XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a versatile format for structuring and exchanging data between diverse systems and applications.

Tag Archive for: XML

API Web Service for EDI X12 exchange – Discover the advantages

This post was updated to reflect current trends and information.

API Web Service for EDI X12 exchange – Discover the advantages

For over 20 years, we have been working with EDI, integrating systems and helping companies of all sizes, in their digital transformation journey. We have been writing extensively and covering hot topics about EDI integration with e-commerce such as Shopify, Amazon and other eCommerce platforms, or EDI for drop-ship business, or EDI Integration with Salesforce and other different CRM and ERP system.

We have extensive knowledge in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), and we share our knowledge by writing a large number of articles in our Blog ; we take up questions from our readers and contacts, related to different EDI topics, including types of EDI messages , EDI Standards and we try to respond to those in our blog.

In this article, there is an important topic I want to expand on: it is our EDI2XML API service, to translate EDI to XML (and vice versa) through our Http/https/httpss REST Web Service; This service we launched last year, and it is gaining success and popularity, mainly within the community of CTOs, Integrators and Developers who are looking for ways to include EDI messages processing, as part of their ESB (enterprise service bus) integration projects, in a corporate environment heavily connected using SOA (or service-oriented architecture).

What is EDI2XML Web Service?

EDI2XML Web Service, is an HTTP/HTTPS/HTTPSS service running over the internet, on EDIXML own platform that is capable of receiving HTTP/HTTPS/HTTPSS requests to translate EDI messages to XML, and XML messages (based on EDI2XML’s proprietary format) to EDI. The principles of the mechanism of EDI2XML Web Service is schematically illustrated in the figure below.

EDI2XML Web Service: Who is it for?

EDI2XML Web Service is for developers and businesses, interested in building their own EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) integration flows and programs. Normally, these individuals, are capable of interacting with external API and Web Services to translate EDI to XML and XML to EDI, and have the resources and expertise to work with Web Services and HTTP/HTTPS/HTTPSS requests in order to achieve their goals. EDI2XML web service is the premier choice for IT people as a reliable service to accomplish such Integration projects.

How much time does it take to get started with EDI2XML Web Service?

In order to access EDI2XML Web Service, and start taking advantage of our HTTP/HTTPS service in your EDI integration projects, we require that you fill the form on our EDI2XML website.

Getting started with EDI2XML Web Service, is very simple and quick. Within less than an hour, you can issue the first Call to the Web Service and see the response.

Our Web Service is very well documented and instructions are provided with each subscription. The instructions on how to get started are very straight forward and simple to follow. We provide detailed instructions and screenshots.

For a junior developer who is able to follow instructions, he can see results within less than an hour, just by following instructions from our quick start guide.

Moreover, we offer a 30 minutes courtesy technical call, for every new subscriber.

Is there any limitation with EDI2XML Web Service?

Access to our EDI2XML Web Service is unlimited and There are no limits for http/https calls. EDI2XML format supports currently the most commonly used EDI formats in North America: X12 and EDIFACT. You can check supported EDI transactions listed on our website. In case a transaction you are looking for is not on the list, we can simply just add it and activate into the service at no additional fee.

What is the XML format returned and expected by EDI2XML Web Service?

When Translating from EDI to XML, our EDI2XML Web service will generate a “proprietary” XML format we call it “EDI2XML format”. This is a very structured format where we do provide also the corresponding schemas (.xsd) for each transaction, in order to ease developer’s lives.

When translating from XML to EDI, EDI2XML expects a proprietary XML format, which we do provide the schemas (.xsd).

Does EDI2XML Web Service support Https?

EDI2XML API service supports http and https REST calls. We do realize how important is to transmit EDI information on a public tunnel such as the internet, with full security, when calling our EDI2XML web service.

Advantages of using EDI2XML HTTP/HTTPS service:

  • Get started with less than an hour
  • No contract: pay as you go
  • Very simple and dynamic pricing scheme
  • Availability and reliability
  • Based on proven technology in the field for over 18 years now
  • Outstanding technical support
  • Self-service solution
  • Cloud based
  • Low cost
  • Quick entry: you can be up and running in less than an hour, since we provide everything an integrator/developer needs to get started. We provide java client with its source code and instructions on how to try it.
  • Free trial for [15] days, with no commitment.

EDI Consultancy

We do offer EDI projects consultancy. We help companies plan, deploy, test and integrate EDI projects. You can simply call us (450) 68-3009 Ext 223 or write us sales@namtek.ca if you need any EDI consulting work. We have a proven 20+ years of experience in EDI and integration projects.

EDI Web Service for edi integration

Integration with Amazon Web Services (MWS): Things you should know

This post was updated to reflect current trends and information.

This article explains high level details about integration with Amazon Marketplace Web Service (MWS); it covers key Amazon MWS features and process of Amazon order.

What is Amazon MWS?

 

As per the definition on Amazon’s developer’s website: “Amazon Marketplace Web Service (or Amazon MWS) is an integrated web service API that helps Amazon sellers to programmatically exchange data on listings, orders, payments, reports and more.”

In different words, Amazon MWS, is an integration API, based on XML files exchange, provided by Amazon, and can be leveraged and used by Sellers subscribed to sell their products and services on Amazon eCommerce platform, directly while having “Amazon professional account”.

Let’s deep dive into the more details about MWS of Amazon, little about its architecture, its capabilities and its use

What is XML?

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a standard defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).  XML uses tags (identifiers enclosed in parentheses, for example, <note>) to mark content in text documents. These tags called “markup”, can be read by people and computers.  This is a simple XML example:

Simple-XML-exampleThe XML language has no predefined tags. In an XML document, the markup is very similar to the HTML markup (Hypertext Markup Language), but there are some important differences because XML and HTML were designed with different goals:

  • XML was designed to transfer data – with an emphasis on what data is
  • HTML was designed to display data – with focus on how data looks
  • XML tags are not predefined as opposed to HTML.

The tags in the example above (like <to> and <from>) are not defined in any XML standard. These tags are “created” by the writer of the XML document. While HTML works with predefined tags like <p>, <h1>, <table>, etc.

 Why Use XML?

Most API gateways, use some sort of XML data exchange. This is not different for Amazon’s API, since it permits to integrate a company’s business systems with Amazon’s eCommerce platform. The integration with Amazon happens through predefined API calls (application programming interfaces), whether to send documents or retrieve documents from Amazon systems. It is much more efficient and convenient exchange data using XML, especially, in a case when we have a large amount of data.

Using Amazon Marketplace Web Service (Amazon MWS)

As previously stated, MWS is a web service API provided by Amazon, to help Amazon sellers to programmatically and automatically, exchange data on listings, orders, payments, reports, and more. Such an automatic integration with Amazon, can certainly help sellers to improve their business.

Amazon MWS provides the following features:

  • Inventory management
  • Order management
  • Reports management

There are no fees to use Amazon MWS, but to use it you have to be a Professional Seller.

MWS XML feeds

Data exchanged with Amazon MWS, is sent through what is called “Feeds”, or “XML feeds” since it is sent systematically to the API for processing. “XML feeds” are based on pre-defined XML schemas or xsd (XML Schema Definitions).

Each XML feed (or message), contains data about different key information required by the Amazon MWS API to be able to process it.

XML feed to send catalog information

There are six feeds to upload and manage products on Amazon:

1. Product – this is the first feed to build, in order to register new products on Amazon’s eCommerce platform. This feed, contains descriptive information about the items in your catalog. This feed, will help establish the mapping between the unique identifier (SKU) of the seller and Amazon’s unique identifier of the same SKU (the ASIN: Amazon Standard Identification Number).

2. Inventory – this feed, is to report the current stock levels of the products you have on Amazon.

3. Pricing – to populate and refresh prices of your products, whether the regular prices or temporary (sale) prices.

4. Image – to provide the URLs from where Amazon can associate the image to the SKU or item.

5. Relationship – Defines relationships between different items in your catalog. There are two types of relationships:

     a) Variation – this is the most common type of relationship. Allows customers to select from a list of variations of the same product. For example, a t-shirt can be in a       different sizes and different colors. The main item (parent SKU) is the type of t-shirt in general. Parent SKU is not buyable and there is no size, color, quantity or price. The   variations (child SKUs) have different combinations of size and color, therefore can be sold. (See the diagram below.)

Amazon-parent SKU

     b) Accessory – It means that customers can choose products classified as accessories to the main item. For example, a drill can have screws, listed as accessories.

Amazon-feed-Accessory

6. Overrides – Allows you to override the account-level shipping settings with SKU-level shipping settings. This is a good option for a weighty or oversized product such as a bicycle or kayak.

Amazon’s Order Management Process

In addition to the feed to create products on Amazon, a significant importance goes to another important XML feed: “order management”.

When a buyer places an order on Amazon, the quantity ordered decreases the quantity available in stock, in the seller account.

To confirm the transaction, Amazon puts the order in a 90-minute waiting period. During this time, the client receives an Amazon payment authorization and an email confirming the order. During this time the customer can change or cancel the order from his Amazon account. If the customer cancels the order or the payment has been rejected, Amazon will add the quantity back to the quantity available in your account. Amazon also sends an order cancellation email to the customer.

So, the process of orders has the following stages:

  • Customer places the Order
  • Merchant acknowledges the order
  • Customer can modify the order
  • Merchant ships the order and confirms the shipment
  • Amazon issues the payment to merchant

Here is an overview of the general order management process:Amazon-general-order-management-process

Validating XML Feeds

It is important to validate XML feeds before sending them to Amazon. If a specific feed does not validate successfully by Amazon MWS, the MWS will return a parsing error.

Where to go from here?

If you have gone into this article, it means you are either planning a project to sell your goods and services on Amazon, or you are already selling on Amazon directly.

In both cases, you have to think about efficiency and accuracy and how to reduce human errors and chargebacks.

In case you have a handful number of items you are selling; this article is not meant for you; you can simply manage your products and orders from within Amazon’s portal.

However, in case your company is to sell hundreds or thousands of products and their corresponding variations on Amazon, then, you have to consider automated integration between your current software management system (i.e. Salesforce, SAP, JDE, Microsoft ERP…) and your Amazon Seller account.

Amazon integration projects through MWS are time sensitive and requires expertise and the right integration tools.

Talk to us and entrust our team for your integration projects; I invite you to contact us for a FREE consultation.

 

Amazon Integration
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EDI converter: Benefits of converting between EDI and XML

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This post was updated  to reflect current trends and information.

 

Overview of EDI

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) – standardized message formats for the transfer of commercial information between business partners. The two most common documents exchanged using EDI are purchase orders (EDI 850) and invoices (EDI 810). To transfer the EDI data, companies are often using the Internet or VANs (Value Added Networks). EDIFACT is the most popular EDI standard in Europe and ANSI X12 is in active use in North America. In the global  supply chain,  the GS1 EDI  set of standards are predominant. In brief, EDI allows companies to communicate business and commercial information quickly and efficiently.

Read: What is EDI? (A technical introduction to EDI)

Understanding XML

 XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a markup language that allows to standardize the data, in the form of text easily understood by users and computers. In other words, XML is a simple and flexible text format designed to meet the needs of electronic publishing.

XML has two main tasks:

  1. Provide a description of the data structure.
  2. Provide a common syntax for all other specifications.

Thus, XML does not specify how to display a document, it only describes its structure and content.

XML created in 1996 by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium); it is a subclass of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). XML was conceived to be a flexible format, at the same time as a formal metalanguage for use on the Internet. One of XML’s primary applications was in handling B2B and B2C data interchange.

From the beginning of XML implementation, its advantages over EDI were obvious. Simple and self-descriptive, structured, support of multi-lingual and Unicode (very important for international EDI transaction).

What is EDI2XML?

EDI2XML is a technology to transform incoming EDI documents (X12 EDI files) into XML. At the same time, converting an XML document to EDI X12 format. This process of converting edi to xml is due to the fact that our company took the time to create predefined xml schemas (xsd files) that respond to the business needs of almost 100 % of EDI consumers.

Read: How does EDI2XML work?

EDI2XML converter

The fact that we have over 20 years of experience in converting X12 EDI to XML gives us a competitive advantage over other EDI developers. We have already successfully implemented this converter in many companies of different sizes from various industries. We also helped IT consultants use EDI2XML in their EDI integration projects.

EDI2XML as a Service is our popular translation and communication service. All conversions of EDI files are done on our end, leaving customers with no on-site installation of software or hardware and an EDI project that is on time and within budget.

Read: EDI Integration of B2B e-commerce for small companies

If you would like to know more about the plans offered for EDI2XML (Free EDI Consultation), or would like to see it in action (live Demo), please do not hesitate to contact us.

Free Guide Intro to EDI

Related Posts:

Electronic Data Interchange: Key Information You Need to Know
ANSI ASC X12 Standards Overview
What Are the Differences Between ANSI X12 and UN/EDIFACT
A technical introduction to EDI

EDI, XML or Web Services; what’s Best for eCommerce Integration

This post was updated to reflect current trends and information.



eCommerce platforms have been largely used by small and mid-sized enterprises, to sell their products and services to the booming consumer market (B2C) on the internet. Amazon and eBay for example, are among the most popular eCommerce platforms; for ease of operations and integration they offer different ways to exchange data between the trading partner and the platform. As an example, Amazon offers EDI integration capability, or Web service calls to exchange data or simple XML transactions. The most frequently asked question, by business owners, is: what is the best option to have a quick integration at a minimal cost with a maximum return on investment?

In this post I will explain the different integration mechanisms and share my opinion on how to decide which way to go. As a complementary article to this post, I invite you to read my previous post entitled Tips to Empower your eCommerce with great Supply Chain through EDI Integration to get more detailed advise about eCommerce and EDI integration to be able to build a strong SCM channel.

Let me start by quickly defining each of the above technical terms:

EDI

EDI is the oldest protocol used to exchange data between business partners. It has been standardized and heavily used for decades. It is very well ingrained in the manufacturing and retail verticals. Data in EDI format has a pre-defined format and structure. It is transmitted using different types of secured communication protocols (i.e. VAN, AS2, FTP, sFTP…).

Useful reading: What is EDI? 

 

XML

As defined by the W3Schools website , XML is a markup language much like HTML, meant to carry data, not to display data. It is designed to be self-descriptive, where users define their own XML tags to describe data. XML is a W3C recommendation. XML was created to structure, store, and transport information, in contrast to HTML that is meant only to display data in a web browser.

Since XML has been developed, it quickly became a popular means to transfer very well structured data between business partners. Thanks to its ease of use, and its descriptive aspect of the XML data format, it has been the preferred choice of many software vendors and applications used in integration projects.

Web services

Wikipedia defines a Web service as “a method of communication between two electronic devices over a network. It is a software function provided at a network address over the web with the service always on as in the concept of utility computing”.

Web services are designed to support machine-to-machine interaction over a network, using different protocols, by sending and receiving “messages” using HTTP and XML in addition to other web-related standards.

Now for the technical use and interpretation of Web Services, it is simply triggering the execution of a program or function remotely, using the internet, and returning the result to the caller. In addition, Web services use XML in different formats to send structured data back and forth. The advantage of Web services is that it uses the internet as a communication and transport protocol, in addition to the XML structured language to format the data transmitted back and forth.

If you want to know more about  different types of web services such as SOAP and REST and why EDI developers prefer use RESTful services, read our new article: Seamless EDI implementation through Web Services

Useful reading: What is EDI2XML web Service?

 

eCommerce integration

eCommerce integration means the process of sending data from the eCommerce platform to an external system or platform, and receiving data into the eCommerce platform using an automated process. Integrating your ERP system or a company’s CRM system with the eCommerce platform enables the necessary data to be sent in both directions so that both systems can interact in a seamless way, without the need for human intervention. This will improve efficiency and enterprise capabilities to serve clients faster.

Useful reading: Tips to Empower your eCommerce with great Supply Chain through EDI Integration

How to select an integration method and what is the best option

In my opinion, there is no single rule when selecting an integration method. Any business owner, executive or integration consultant should ask the following technical questions before selecting a technology and protocol to integrate their eCommerce platform with their own system:

  • What’s the expertise of my integration team?
  • Are they familiar with EDI format and protocols as well as its business flow?
  • Are they more familiar with XML and web services?
  • What are the additional technical advantages that the enterprise would gain by selecting one versus the other?
  • Are these advantages important issues for our business?
  • What are the add-on costs for both options?

Basically, the decision comes down to evaluating the level of expertise of the integration team and their zone of technical comfort. From a technical perspective, there isn’t a perfect option. Of course, the business aspect of the decision is a major factor and sometimes, business reasons might outweigh technical reasons.

If you need more information or would like to discuss your eCommerce integration needs, I will be more than happy to provide a free 1-hour consultation.

EDI Web Service for edi integration
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EDI X12, EDIFACT, CSV, XML – Why is a conversion necessary?

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This post was updated to reflect current trends and information.
x12-to-xmlcsv

EDI formats are not understood or easily read by just anyone. It requires an EDI expert to be able to read the files and dissect them. Many large Trading Partners impose their own rules and requirements on top of those outlined by the standards, which is why, in many cases of translation, it is not always as straightforward as hoped. Most business executives are hesitant to begin trading via EDI because of these complexities.

However, if you find the right EDI Provider, who can handle all translations, all EDI mapping, all Partner configurations and all outbound and inbound communication with your partners, then you have nothing to worry about.

Our very own EDI2XML translation and integration services eliminate all of these complexities for you and you can begin trading electronically in no time. If you have your own in-house EDI and IT integration expert(s), then they can simply use our EDI2XML Web Service.

If you’re looking to meet your Trading Partner’s requirements but also keep your business processes streamlined and integrated internally, then check out EDI2XML. Our team of EDI experts are experienced and flexible enough to work with any EDI format, where specs are readily available, and convert to a format your team or system can work with. It’s about keeping costs low and simplifying the whole EDI communication process. Contact us today!

 

Free EDI Consultation

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Triple Threat: Integration of ERP, eCommerce & EDI

By now, I am sure most business professionals have heard about or have already implemented EDI, ERP Management Systems, and of course eCommerce Stores. If not, here’s a quick explanation of each Read more

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EDI Communication Over The Years

This article went on to describe the beginnings of EDI in the business world and how far we’ve advanced with technology to simplify these B2B transactions with EDI2XML.  Read more

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Integrating EDI into your Management System


This post was updated to reflect current trends and information.


EDI Communication is one of the best ways to exchange important business documents with Trading Partners. Documents such as Purchase Orders, Invoices and ASNs can be safely exchanged electronically with business partners, like retailers, in a matter of seconds. In many cases however, Small and Medium Enterprises do not have the budget for some of these EDI communication solutions out there and do not have any in-house staff experienced with EDI exchange. What should these businesses do?

EDI Solution as a Service for SMEs

After over a decade of working hand in hand with Small and Medium Businesses, we’ve come up with a solution. Our EDI specialists realized that it might not be realistic to have SMEs hire in-house EDI experts or purchase expensive EDI communication solutions on the market. This is when our experienced team designed and developed a tool that can be implemented as a Service – no need for any setup or equipment on premises – called EDI2XML as a Service. Here’s how it works:

  1. We communicate with your EDI Trading Partner in order to pick up any incoming EDI documents from their mailbox
  2. We convert all EDI documents into XML or CSV format (whichever works best to be integrated into your management system (ERP suite, CRM system, etc.))
  3. We push all XML documents to you, to be integrated into your system
  4. You will be notified every time EDI documents are sent and received
  5. The opposite process (from XML to EDI) works for outgoing documents.

Click here to view an infographic on EDI2XML as a Service.

Converting from unreadable formats like EDI x12 or EDIFACT (for those companies in Europe) to XML or CSV, allows for easy integration into ERP suits or CRM systems out on the market. On top of this, XML format is easy to read by any businessperson. Our goal was and continues to be to simplify the EDI communication process for Small and Medium Enterprises that are looking to increase efficiency. It’s time SMEs eliminated manual data entry (or human intervention) and enjoyed a smooth, continuous order processing flow.

 

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Why EDI is becoming the #1 method for B2B Transactions

B2B communication and EDI

For a while, EDI was not well liked amongst Small & Medium Enterprises. These companies were finding it to be too slow, too complex and way too expensive. They then resorted to a lot of manual data entry for orders as they would receive orders and invoices via email or fax. However, over the years, things have changed…a lot and for the better. Read more

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Convert EDI to XML: The EDI2XML Way

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This post was updated to reflect current trends and information.

 

Why convert EDI to XML?

In this blog post, I will explain why our team decided to convert EDI to XML as well as the advantages and benefits of using this conversion from EDI to XML. On many occasions, EDI consultants, project managers and EDI developers and implementers brought up the following questions:

What are the benefits of having an EDI X12 file format converted to XML?

Why do we need to convert from EDI to XML and not to a database, csv or other file formats directly?

Quick review of EDI2XML

As you might already know, EDI2XML is a technology to convert X12 EDI to XML for incoming EDI documents. At the same time, the engine is intelligent and capable of converting an XML document to an EDI X12 format. This process of turning an X12 EDI file to XML happens because we have taken the time to build pre-defined xml schemas (xsd files) that respond to the business needs of 99.99% of EDI consumers.

EDI developers and integrators are able to use any loop, node or element they need to push to their database for incoming EDI documents. While for outgoing EDI documents in XML format, they are able to pick and choose the node, or EDI element they want to transmit out, fill it in, and send over to EDI2XML engine in order to create the EDI file in X12 format.

Read: Best EDI Processing Options: Service Bureau VS Translation & Integration Solution

Convert EDI to Database or other formats

In the beginning stages of development, we established a list of objectives and a list of possible formats we can use. This was essential, as we needed to evaluate which file format would be best to use as a destination format for incoming EDI documents and outgoing EDI documents.

Objectives to convert EDI

We wanted our EDI conversion technology to respond to the following criteria, as much as possible:

  • Cross-platform: could be triggered on multiple platforms (at least Windows and Linux)
  • Scalable: easily upgradable without the need for heavy work and programming to add a new document or process
  • Portable: could run without any limitation on database, file format or operating system
  • Simple to operate and launch: at the time, we wanted to have the solution as simple as possible so no need to have a very extensive EDI expertise and knowledge in order to work with our EDI conversion tool.

Options for EDI conversion

Below is the list of formats we had put together when we started the R&D, during our brainstorming sessions prior to developing the engine to convert EDI.

  • Convert EDI to Database: this was the first option we had in mind since it was simple and easy to deploy. However, we went into the limitations of portability and compatibility as well as the choice of the Database. What database is the most portable?
  • Convert EDI to CSV: option #2 was also on the table early on, since the csv format is commonly known and heavily used. However, because of the quality of data that anyone might receive within an EDI transmission (carriage return, line feed, special characters…), which might cause the data to be a little less “sanitized”, we opted out of this option and eliminated this format from our list.
  • XML: this was the last option we had on the table. We decided that this would be the best choice due to its flexibility, good structure and ease of use. It responded extremely well to all our technological objectives and more.

Why EDI to XML

Read: Free EDI to XML converter: What’s the catch?

There are many reasons why we selected the XML format as a destination to translate EDI, over other means. Following are some of these reasons:

Simplicity and self-descriptive: data encoded in XML is easy to read and understand by humans (i.e. EDI developers,) and it was becoming easier to process by computers

  • XML format is standardized: XML is a W3C standard and it is endorsed by software industry market leaders
  • XML is structured: No fixed tags; it represents perfectly the hierarchical structure of an EDI file.<
  • Support of multi-lingual and Unicode: very important for exchanging EDI documents at the international level
  • Rapid adoption by programmers and developers: since the use of XML was on the rise, converting EDI to XML was a good decision. Nowadays, it is very rare to find a developer or a consultant who does not work with XML

Having the ability to convert X12 EDI to XML gave us a competitive advantage over other developers involved in EDI projects. We have already implemented this converter in many businesses as well as helped IT consultants leverage EDI2XML in their EDI integration projects.

If you would like to know more about the plans offered for EDI2XML (Free Consultation), or would like to see it in action (live Demo), please do not hesitate to contact us.

Free EDI Demo

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