Making EDI work: two companies weather a rocky start

Two case studies of companies that implemented electronic data interchange (EDI) payment systems are presented. One company adopted EDI to handle its accounts payable systems. The problems encountered by the company included: phasing in an electronic system while maintaining a paper-based system, lack of compatibility with systems used by receiving banks, and developing detailed cost estimates of the system. Another company developed an electronic payments receivable system in response to requests from trading partners who wanted to send payments electronically. The problems encountered by the second company included handling electronic payments manually, the potential for increased errors, limited resources, and justifying the costs of changing the system.