EDI&IDOC

[Former Member]

Hi all,

what is the difference between EDI&IDOC

[Former Member]

Hi,

IDoc stands for Intermediate Document which are the medium of data transfer.

The Basic ALE configuration settings

->Creation of Logical system(BD54)

->Assignment of client to the logical system(SCC4)

->Creation of RFC Destination(SM59)

->Creation of port(WE21)

->Creation of Partner Profile(WE20)

->Distribution Model(BD64)

Thanks

Krithika

[Former Member]

Hi,

EDI is a communication technology for interacting with 3rd party (or 3rd party softwares). where as IDoc is medium to communicate/IDOC carries the application data.

Simple words, EDI creates the environment and IDoc uses that environment.

Regards

Satya

[Former Member]

Hi siva,

EDI:Electronic data interchange(EDI) is the inter-organisational exchange of business documents in structured, machine processable form.Electronic data Interchange can be used to electronically transmit documents such as purchase orders, invoices, shipping bills, receiving advices and other standard business correspondence between trading partners. EDI can also be used to transmit financial information and payments in electronic form. Payments carried out over EDI are usually referred to as Electro- nic Funds Transfer (EFT).EDI should not be viewed as simply a way of replacing paper documents and traditional methods of tran- smission such as mail,phone or in-person delivery with electronic transmission. But it should be seen not as an "end" but as a means to streamline procedures and improving efficiency and productivity.

Computers have speeded up the production of invoices, purchase orders, receiving tickets and the like. When these documents are produced by high speed printers, however, they still must be bursted,inserted and distributed(usually mailed) and copies must be filed by the originating organisation. The originals must be physically transported to the addresse,opened, carried to the appropriate individual within the addresse organization and processed,which actually means manually keying the data into an MIS system.

In EDI,in the place of traditional methods for the transmission of for e.g. a purshase order between a buyer and a seller,data is en- tered into the buyer's computer system, the same data is electro- nically sent into the seller's computer without the need for rekeying or reentry. This is normally referred to as application -to-application EDI.When EDI is fully integrated with application programs, not only does data flow electronically between trading partners without the need for rekeying,but data also flows elec- tronically between internal applications of each of the trading partners.

The use of EDI eliminates many of these problems associated with traditional information flow, as listed below.

-The delays associated with handling, filing and transportation of paper documents are eliminated.

-Since data is keyed in only once the chances of error are reduced.

-Time required to re-enter data is saved.

-As data is not re-entered at each step in the process, labour costs can be reduced.

-Because time delays are reduced,there is more certainty in information flow.The other advantage in the use of EDI is that it generates a functional acknowledgement whenever an EDI message is received and it is electronically transmitted to the sender. This states that the message has been recieved. Therefore the core concept of EDI is that data is transferreed electronically in machine processable form.EDI is often applied in the follow- ing situations when there are

-A large number of repetitive standard actions

-Very tight operating margins

-Strong competition requiring significant productivity improvements.

-Operational time constraints.

It is this kind of computerisation which is forcing India as a country to adopt EDI technology for international transactions. In India, NIC offers EDI services over its satellite based computer communication network called NICNET, with its VSAT reach in every district of the country on the one hand and connectivity to a large number of international networks on the other.

IDOC - Stands for Intermediate documents.

The purpose of the IDOC to carry the information from one

system to the other system(Remote system)

For example : A delivery note trigger in the SAP should be

udpated in the wearhouse system (Remote place). Which may

be a non-sap system.

When an idoc is triggered from SAP. The data of the

delivery note will be carried in the Data Record

(Structure/Segments),

From and to address will be there in the control record.

Status record holds the status (Once the remote system

receives the IDOC) the status is updated in this area.

Thanks,

Swamy H P

[Former Member]

Hi Siva shankar,

EDI is nothing but Electronic data interchange. SAP will support EDI through Intermediate documents (IDOCS).

EDI (Electronic Document interchange) - EDI is the electronic exchange of business documents between the computer systems of business partners, using a standard format over a communication network.

EDI is also called paperless exchange.

Advantages:

Reduced Data entry errors

Reduced processing time

Availabilty of data in electonic form

Reduced paperwork

Reduced Cost

Reduced inventories and better planning

Standard means of communications

Better business process

EDI has two process

1. Outbound process

2. Inbound process

OP:

1.Application document is created.

2.IDOC is generated

3.IDoc is transferred from SAP to Operating system layer

4.Idoc is converted into EDI standards

5.Edi document is transmitted to the business partner

6.The Edi Subsystem report status to SAP

IP:

1.EDI transmission received

2.EDI document is converted into an IDOC

3.IDOC is transferred to the SAP layer

4.The application document is created

5.The application document can be viewed.

IDOC:

IDOC is a container that can be used to exchange data between any two process.

Each iDoc is assigned a unique number for tracking and future reference.

iDoc Consist of several segments,and segments contain several fields.

iDoc contains the following three type of records...

1.One Control Record.

2.One or many Data Record

3.One or many Status record.

PORT:

Port is used in the outbound process to determine the name of the EDI subsystem program,the directory path where the idoc file will be created at the operating system level,the idoc file names and the rfc desinations.

RFC Destination:

Used to define the characteristics of communication links to a remote system on which a functions needs to be executed.

Partner Profile:

Partner profile specified the various componets used in an outbound process ( Partner number,IDoc type,message type,Port,Process code),the mode in which it communicates with the subsystem(batch or immediate) and the person to be notified in case of errors.

Message Control

Used in pricing,account determination,material determination,and output determination.The message control component enables you to encapsulate business rules with out having to write abap programs.

Process:

Setup RFC destinations SM59

Port Destinations WE21

Partner Profile WE20

Message control NACE

Purchase Order ME21

Check IDOCs WE02,WE05

Some further data on IDOC s is:

IDoc (for intermediate document) is a standard data structure for electronic data interchange (EDI) 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.

IDocs are used for asynchronous transactions: Each IDoc generated exists as a self-contained text file that can then be transmitted to the requesting workstation without connecting to the central database.

Another SAP mechanism, the Business Application Programming Interface (BAPI) is used for synchronous transactions.

A large enterprise's networked computing environment is likely to connect many geographically distributed computers to the main database. These computers are likely to use different hardware and/or operating system platforms. An IDoc encapsulates data so that it can be exchanged between different systems without conversion from one format to another.

IDoc types define different categories of data, such as purchase orders or invoices, which may then be broken down into more specific categories called message types. Greater specificity means that an IDoc type is capable of storing only the data required for a particular transaction, which increases efficiency and decreases resource demands.

An IDoc can be generated at any point in a transaction process. For example, during a shipping transaction process, an IDoc may be generated that includes the data fields required to print a shipping manifest. After a user performs an SAP transaction, one or more IDocs are generated in the sending database and passed to the ALE communication layer. The communication

layer performs a Remote Function Call (RFC), using the port definition and RFC destination specified by the customer model.

The IDoc is transmitted to the receiver, which may be an R/3, R/2, or some external system.

Regards,

Krishna.