Using the accompanying figure, briefly describe EDI exchanges.

What will be an ideal response?

The electronic data interchange (EDI) standard specifies the layout or format a company uses to exchange electronic business data - such as purchase orders, receiving reports, and invoices - with its suppliers and customers. For example, a manufacturing company could use specific EDI formats to automate the process of ordering parts from its suppliers. The participants in an EDI exchange of business data are called trading partners. Before the Internet became a viable alternative for transmitting data, EDI exchange of business information between trading partners occurred over private telecommunication networks called value-added networks (VANs). Traditional VANs are very expensive to set up and maintain, and require the creation of costly, customized interfaces for exchanging data with trading partners. For these reasons, primarily only very large companies still use EDI exchanges.