The development of an EDI system

Electronic data interchange is examined as a means of engineering the flow of information and control between trading organisations. Many existing applications of electronic data interchange are concerned with the simple replacement of paper communication but, by the imaginative marshalling of human and technical resources, the technique can simplify trading relationships and support new styles of operating, such as just-in-time supply. The author discusses the technical components of EDI and an installation architecture, basic EDI implementations an EDI-based trading model and implementation in the automobile industry