Electronic Data Interchange

18 Pages 4544 Words

wback of requiring re-entry into the customer order system, admitting the opportunity of keying errors. However, information that passes directly between computers without having to be re-entered eliminates the chance of transcription error. There is almost no chance that the receiving computer will invert digits, or add an extra digit; thus ending the human error element. The cost of sending an electronic document is not a great deal more than regular first class postage. Add to that the cost reductions afforded by eliminating the re-keying of data, human handling, routing, and delivery. The result is a substantial reduction in the cost of a transaction. Expense, Networking Complexity, and Alternatives are the drawbacks of EDI. Although these benefits are convincing, actual acceptance and execution of EDI was far less common than might be expected. For all the benefits, the technological problems of EDI presented a number of major stumbling blocks. “Computers, especially mainframes, and their business application systems were complex and exp...