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Automation · 03.2026

EDI file exchange with two retail networks, no manual re-typing.

Profile furniture and interior goods distribution
Process EDI data exchange with two networks
Scope 3 bots, phased rollout

Five manual steps, one bot run

before FTP 5′ Conversion 15′ Correction 20′ Import 10′ Confirm. 5′ 55 min
after 2–3′ a bot does this time 2–3 min

bot run: AS2 → validation → mapping → ERP import → CONTRL

manual step bot time scale shared by both rows

Same order journey, same time scale. The difference is who goes through it.

Starting point

An electronic standard, but manual work.

Orders came in EDIFACT format, but still had to be pulled from an FTP server, turned into Excel, corrected, imported and confirmed. About fifty minutes per order, 50 to 70 errors a month, and more orders just meant more time spent "re-typing" them.

What we built

Two bots for file exchange, a third to keep watch.

Each network has its own AS2 channel with a separate certificate, its own dictionary of product codes and units of measure, and its own discount rules. The bot receives the file, checks its structure, maps the data into tables, imports it into the ERP, and sends back a confirmation, shipping documents and an invoice.

AS2 listens around the clock, so processing starts the moment a file arrives
Checking the file against the EDIFACT standard
Mapping data into tables according to each partner's rules
Stock availability synced three times a day
A supervisor bot: collects logs, categorizes errors, sends reports and alerts

Order

One network, then the other, then monitoring.

Rollout in two-week steps: first the AS2 server and partner connections, then the first bot in a test environment, then the second — once the first was already running. What's left now is monitoring and possible expansion as more networks send orders in EDI format.

Results

55 min → 2–3 min order handling time
50–70 → <5 errors per month
100 → 500+ orders per day
3 → 0.5 FTE team involvement
2–4 h → 15 min time to react to a problem
Tools Prometeusz / Dedal AS2 server (TLS 1.2+) EDIFACT D96A SQL Server Elasticsearch + Grafana EDIH hub4industry

Data exchange with networks, without re-typing.

We don't name the company. Numbers come from the audit and process measurement at the client.

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