A Value Added Network, often referred to as an EDI VAN, is a private network dedicated to the secure exchange of EDI business documents.  Trading partners obtain an account with an EDI VAN such as GXS to which this account serves as an electronic mailbox for sending and receiving electronic business documents.  With an EDI VAN, not only can you exchange documents with your trading partner, you can also exchange them between VANs.  This is often referred to as an ‘interconnect’.  These interconnects benefit companies by providing them access to a larger base of trading partners throughout the world.  In addition to an EDI VAN, Internet-based EDI enables companies to exchange EDI documents over the Internet using secure methods of encryption.  While there are similar business benefits for both methods of exchange, the determining factor of which method to use depends on the specific partner agreement. Optimally, each trading partner needs to use the same mode of transport, whether that mode is an EDI VAN or Internet EDI.  Larger businesses will require that their suppliers use the same method of communication for electronic document exchange. 

At eBridge our ePortal solution uses the Internet as a secure method of exchanging business documents for EDI with your trading partners.  This has several advantages over traditional EDI VANs. 

• No transaction based fees; just one monthly payment regardless of the number of transactions processed;
• Remote access where ever there is an Internet connection;
• Interconnections with other EDI VANs

If you have more questions about the differences between traditional VANs and Internet-based EDI, feel free to comment or contact us at 1.800.755.6921.

Regards,
Dave Malda

Marketing Coordinator

Article by Dave Malda

Dave is the Sales Manager and Marketing Coordinator at eBridge.

General EDI edi, electronic data integration, van