EDI 997, also known as an Acknowledgment (ACK) in electronic data interchange (EDI), is a functional acknowledgment sent by the recipient to confirm the receipt and successful processing of an incoming EDI transaction.
EDI 997 is a critical component in the EDI communication process, providing a form of receipt that verifies whether an EDI document was received and successfully processed. It does not, however, confirm the business-related contents of the document. When an EDI document, such as an invoice or purchase order, is sent, the recipient’s EDI system automatically generates and sends an EDI 997 back to the sender. This acknowledgment indicates whether the received EDI document met the necessary formatting standards and could be successfully integrated into the recipient’s system.
If the EDI document received contains errors, the EDI 997 acknowledgment will provide details about the nature of the error, allowing the sender to make necessary corrections and resend the document. This ensures the integrity of the data exchanged between trading partners and facilitates efficient and accurate business transactions.
