EDI vs API: the pros and cons

EDI vs API

Suppose you started your own online store. To cut costs somewhat, in the start-up phase you did everything manually; order processing, invoicing, notifying customers about their orders. Soon you get so busy that those manual chores become your daily time commitment. And there is more and more room for error. With EDI, this can be done easier, faster and cheaper.

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EDI

EDI stands for Electronic Data Interchange. EDI is the electronic exchange of data between different computer systems and applications in a structured manner. Automated, in other words. It can involve commercial data, but also financial or logistical data. For your web shop, for example, this would involve those things you still do manually: order confirmations, invoicing and orders. With EDI, you no longer have to do that manually. Because why do it yourself if you can do it automatically, right?

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API

EDI is certainly not the only way. Opposed to EDI is API. API stands for Application Programming Interface. Actually, you can think of API as a kind of waiter in a restaurant; the little puppet that takes the orders and passes them on to the kitchen. This is also how API works. When your customer places an order, your API waiter makes sure that via the Internet the order is passed on to the necessary departments. Such as those of order processing, invoicing and messaging to the customers themselves. This way you can work faster, easier, cheaper and error-free.

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EDI vs API

Okay, so EDI and API are both extremely useful. But they mostly work side by side and not with each other, so that's where the moment comes when you have to choose. Which way do you go, that of EDI or that of API?

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Verdict

We go with API. In fact, we are leading the way in terms of automation with this.

API is more efficient, cheaper and more flexible making it usable by a wider audience and easy to maintain. The main advantage is real-time interaction, which results in fewer errors, for example because your inventory always reflects the actual numbers.

We believe API is the future.

Want to know more about API links? Get in touch!

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