Then there are the partners who insist on using 'U' in GS07 to indicate 'UCS' (you
don't need to look it up, I'll tell you, the valid code is 'T' for 'TDCC'), the
partners who can't seem to send different values in GS Receiver ID and ISA
Receiver ID, those who insist that ISA 11 - control version number and GS 08 -
Version / Release / Industry Code are inseparably linked.
I appreciated the service bureau specializing in EDI that, when confronted with
the fact that they were sending data that failed to meet minimum length standards,
excused themselves saying, "Well, it's implemented that way throughout our system,
so we can't change it. You'll have to change."
One time my client, the EDI project manager, asked me to increase the decimal
precision on field in an application file generated from an incoming 852. Reports
weren't balancing because we were truncating decimal positions. The application
could handle variable number of decimal places, as could the EDI data element.
But the project manager insisted on limiting the field to two explicit decimal
places. I explained to him that this would: 1) be difficult to map in Harbinger
TLE, 2) slow translation down by 90 percent, while Harbinger generated and logged
thousands of truncation warnings, 3) not solve the balancing problem. I explained
that the simplest, fastest, and most accurate approach would be to map the data to
the field with variable number of decimal places and an explicit decimal point.
His answer, "Two positions is enough." When he heard, the application manager
scrubbed the mod. Come to think of it, this is not an EDI story, rather a
management story for Dilbert.
William --
I don't know if you can use any of these, but thanks for giving us the chance to
get some of them off our collective chests.
It's Friday. YAHOO!
Art
Steve X Lee SL wrote:
> "Let's just turn on EDI for this new Trading Partner it should only take 5
> minutes right?"
>
> "We bought this new fangled EDI Translator it will take care of all this
> application data and store all these application cross reference tables and we
> the application will get a straight file exactly the way we need it. So EDI
> can look up new item codes, freight codes. Store customer PO numbers, Ship
> to, Bill to, Order Numbers, Pick best shipper, Calculate shipping costs to
> return on the turn around document."
>
> "Well you are supposed to know the difference between the same delimeter in a
> comment field and one that is element seperator even though they are the same
> character. Just look at it."
>
> While we're at it, why do some people spec ISA Version 2000 with a GS
> Version 4010? Because only some Docs are being updated from 2000 to 4010 and
> there could be a mix of 4010 and 2000 GS's in one ISA? Which would lead to
> the next question of would a 4010 ISA and 2000 GS be invalid?
>
> Thanks,
> -Steve
>
> ---------------------------
>
> William, et al.
>
> Do stupid EDI stories include Advance Ship Notices that arrive after the
> shipment?
>
> Alan Kotok
> Director, Education and Information Resources
> Data Interchange Standards Association
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> +1 703-518-4174
> ** DISA's E-Business and Internet Conference, 7-9 March 2001, in San
> Francisco.
> http://www.disa.org/conference/annual_conf/index.htm **
>
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