EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is an electronic trade tool developed in the 1980s. There is no unified standard for the definition of EDI. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) describes EDI as: the electronic transmission of trade (commercial) or administrative affairs from computer to computer in a structured transaction processing or information data format according to a recognized standard. The International Telecommunication Union defines EDI as: the structured transaction data exchange from computer to computer. The definition of EDI given by the United Nations Standardization Committee and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is as follows: EDI is the process of automatic transmission and automatic processing of structured and standardized business information between user computer systems.
EDI includes three aspects, namely computer application, communication network environment and data standardization. Among them, computer application is the condition of EDI, communication network environment is the basis of EDI application, and data standardization is the characteristic of EDI. These three aspects are interconnected and interdependent, forming the basic framework of EDI. Since EDI greatly reduces the use of paper bills in business activities, it is often called “paperless trade” or “paperless transaction”.
From the perspective of the scope involved, EDI e-commerce and Internet e-commerce are two different concepts. EDI e-commerce generally forms and transmits transaction processing and message “document messages” with a certain format. Internet e-commerce is based on computer networks, including the entire process from sales, marketing to information management. Any business activities that can use computer networks to speed up business processing, reduce business costs, create business value, and open up business opportunities can be included in the scope of Internet e-commerce. In this sense, the scope of application of Internet e-commerce is far greater than EDI e-commerce. For electronic information with both pictures and texts, traditional EDI is far from enough, so new technologies are constantly emerging, integrating EDI technology and Internet technology to make the functions more powerful.