Here are the new logic rules

Complexity is the biggest obstacle to the spread of direct electronic data interchange. It creates the subsequent problems of long implementation times and higher implementation costs compared to other methods of data interchange. With fax or e-mail transmissions, the data sender can use the same document template for the majority of partners and only has to select the appropriate recipient number or address. In EDI, on the other hand, he will have to implement different data formats in most cases. There are industry standards, like the VDA formats in the automotive industry. But even with standards such as VDA 4987 for despatch advices, the requirements are so different in detail that adjustments to the mappings are necessary for almost every new data recipient.

It will not be possible to change the diversity of data recipients' requirements. However, we believe that the spread of EDI would be promoted if data senders could generate the required data formats more quickly and easily. And the key to this easier access lies in understanding the logical relationships that make up an EDI message. That's why we've spent a lot of time in recent months making our logic rules even easier to understand. This starts with the fact that they are now available in German and English. The challenge in writing mappings often lies in the nuances and experience has shown that many implementers benefit from being able to understand them in the language in which they are more confident.

In the past, the rules had only two outcomes: They were passed or failed. However, rules can be broken for several reasons. For example, imagine two values that must necessarily be set in a message. Value A must also be greater than value B. The rule is therefore broken if either value A and / or value B are missing. Or if value B is greater than value A. In the new form, we can now show the reason why the rule was broken.

We now also show the values with which we have carried out the checks. In the following screenshot, we demonstrate these principles using a rule for VDA 4987. Segment groups of type CPS with qualifier 3 contain information about outer packages. For example, they describe a Euro pallet on which the inner packages are then placed. On the one hand, these CPS groups contain a list of the inner package numbers on the pallet as a reference. They also contain a counter for the number of inner packages included for security purposes. As you can see, we check whether the number of inner packages from the reference list matches the value of the package counter. In one case in our example, the list of inner packages is missing; in the other case, the number of values from the list does not match the value in the package counter. We have marked the differences in green in the screenshot:

Anyone who has ever developed a mapping knows how much time is lost trying to find faulty segments in a larger message. We are now tackling this problem with the highlight button. It marks the segments that belong to the rule arguments with red frames. If the argument only contains one segment, the user automatically jumps to the appropriate position within the test message by pressing the highlight button. If the segments of an argument are logically grouped under another segment, you can also jump to this higher-level segment.

With these groupings, we are also dealing with another problem that we previously had with the rules: As they were only marked as fulfilled or broken across the board, it was sometimes difficult to see in which segment group an error occurred for larger messages. As we now display incorrect check groups in the result, it is immediately clear where an error occurred. For example, if an invoice contains several hundred items, you no longer have to search through all of them to identify the one with an error.

The new rules are rounded off by minor aids. Administrators can now customize the rule names and rule descriptions themselves. Users can now hide empty fields in a segment at the touch of a button, resulting in a more compact display. But speech is silver, to show is golden. Take a look at the new rules for yourself on our demo validation. Here you can try out our rule and syntax checks with a general version of VDA 4987 at your leisure and freely accessible. We look forward to your feedback!