VAN - Value Added Network



A Value Added network (VAN) is a private network provider that is hired to facilitate the transportation of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) documents or provide other network services. The VAN service acts as a virtual mailbox used by trading partners to exchange data.

VANs traditionally transmit data formatted as Electronic Data Interchange but increasingly they also transmit data formatted as XML or in more specific "binary" formats. VANs usually service a given industry and provide "Value Added Network Services" ("VAN Services" or VANSs) such as data transformation between formats (EDI-to-XML, EDI-to-EDI, etc.).

A VAN not only transports (receives, stores and forwards) documents but also adds audit information to them and modifies the data in the process of automatic error detection and correction or conversion between communications protocols.

B2BGateway, although not a VAN, works with and connects to all of the major VANs (GXS, Inovis, Covisint and many more) as well as many smaller VANs. If your trading partner has a VAN that we have not used, the interconnect is set up, tested and put into production - usually within a day. A VAN is just one of the many ways documents can be transported. Some of the more popular transmission protocols include AS2, SFTP, FTP and others. There is no limit to the types of transmission protocols B2BGateway can connect with; they are only different, based upon the preference of your industry or trading partner.

If your trading partner requires you to use a VAN to exchange your documents please call B2BGateway on +1 401 491 9595 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net  for further details on how we can make this seamless for you.

Functional Acknowledgement (FA) - The EDI 997 Transaction Set

The EDI 997 transaction set, more commonly known as the Functional Acknowledgment or FA, is sent by one trading party to acknowledge the receipt of other EDI transaction sets previously sent by another trading party.

The EDI 997 is always sent by both buyer and seller as a way of ensuring that the communication of the EDI 997 was successful. Through the EDI 997 transaction set, trading partners can analyze which EDI transactions were successful and which had issues that need to be rectified.

It is important to note that when you receive an EDI 997 in response to an EDI transaction set sent previously, it only acknowledges that your EDI transaction set was received and was processed by your trading partner. It does not provide any indication that the trading partner agrees with the contents of the transaction set, or that the transaction has met all their business requirements.

At B2BGateway we handle all EDI 997 transaction sets on behalf of our clients free of charge. For further information on the EDI 997 and the free service offered by B2BGateway, please call our sales team now on +1 (401) 491 9595 ext 5 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net

Drop Shipping and EDI

Drop shipping is a supply chain management technique in which the retailer does not stock or take possession of the goods, but instead transfers customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer or wholesaler direct. It is the manufacturer or wholesaler who then ships the goods directly to the customer.

Some drop shipping retailers may have example ‘not for resale’ items in store, so that customers can inspect an item similar to those that they can purchase. Other retailers may provide only a catalogue or online listing of their products e.g. Amazon.

Drop shipping reduces inventory, warehousing, packaging, labor and shipping costs for retailers by enabling them to pass orders and ship to information along to the manufacturer or wholesaler direct. EDI can help drop ship trading partners, by not alone providing integrated order, invoicing  and shipping solutions, but by also providing the EDI 846 transaction set otherwise known as the Inventory Inquiry/Advice (INVRPT in EDIFACT). The EDI 846 is used by manufacturers and wholesalers to notify retailers and trading partners of stock and inventory levels so that the retailer doesn’t commit to sales where not enough stock is available.

For further information on how you can use B2BGateway’s EDI solutions to further automate your drop shipping requirements please call (401) 491 9595 or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net