EDI standards
Document standards define what you exchange; protocols define how payloads move between systems. The landscape spans regional syntaxes, industry guides, and modern XML or API-oriented profiles.
ANSI ASC X12
In 1979 ANSI chartered ASC X12 to develop uniform standards for inter-industry electronic business transactions. Originally focused on North America, X12 is now used globally by hundreds of thousands of organizations daily. ASC X12 also contributes to UN/EDIFACT messages used outside the United States.
EANCOM / GS1 EANCOM
EANCOM was conceived in 1987 as a UN/EDIFACT subset maintained by GS1, with richer detail than legacy TRADACOMS. It began in retail and expanded to healthcare, construction, publishing, and more. EANCOM combines GS1 identification (trade items, logistics units, GLNs) with EDIFACT syntax.
UN/EDIFACT
United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport is the international standard developed by the UN, maintained via UN/CEFACT. EDIFACT provides syntax rules, an interactive exchange protocol, and standard messages for multi-country, multi-industry document exchange — especially prevalent in Europe, with mixed adoption in Asia-Pacific alongside XML-centric standards.
HIPAA
The U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (1996) established national standards for electronic healthcare transactions and identifiers. HIPAA EDI sets build on X12 to improve efficiency across the North American healthcare system.
ODETTE
The European automotive data-exchange group (parallel to AIAG in North America) develops recommendations, OFTP/OFTP2 transport standards, MMOG/LE processes, and automotive-specific EDI guidelines.
RosettaNet
A consortium-driven XML standard for high-tech and adjacent supply chains: Partner Interface Processes (PIPs), implementation frameworks, and global process alignment.
SWIFT
Financial messaging between institutions worldwide, with SWIFTNet and message families (e.g. FIN, InterAct, FileAct) for payments, trade services, securities, and trading.
TRADACOMS (legacy)
Early UK retail EDI (1982) from UN/GTDI roots, extended by GS1 UK. GS1 UK ended TRADACOMS support in July 2017; new implementations should use EANCOM, GS1 XML, or UN/CEFACT XML profiles.
VDA
German automotive industry messages used by OEMs and suppliers (VW, Audi, Bosch, Continental, Daimler, and others).
PEPPOL
Specifications and governance for cross-border e-procurement — not a single procurement platform. PEPPOL enables standards-based documents (orders, ASNs, invoices, catalogs, MLRs) over a four-corner access-point model (“connect once, connect to all”).
OAGIS (OAGI)
Open Applications Group Interface Specification — XML Business Object Documents (BODs) for supply-chain and enterprise interoperability, used by major ERP vendors and large enterprises.
EDIGAS
European gas-industry EDI: migrated from proprietary GASNET to EDIFACT-based message groups for operational data between dispatching centers.
HL7 & FHIR
HL7 defines healthcare information exchange; FHIR is a modern, web-friendly specification for interoperable healthcare data, usable alone or alongside HL7 v2/v3 and CDA.
IATA Cargo
Cargo-IMP (legacy, support ended 2014 but still present) and Cargo-XML for airline–stakeholder messaging across customs, security, and operations.
Protocols
Protocols carry the payload; standards define what the payload means. Common B2B transports include:
- EDIINT AS1 — SMTP + S/MIME; signing, encryption, MDNs.
- EDIINT AS2 — HTTP/HTTPS; dominant point-to-point internet EDI. See What is AS2?
- EDIINT AS3 — FTP-based; S/MIME; MDNs; useful where FTP investments are deep (e.g. banking).
- EDIINT AS4 — Web services / ebMS. See What is AS4?
- SFTP / SSH — Encrypted file exchange over SSH (not the same as FTPS).
- ebXML Messaging (EBMS) — Secure, reliable SOAP-oriented packaging and routing.
- HTTP / HTTPS — General web transfer; HTTPS adds TLS.
- REST / APIs — Resource-oriented patterns using HTTP verbs (GET/POST/PUT/DELETE).
- FTP / FTPS — Classic file transfer; FTPS adds TLS (distinct from SFTP).
- SMTP — Email transfer between servers (often secured with TLS in practice).
- RNIF — RosettaNet packaging and routing for PIPs.
- MQTT / JMS / message queues — Pub/sub and asynchronous middleware patterns common in IoT and enterprise integration.