards, this term refers to the assurance that the standards are validated during data transformation run time with non-compliance errors identified that could cause error or rejects.

Store and Forward- A type of messaging and mailbox service that allows an EDI transmission to be forwarded when convenient to the sender and transmitted immediately to the recipient.

Store and Retrieve- Usually used in conjunction with a mail box system; provides for the storage of a message transmission until the intended receiver accesses the system and retrieves the message.

Supply Chain- A supply chain is the network of all the individuals, organizations, resources, activities and technology involved in the creation and sale of a product, from the delivery of source materials from the supplier to the manufacturer, through to its eventual delivery to the end user.

Supplier Management-  is the discipline of strategically planning for, and managing, all interactions with third party organizations that supply goods and/or services to an organization in order to maximize the value of those interactions

Supply Chain Management (SCM)- In commerce, supply chain management, the management of the flow of goods and services, involves the movement and storage of raw materials, of work-in-process inventory, and of finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption

Synchronous- In synchronous communication, a sending application sends a request to a receiving application and must wait for a reply before it can continue with its processing. This pattern is typically used in scenarios where data requests need to be coordinated in a sequential manner.

SWIFT- The Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication was formed in 1973 and is headquartered in Brussels. SWIFT operates a worldwide financial messaging network which exchanges messages between banks and financial institutions. SWIFT also markets software and services to financial institutions, much of it for use on the SWIFTNet Network. SWIFTNet is the infrastructure used to exchange these documents and FIN, InterAct and FileAct are used to encode the SWIFT documents for transmission. The majority of interbank messages use the SWIFT network. As of November 2008, SWIFT linked 8740 financial institutions across 209 countries. The SWIFT document standard is split into four areas, Payments, Trade Services, Securities and Trading.

Syntax- The system for arranging data elements and segments within an EDI message or transaction set, as dictated by the Message or Transaction Set Standards being used.

T

Tag- The unique identifier used with segment and data elements.

TCP/IP- Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Network protocol for the internet.

TDCC- Transportation Data Coordinating Committee. This is the original EDI organization for the United States. Through its efforts, the first EDI Standards were developed, published, and maintained. It is now EDIA, and has become the national EDI user group for the United States.

TDI- Trading Data Interchange. Abbreviation for EDI common in Europe.

Telematics– A method of monitoring a vehicle, such as shipping fleet. By combining a GPS system with on-board diagnostics it’s possible to record – and map – exactly where a car is and how fast it’s traveling, and cross reference that with how a truck is behaving internally. With a telematics platform, everything from fuel consumption to current speed and location can be viewed on a central dashboard.

Third-party-  A party other than the sender or receiver, such as an EDI Network or Managed Services Provider or software developer, that provides goods or services.

Time to Value (TTV)- is the amount of time it takes a customer to realize value from a product or solution.

TLS- See Transport Layer Security

TMS- See Transportation Management System

Trading Partner- The entity with which EDI business documents are exchanged. This may be either the sender or the receiver of information in EDI.

Trading Partner Onboarding- The process and methods to enable an EDI integration initiative between businesses.

Tradacoms- UK EDI standard developed by GS1 (when GS1 was a different entity called ANA). This is an early standard for EDI and was primarily used in the UK retail sector. It was originally introduced in 1982 as an implementation of the UN/GTDI syntax, one of the precursors of EDIFACT, and was maintained and extended by the UK Article Numbering Association, now called GS1 UK. The standard is more or less obsolescent since the development of it effectively ceased in 1995 in favor of the EDIFACT EANCOM subsets. Despite this it has proved durable and the majority of the retail EDI traffic in the UK still uses it today.

Trailer- The specific segment that in simplest terms, tells the receiving computer where an individual EDI message ends.

Transaction Level Acknowledgment- Acknowledgment of receipt and totality of data in a transmission of a functional group or individual transaction set.

Transaction Set- A block of information in EDI, making up a business transaction or part of a business transaction. Outside North America, this is normally called a message.

Transaction set ID- An identifier that uniquely identifies the transaction set. This identifier is the first data element of the transaction set header segment.

Transaction Set Diagram- A graphic presentation in a valid transaction that specifies the sequence of segment order.

Transaction Set Header Area- Contains segment information pertinent to the total transaction set.

Transaction Set Header Segment- Signifies the beginning of a transaction set.

Transaction Set Level- The processing of a transaction set, including sending and receiving.

Transaction Set Line Item Area- Encompasses the actual business transaction set and includes information, such as quantities, descriptions and prices.

Transaction Set Standards- The system of syntax, data elements, segments, and transaction sets (messages) with which EDI will be conducted.

Transaction Set Summary Area- Contains control information and other data that relate to the total transaction.

Transaction Set Trailer Segment- Signifies the end of a transaction set.

Translation- The process of converting information to and from EDI standard formats.

Translator- A program used to convert information from flat file to EDI format, or from EDI format to flat file.

Transmission Acknowledgment- The acknowledgment that a total transmission was received with no error detected.

Transmission Group- A collection of one or more functional groups. Also known as an Interchange.

Transport Layer Security (TLS)– An updated more secure version of SSL. A cryptographic protocol designed to provide communications security over a computer network. Several versions of the protocols find widespread use in applications such as web browsing, email, instant messaging, and voice over IP.

Transportation Management System (TMS)–  A transportation management system (TMS) is a subset of supply chain management (SCM) that deals with the planning, execution and optimization of the physical movements of goods. In simpler terms, it’s a logistics platform that enables users to manage and optimize the daily operations of their transportation fleets. Helps organizations move inbound — procurement — and outbound — shipment — freight using tools such as route planning and optimization, load building, operations execution, freight audit and payment, yard management, order visibility, and carrier management. The ultimate goals of using a TMS are to improve shipment efficiency, reduce costs, gain real-time supply chain visibility and enhance customer service.

TTV– see Time to Value

U

UBL- See Universal Business Language

Universal Business Language (UBL)-  open library of standard electronic XML business documents for procurement and transportation such as purchase orders, invoices, transport logistics and waybills. UBL was developed by an OASIS Technical Committee with participation from a variety of industry data standards organizations. 

UCC- The Uniform Code Council. The organization that oversees the standards for product identification and related electronic communications. The UCC oversaw the Universal Product Code (UPC) in the United States – now superseded by GTINs – as well as Uniform Communication Standards (UCS) for EDI in the grocery industry and Warehouse Information Network Standards (WINS) in the warehousing and transportation industry.

UCS- A subset of the ANSI X12 EDI standard.

UDDI- See Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration 

UN/CEFACT- The United Nations Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business. It supports activities dedicated to improving the ability of business, trade and administrative organizations to exchange products and services effectively.

Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI)- A XML-based registry for businesses worldwide to list themselves on the internet.

User- An entity, either an individual or a company, who utilizes a computer or system of standards for a specific purpose like EDI.

User Group- An organization of individuals and/or companies who come together to deal with the needs of those who wish to employ a technique or technology in a unified manner. User groups are discussion organizations.

V

Validation- The process of determining that compliance standards have been met by a particular document in an EDI transmission.

Value-Added Network (VAN) – Often abbreviated as VAN and today called an EDI Network Services Provider, a third-party entity which handles the electronic exchange of information between subscribers to its services. Services provided by VANs include electronic mailboxing of EDI transmissions, protocol and speed conversion, and EDI record keeping for audit tracking.

VAN- See Value-Added Network.

Variable-Length File- A file with segments containing data elements that can vary between minimum and maximum requirements, but which have no set fixed length. A data element delimiter is required to mark the end of the element and a segment delimiter character is needed to mark the end of the segment.

VDA-  This organization develops standards and best practices to serve the needs of companies within the German automotive industry. The VDA has developed over thirty messages to meet the need of companies such as VW, Audi, Bosch, Continental and Daimler AG. .

Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI)- A system of inventory replenishment in which the vendor accepts responsibility for maintaining customer’s inventory levels of the vendor’s products by monitoring POS and inventory information sent by the customer. This is usually automated through EDI to achieve as smooth a flow of replenishment as possible.

Version/Release- Identifies the publication of the standard being used for the generation or the interpretation of data in the X12 standard format.

VICS- Voluntary Inter-industry Commerce Solutions Association –The Voluntary Inter-industry Commerce Standard is used by the general merchandise retail industry across North America. It is a subset of the ANSI ASC X12 national standard. VICS EDI is being utilized by thousands of companies, department and specialty retail stores, mass merchandisers and their respective suppliers. In 1988 GS1 US became the management and administrative body for VICS EDI. GS1 US also manages the ASC X12 derived Uniform Communication Standard (UCS) for the grocery industry and Industrial/Commercial Standard (I/C) for the industrial sector.

Virtual Private Network- Extension of a private network across a public network that enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network

VMI- See Vendor Managed Inventory

VPN- See Virtual Private Network

W

Warehouse Information Network Standards (WINS)- A set of EDI standards for warehousing and distribution. WINS is a subset of the ANSI X12 national standard.

Warehouse Management System- software and processes that allow organizations to control and administer warehouse operations from the time goods or materials enter a warehouse (replenishment) until they move out(fulfillment)

 W3C- The usual abbreviation for the World Wide Web Consortium.

Web EDI- Also referred to as WebEDI. Web EDI is a form of Document Exchange of Business Transactions Using Web Forms. This includes solutions where trading partners logon to a portal (web application) to receive transactions from there customer or provide inputs of commercial transactional information into a form on a website using an internet browser. This method requires a  manual intervention. Web EDI solutions are typically introduced to low volume long tail partners or partners that do not have an EDI capability

Web Services- A standard means of interoperating between different software applications, running on a variety of platforms and frameworks over the Internet.

Web Services Description Language (WSDL)– an XML format for describing network services as a set of endpoints operating on messages containing either document-oriented or procedure-oriented information. The operations and messages are described abstractly, and then bound to a concrete network protocol and message format to define an endpoint

Web Services Interoperability- An open industry organization chartered to promote Web Services interoperability across platforms, operating systems, and programming languages. The organization works across the industry and standards organizations to respond to customer needs by providing guidance, best practices, and resources for developing Web Services solutions.

WINS- See Warehouse Information Network Standards

WMS- See Warehouse Management System

World Wide Web Consortium- the body that defines standards (such as HTTP) for the internet.

WSDL- See Web Services Description Language

X

X25– X.25 is a Network protocol. An X.25 WAN consists of packet-switching exchange nodes as the networking hardware, and leased lines, plain old telephone service connections, or ISDN connections as physical links. Still widely used.

X400- X.400 is a Network protocol. Early email system popular in Europe. At one time, the designers of X.400 were expecting it to be the predominant form of email, but this role has been taken by the SMTP-based Internet e-mail- however, this protocol is still widely used as a protocol for EDI transmissions for Retail industry across Europe

X500- Directory services standard. The X.500 series was developed by the Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-T), ITU-T formerly known as the Consultative Committee for International Telephony and Telegraphy (CCITT)

XML- The usual abbreviation for Extensible Markup Language – an open standard for describing data defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). XML is a markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable.