EDI VAN: What is Value-Added Network or VAN and how does it work?

A Value-Added Network (EDI VAN) is a secure private network provider that is hired by a company to enable a reliable EDI communication connectivity between its business partners and other VANs. A VAN is used by companies to share EDI documents between two parties. EDI VAN provides a range of services especially to smaller businesses which may include message authentication, audit trails and notifications. It allows companies to connect with their entire trading community no matter where they're located.

EDI VAN is an electronic, commercial version of a postal service. A customer is provided with a mailbox where the documents are sent and received. An EDI VAN receives a mail from a sender, sorts and delivers it to the recipient's mailbox. A trading partner retrieves messages by connecting to the VAN, which validates the message and verifies the recipient’s identity. It then provides a full audit trail, and all messages are tracked and accurately recorded. Most EDI network service providers offer an alerting service that informs the sender that a message has been sent or is waiting.

Here are some of the features that are delivered by an EDI Network:

• Mailbox and routing service which enables the messages to automatically reach the right place
• Sender identity verification, Inspection and authentication of all EDI messages along with message validation
• ISO and audit trail with all messages are tracked and recorded
• Message notification: Business partners are informed when a message enters their mailbox.
• Support services including data backup and recovery, document mapping and trading partner compliance

An EDI VAN service provider like Infocon Systems offers feature-rich services including web administrative tools, accounting, security, hosted transition services and private connections. A good VAN partner will:

• manage complete onboarding of a business partner
• provide a fully outsourced EDI service
• manage data flow and quality
• manage back-office Integration

To learn more about our fully managed EDI services, please call our EDI experts at +1 888-339-0722 or email us at sales@infoconn.com