Traditional EDI: Getting Started with Financial EDI When Using a VAN
The state of Ohio uses the following implementation procedure for vendors interested in establishing an EDI
trading partner relationship with the state.
1. Preparation
An organization must first carefully review the EDI specifications
presented on this website and determine the business and technical
changes needed within their organization to meet the state's EDI processing
requirements.
This assessment period may take several weeks or months depending
on the organization's experience with EDI and the organization's commitment
to an EDI program.
The state requests that a Trading Partner Profile
Form be submitted during this assessment phase. The TPP will provide
the state with EDI contact information, help determine the level of
experience of your organization with EDI, and the amount of assistance
that may be needed from the state EDI team
2. Trading Partner Agreement Requirement
An EDI Trading Partner Agreement is a contract between parties who
have chosen to become electronic business partners. The TPA stipulates
the general terms and conditions under which the partners agree to
exchange information electronically. The document defines participant
roles, communication and security requirements, and designates the
electronic documents to be exchanged. The state EDI team will work
with the potential trading partner's EDI staff to exchange and review
both business and technical information. During this period and, as
a result of these interactions, a Trading Partner Agreement (TPA)
will be negotiated. The state has developed a Trading Partner Agreement,
based on the American Bar Association's 1990 model TPA agreement,
that is used by all state agencies. Testing between the state and
a prospective trading partner can take place prior to TPA signature
approvals. However, EDI production exchange cannot be initiated until
all testing has been successfully completed and a Trading Partner
Agreement has been agreed to by the responsible parties.
3. EDI Platform Selection
This phase of implementation is used to evaluate and select the components
required to perform EDI transmissions and is only applicable the first
time a company is implementing EDI. The major components are an EDI
translator and a VAN (Value Added Network).
The EDI translator converts application data to EDI formatted data or vice versa. There are a number of commercially
available translator packages on the market. Trading partners need to evaluate and select the translator that will
meet their needs. Custom development of this component may be expensive and may not be cost justifiable.
The trading partner will also need to select a Value Added Network
(VAN). There are a number of VANs marketing their services and these
VANs offer a wide variety of services. The state does not suggest
or require a specific VAN a trading partner may use, the state only
requires that the VAN can communicate with AT&T which provides
mailboxing services to the state. Please see Questions
to Ask When Choosing a Value Added Network.
4. Translator Mapping and Coding
During this phase the trading partner matches the requirements of their application and the specific transaction
set requirements from the state (this is called mapping) and then update links their translator table with this
information. The state provides the X12 segment layouts that you will need in the Implementation Guides.
5. Application Development
The trading partner produces and tests the application to ensure that it will effectively process your transaction.
Depending on the functionality of your system, this could be a time consuming phase in the implementation process.
6. Connectivity Testing
In this phase the trading partner tests their communications links. A successful test occurs if you are able
to send a transaction set and able to receive a 997 transaction set in return.
7. End-to-End Testing
The state and the trading partner ensure that all participants in the process are communicating with each other
properly. The state and the trading partner mutually agree to the test period for this phase. The trading partner
cannot begin "production" transmissions until end-to-end testing has been successfully completed and
the TPA is signed by both parties.
8. Maintenance
The state will provide a 30-day notice when changes will be made to EDI applications. These updates may or may
not involve software changes. EDI updates will be sent to the designated trading partner representative at the
specified location. The state requires notification if there is a change in the trading partner representative
or location to which EDI updates are sent. Submit these changes in writing to:
LaDonna Coulter
Electronic Commerce Center
1320 Arthur E. Adams Drive, 3rd Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43221-3595
