Implement EDI with BizTalk

Question

Our company is currently thinking to implement EDI in BizTalk, which we didn't use before. We have several dropship suppliers/vendors. We receive their products information, a flat document/spreadsheet and we process the document and then we sell those products on our website.

My question is:

1. how easily that we can implement EDI and BizTalk?
2. Does it require all our vendors install BizTalk Server?
3. We currently have standard for the product file. How can we set up new specification with our vendors?
4. After all configurations are done in BizTalk, is there any other on-goning thing we need to perform? Like, write an extra processor, etc

Cheers, Ray

Answer 1

EDI handling in BizTalk is similar to the flat file handling - the core functionality of it help you parse EDI messages and transform these to XML (as you know is what BizTalk works with internally). It also helps you go from XML and generate an EDI message that one can then send. BizTalk EDI package also has a lots of EDI schemas so one doesn't have to build these manually but can reuse the one that matches the version etc currently required.

Theres also some functionality in the to manage parties and configuration for these (received id, difference in EDI formating etc, etc). This management simplifies adding and changing specific party settings without having to change/compile/deploy the core process.

Answers to your questions

1. Implementing EDI isn't hard. It's good to have a fundamental understanding of the syntax and understand the EDI messages in detail - this is probalby the the hardest ;)
2. No, no. You just receive and send EDI. How you and you vendoes etc handle these is then up to each party.
3. When working with EDI it good to start with standard documents/specification for the processes being implemented. There's multiple placese (here for example) that will publish these kind of standards. It's usally then a good idea to change this document by removing or adding to it to better fit once exact requirements. This is then the specification you and you parties should commit to when sending and receiving messages from each other.
4. Nope.

Answer 2

Why BizTalk? I think there are better solutions out there that would be cheaper, as well as less resource intensive. My understanding is that BizTalk requires many adapters as well as a deep understanding of the .NET framework.

You could just as easily invest in a very slick drag/drop universal mapper from a company like Liaison (see their Delta and ECS products), and take a more "rapid development" approach.

When I think about EDI software, BizTalk is usually an afterthought. Companies like Liaison (formerly Softshare), Sterling Commerce, Extol, Inovis/GXS, Tie Commerce, SPS (for managed hosting) come to the forefront.

If you already have (purchased) BizTalk in house, then it makes sense to go down that path. I would recommend if you're going to look at a lot of EDI data, that you download EDI Notepad. It is a free application that is for editing / reviewing EDI data. It can be found here: http://liaison.com/products/integrate/edi-notepad

Keep in mind that EDI follows a "standard". The quotes are there for sarcasm. You will find your partners will take liberties with the standards. While some might consider EDI "easy", please be aware there are a lot of potential minefields with this type of integration.