AS2, SFTP or FTPS? How EDI files travel between trading partners
Before your first document can be exchanged, you and your partner have to agree how files get from one system to the other. The answers to the questions suppliers ask most about EDI connections.
What does “connectivity” mean in EDI?
It is how files move between you and a trading partner, separate from what is in them. The format (X12) says what a document contains; the connection says how it gets there. Your partner’s guide lists the connections it accepts.
What is AS2?
AS2 sends each file over the internet, signed so the receiver knows who sent it and encrypted so nobody else can read it. The receiver answers with a receipt, called an MDN, that proves the file arrived intact. Many large retailers require it. Weredi signs and encrypts the AS2 files it sends and checks the receipts that come back; on the way in, it refuses messages that aren’t signed with your partner’s certificate.
What about SFTP and FTPS?
Both are secure versions of FTP, the classic file-transfer protocol: SFTP runs over SSH, FTPS over TLS. One side drops files in a folder and the other picks them up. Weredi can send to a partner’s server over SFTP (with a password or a key), FTPS or plain FTP, and each partner can send to you through its own account, confined to its own folder.
“Pick the connection your partner asks for. The best protocol is the one their EDI team already supports.”
Do I need a VAN?
A VAN, or value-added network, is a paid mailbox service that sits between partners. Weredi doesn’t use one: it connects directly to your partners over AS2, SFTP, FTPS or FTP. If a retailer only accepts files through a VAN, talk to us before you choose a plan. More in what an EDI VAN is.
What is PGP for?
Some partners ask for files to be encrypted before they travel, even over a secure connection. With PGP, the file is encrypted with the partner’s public key so only they can open it. Weredi can encrypt the files it sends this way.
How do I know the connection works?
Test it before your first real document. Weredi runs a step-by-step connection test for each partner, so you see whether it is the address, the login or the encryption that fails. Then follow the testing steps before go-live.
Quick answers
Which is the most secure?
AS2 and SFTP both encrypt files in transit; AS2 adds signed receipts. Plain FTP encrypts nothing.
Can each partner use a different one?
Yes. Connections are set up partner by partner.
Who chooses?
Usually the retailer. Its guide or onboarding packet says which connections it supports.
Not sure what your retailer needs?
Send us its connection instructions and we will tell you which option to choose.
Keep reading
All articles →“Are you EDI capable?” What your buyer is really asking, and how to say yes
How much does EDI cost? The pricing models, and the fees to ask about
Switching EDI providers without upsetting your retailers: the questions to answer first
Connect to your retailer directly
Weredi exchanges files over AS2, SFTP, FTPS or FTP, with each partner set up on its own.