EDI & B2B Integration

EDI isn't an add-on. It's in our DNA.

Connect portal, EDI, API and file-based suppliers through one collaboration layer, backed by more than a decade of EDI, SAP and B2B integration experience.

Talk to an Integration Expert Explore the EDI Architecture
WebEDIEDIFACTVDAANSI X12AS2 · OFTP2API · SFTP
app.esshub.ai · Traditional EDI
ESS Hub EDI connection: VDA 4987 EDIFACT or ANSI X12 856, AS2 / OFTP2 test parameters and message validation

From an EDI and SAP integration company.EDI & SAP Solutions has operated EDI landscapes since 2013. ESS Hub is the supplier layer built by that team, with WebEDI and classic EDI in the same product.

EDIFACTVDAANSI X12AS2OFTP2SFTP / MFTAPIIDocSeeburger BISSAP ECCSAP S/4HANA

The central idea

Different suppliers. Different channels. The same business process.

ESS Hub combines WebEDI and enterprise supplier collaboration: traditional EDI suppliers and portal suppliers participate in the same supplier collaboration model, and the enterprise receives one process in SAP or another ERP.

Supplier AWeb portalWorks in the browser, no local EDI infrastructure.→ ESS Hub
Supplier BEDIExchanges EDIFACT, VDA or ANSI X12 messages automatically.→ ESS Hub
Supplier CAPIConnects its own system directly.→ ESS Hub
Supplier DSFTP / FilesDelivers structured files on a schedule.→ ESS Hub
One business processESS Hub · one document model · one validation · one status
Purchase ordersForecasts · scheduling agreementsASNInvoicesQuality
SAP / ERPSAP ECC · SAP S/4HANA · other ERP systems

The supplier channel changes.

The enterprise process does not.

Learn about Automotive WebEDI

WebEDI + classic EDI

WebEDI and EDI. Not two separate worlds.

A supplier with mature EDI capabilities should not be forced into a web portal. A smaller supplier without EDI infrastructure should not need an EDI implementation project just to collaborate digitally. In ESS Hub both take part in the same supplier collaboration model.

Small / occasional supplierBrowser
BrowserWebEDIESS HubOne enterprise process
High-volume / mature supplierEDI
EDIAutomated B2B exchangeESS HubOne enterprise process
Digitally mature supplierAPI
Supplier systemAPIESS HubOne enterprise process
File-based / legacy supplierSFTP
Supplier ERPSFTP · filesESS HubOne enterprise process
Which channels a given process uses is defined per deployment; the portal and EDI channels are in the product todayESS Hub in navy

EDI standards

Standards your supplier network already speaks.

Two things are true and should be kept apart: what ESS Hub does today, visible in the product, and what EDI & SAP Solutions has implemented in integration projects for years. Both are listed here, labelled.

EDIFACT
  • DESADVVDA 4987 global DESADV · in ESS Hub today
  • INVOICElectronic invoice · in ESS Hub today
  • ORDERS · ORDRSPPurchase order and response · ESS expertise, coverage per project
VDA
  • VDA 4987DESADV · in ESS Hub today
  • VDA 4912Delivery note · generated by ESS Hub
  • VDA 4922Transport order / Bordero · generated by ESS Hub
  • GTL labelsHandling-unit labels · PDF and ZPL
  • Call-off messagesESS expertise, coverage per project
ANSI X12
  • 856 Ship noticeIn ESS Hub today
  • Other transaction setsESS expertise, coverage per project
Protocols & channels
  • AS2Supplier EDI test parameters · in ESS Hub today
  • OFTP2Supplier EDI test parameters · in ESS Hub today
  • SFTP / MFTStructured file exchange · ESS expertise
  • APIWhere the landscape provides one
“In ESS Hub today” = visible in the product · “ESS expertise” = implemented in ESS integration projects, coverage defined per landscapeEDIFACT · VDA · ANSI X12

ESS Hub supports supplier EDI onboarding for DESADV (VDA 4987 / EDIFACT and ANSI X12 856) and electronic INVOIC over AS2 or OFTP2, with message validation before go-live. EDI & SAP Solutions implements EDIFACT, VDA and ANSI X12 integrations in SAP landscapes.

Business documents

The business meaning first. The message underneath.

The classic B2B document sequence between a customer and a supplier. Which of these run through EDI in a given deployment depends on the supplier network; DESADV and INVOIC are in the product today.

01Purchase orderORDERS
02Order responseORDRSP
03ShipmentDESADV · despatch advice / ASN
04InvoiceINVOIC

Automotive EDI

Built for supplier networks where timing and data quality matter.

Automotive supply chains have run on EDI for decades: scheduling agreements, call-offs, despatch advices and labels, exchanged daily between plants and suppliers. ESS Hub was built by a team that works in those landscapes.

VDA and EDIFACT

The message standards of European automotive: VDA 4987 DESADV, VDA 4912 delivery notes, VDA 4922 transport orders, EDIFACT invoices.

Standards

Scheduling agreements and call-offs

Long-term agreements with firm releases; every shipment refers to the demand it fulfils.

Demand

ASN / DESADV

The despatch advice before the truck arrives, with handling units and identifiers the plant can scan.

Inbound

Labels

GTL handling-unit labels generated from the ASN structure, as PDF or ZPL.

GTL

Packaging

Packaging data sheets per part and plant; the same structure appears in the DESADV.

PDS

Just-in-time processes

JIT call-offs and daily deliveries leave no room for a shipment announced by e-mail after the truck has left.

Timing

Seeburger BIS / existing middleware

Built to fit the integration landscape you already have.

Many enterprises already operate a B2B / EDI platform such as Seeburger BIS. ESS Hub does not require it and does not replace it: it can sit next to the middleware you already run, and ESS has the Seeburger BIS expertise to make that fit. The exact architecture depends on the customer landscape.

With existing middlewareMost common in SAP landscapes
SuppliersEDI · portal · APIESS HubSeeburger BIS / existing middlewareSAP / ERP
EDI stays where it isAlternative
Supplier EDISeeburger BIS / existing middlewareESS Hub / SAP process
Without middlewareWhere none exists
SuppliersESS HubEDI · IDoc · API · filesSAP / ERP
Expertise and interoperability; ESS Hub does not require Seeburger and this is not a partnership claimESS Hub in navy

IDoc

External standards outside. SAP IDocs inside.

An EDI landscape has two sides: the B2B standards the supplier network speaks and the way SAP receives business documents. ESS understands both. IDoc is one of the SAP integration methods, not the only one.

Supplier business documentShipment · invoice · order response
EDI messageEDIFACT · VDA · ANSI X12
Translation / integrationMapping in the integration layer
SAP IDocOr API / file, per landscape
SAP business processInbound delivery · invoice verification · order

API & modern B2B integration

Traditional EDI where it belongs. Modern interfaces where they fit.

Supplier connectivity is chosen according to the supplier and the enterprise landscape, not according to what the portal happens to support.

EDI

The backbone of automotive and manufacturing supplier networks; high-volume, established, standardised.

EDIFACT · VDA · X12

API

System-to-system exchange for suppliers and platforms with their own systems, where the landscape provides an interface.

System-to-system

SFTP

Scheduled, structured file exchange; a connectivity method in its own right, not a fallback.

Structured files

Files

Exports and imports in agreed formats where a supplier ERP cannot speak EDI or API.

Formats

Web portal

WebEDI: the same business documents, entered and confirmed in the browser.

WebEDI

Middleware

The integration platform the enterprise already runs, kept in the picture.

Landscape
Learn how non-EDI suppliers connect to SAP

SFTP / file-based integration

Structured files are a channel, not a compromise.

Some supplier systems and some enterprise systems work through structured file exchange. ESS Hub treats it as one more connectivity method into the same business process.

Supplier ERPSource system
ExportAgreed structured format
SFTPScheduled transfer
ESS Hub / integrationValidated into the document model
Business processSame as portal and EDI
ERPSAP or other

Integration architecture

Four layers between the supplier network and the ERP.

Supplier connectivity, supplier collaboration, enterprise integration and enterprise systems: each layer has one job, and the supplier channel only ever touches the first one.

Portal and EDI suppliers enter the same layer 2. Whatever the channel, layers 3 and 4 see one process.WebEDI + EDI + API + files · one process

Mapping / transformation

Mapping done by people who do it every day.

Mapping is the daily work of an EDI integration company: format conversion, field mapping, code conversion and partner-specific rules. In an ESS Hub deployment that work lives in the integration layer, not in the supplier's browser.

Supplier formatEDIFACT · VDA · X12 · file
Mapping / transformationField mapping · code conversion · partner rules
Business representationESS Hub document model
ERP formatIDoc · API · file

Monitoring & error handling

What happens when an integration fails?

The honest answer has two parts. Operational monitoring of interfaces runs in the integration layer and the middleware the enterprise already operates. ESS Hub adds what the business user needs: the message next to the document, validated structure before go-live, and the same status on both sides.

  • Message structure validation

    Sample DESADV or INVOIC messages checked for UNB, UNH, BGM and UNZ segments and balanced segment counts before a supplier goes live.

  • Message view per document

    The EDI message behind an ASN or an invoice can be opened from the document itself.

  • Document status

    Packed, dispatched, acknowledged; EDI sent; posted, paid: visible to supplier and enterprise.

  • Monitoring views

    Logistics and financial monitoring on the enterprise side.

  • Audit trail

    Enterprise administrators have an audit trail of actions in the portal.

  • Test parameters

    Endpoint, protocol, test GLN and partner ID for the EDI test phase, per supplier.

Learn about the ESS Hub technical architecture
app.esshub.ai · Traditional EDI
ESS Hub EDI connection: validate a sample DESADV or INVOIC message with structural checks
Message validation before go-liveReal product UI

Partner onboarding

One supplier network. Different onboarding paths.

Onboarding a supplier is not only creating a portal account. Depending on the channel, it runs from identity and roles to EDI partner configuration, message types, testing and go-live.

  1. 01Enterprise
    Supplier identityThe enterprise invites the supplier into the workspace with a defined scope.
  2. 02Supplier
    RolesThe supplier sets up its team and invitations.
  3. 03Both
    Communication channelPortal only, or portal plus EDI, API or files.
  4. 04Both
    EDI partner configurationEndpoint, protocol, test GLN and partner ID.
  5. 05Both
    Message typesFor example DESADV as VDA 4987 or ANSI X12 856.
  6. 06Enterprise
    MappingsPartner-specific rules in the integration layer.
  7. 07Both
    TestingSample messages validated; test exchange on the test endpoint.
  8. 08Both
    Go-liveProductive exchange; status visible on both sides.
Portal onboarding is in the product today (invitation, roles, EDI self-onboarding with test parameters and validation); mapping and go-live steps are integration workEnterpriseSupplierBoth

Security boundary

A controlled boundary between suppliers and enterprise systems.

Supplier connectivity terminates in the collaboration and integration layers, never directly in the ERP. The enterprise security setup itself is described on the Security page.

B2B boundarySuppliers never reach the ERP directly
SuppliersB2B connectivity · portal · AS2 / OFTP2 · SFTP · APIESS HubEnterprise integrationEnterprise systems
Architecture only; network, encryption and certificate details are documented separatelySee the Security page

Real product UI

EDI, as the supplier and the enterprise see it.

Screens from ESS Hub. Demo data, real application.

app.esshub.ai · Traditional EDI
ESS Hub EDI connection: choose format, test parameters and message validation
EDI self-onboarding: format, test parameters, validationSupplier view · real product UI
app.esshub.ai · Invoicing
ESS Hub Invoicing with EDI sent status and View EDI per invoice
INVOIC sent, message viewable per invoiceSupplier view
app.esshub.ai · New Supplier for Logistics
ESS Hub New supplier for logistics: invitation with scope ASN, call-offs, packaging, returnables, traditional EDI
Supplier invitation with scope, including traditional EDIEnterprise view

EDI & SAP Solutions

Enterprise integration since 2013.

EDI & SAP Solutions SRL was founded in 2013 in Brașov, Romania. The company designs, builds and operates EDI / B2B and SAP integration landscapes for manufacturing and automotive companies: Seeburger BIS, EDIFACT, VDA and ANSI X12 messaging, IDoc interfaces, API and SFTP / MFT exchange.

That is company expertise. ESS Hub is the product built on it: a supplier collaboration layer with WebEDI and classic EDI in the same model. Where this page says “in ESS Hub today”, it is visible in the product; where it says “ESS expertise”, it is integration work delivered per landscape.

EDI / B2BSAPSeeburger BISEDIFACTVDAANSI X12IDocAPISFTP / MFT
About ESS Hub
Founded2013Enterprise integration company, Brașov, Romania.
FocusEDI · SAPAutomotive and manufacturing supply chains.
ProductESS HubWebEDI and supplier collaboration connected to SAP and other ERP systems.
StandardsEDIFACT · VDA · X12Messaging standards in daily use across integration projects.

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Bring your EDI landscape. We will show you where ESS Hub fits.

A technical conversation about your supplier network, your middleware and the messages you exchange today.

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