Shortfacts - December 2019 / January 2020

German companies continue to rely on EDI

EDI, the standardized electronic data interchange, remains an evergreen in the transfer of business data between companies. The concept is deeply rooted in the central business processes - sales, logistics, purchasing and finance - of companies.

This means that investment in EDI solutions and their further development will continue in the future. This is confirmed by the results of the EDI 2019 trend study conducted on behalf of Esker.

The study confirms the high market penetration. The majority of companies rely on electronic data interchange for the transfer of business data, with almost a third even using EDI for more than half of all messages.

It should also be emphasized that almost 70% of survey participants operate their EDI solution in-house at their own company. In contrast, only 17% of respondents have outsourced their EDI infrastructure to a cloud EDI provider.

Cloud solutions have been established in the EDI market for some time now and offer many advantages, as they are neither expensive to purchase nor require extensive maintenance. Companies can therefore make better use of the positive effects of EDI. The survey participants see future potential in EDI.

Just over half of the companies surveyed will increase the proportion of EDI in the long term, while a further twelve percent will renew or expand their EDI infrastructure. None of the companies surveyed plan to reduce the proportion of EDI.