I would recommend a tool called EDIFECS SpecBuilder. It gives you a library of all the standards out there (X12 and beyond) and most versions. It’s a very handy tool for excluding and including segments that fit your needs. Once you’ve done the customization (design-time only of course), it’ll spit out the documentation for you. You can use this documentation for your own reference as well as reference for your trading partners. My favorite part of the tool, however, is the data anlayzer. It will let you import an EDI document and tell you how it differs from how you use the standard. Very handy for quickly creating gap analysis.
They’re enhancing the tool to include XML standards, mainly RosettaNet, but I haven’t needed it for that purpose.
Now for the bad news – it’s pricier than google ($5000+). You could also go out and spend $500 on an EDI standards desk reference, but then you have a bulky desk reference to drag around.
I believe you can download a trial version from their web site – www.edifecs.com
If anyone else is using the tool, I’d be interested in hearing what they think.
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