Electronic Commerce has evolved rapidly since Marshall McLuhans concept of the 'global village' in 1967. Todays rapidly changing environment offers the potential for extending the supply chain with cheap and secure information exchange and allowing the general public direct access to suppliers 24 hours per day. The growth of the internet has seen rapid change as cheap, alternative internet message transportation methods become available. Security, non-repudiation of both origin and receipt , cost and format are all criteria that effect how information is transmitted. EDI describes the movement of business-orientated information in a structured format between computer applications with as little human intervention as possible.
Diversification works in economics as well as nature.
EDI has had limited success in the past, because a compromise is needed between data exchange that gets complex quickly. The Internet provides a new environment for these transactions. It can be thought of as a neutral meeting-place that is permanently open, widely accessible by anybody with an ISP connection and modem. When EDI is implemented correctly large savings can be made in processing, postage, paper handling, storage, retrieval and accuracy. The implementation of EDI products until now has been relatively slow when compared with its potential for reward.