EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the structured exchange of business documents between trading partners in a machine-readable format. EDI predates the modern internet and remains foundational to B2B commerce, particularly in retail, wholesale, and supply chain operations.

Common EDI document types include:

• 850 - Purchase Order (buyer to supplier)
• 855 - Purchase Order Acknowledgement
• 856 - Advance Shipping Notice (supplier to buyer)
• 810 - Invoice
• 846 - Inventory Inquiry/Advice
• 997 - Functional Acknowledgement

Shopify Plus does not ingest EDI natively. Brands that need EDI typically run it through middleware (SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce, B2B Gateway, Cleo) which translates EDI documents into API calls against the Shopify Admin GraphQL API, or routes them via an ERP that already handles EDI translation.

For B2B brands evaluating a move to Shopify Plus with EDI workflows in scope, the architecture decision is which layer owns EDI: the ERP (most common), middleware (next most common), or a custom integration sitting between EDI VAN and Shopify (least common). For more, see B2B Migration: Moving Wholesale to Shopify Plus Without Breaking Pricing.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common EDI documents?

850 purchase order, 855 PO acknowledgement, 856 advance ship notice, 810 invoice, 846 inventory advice and 997 functional acknowledgement.

Does Shopify Plus support EDI?

Not natively. Brands connect EDI through middleware such as SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce or Cleo, or through an ERP that already translates EDI into Shopify API calls.

Who should own EDI in a Shopify Plus stack?

The ERP in most cases. Middleware is the next most common choice. A custom integration between the EDI VAN and Shopify is the least common and the hardest to maintain.

Related terms: Shopify B2B, Punchout, Shopify Admin API. For hands-on help, see Flux's Shopify Plus B2B work.