Point-to-Point EDI communications have been used by companies for many years.  Quite often a company will use Point-to-Point communications as an alternative to the traditional Value Added Network provider.  In fact before the internet, many companies would establish their own private networks using standard communication protocols over a telephone line.

One of the earliest and most successful adopters of the Point-to-Point type EDI solution was Walmart.  Vendors would dial into Walmart’s SNA network via a bisynchronous modem.  As and when the vendor had something to send, the call is made and the data is then transmitted.  When dial-up links are used the senders will typically batch up their transactions and at a certain point make the connection and send through the entire batch of data.  The dial up approach is cheaper when the amount of data is low and infrequent.  An expensive leased line can be more cost effective if the amount of transactions is high and fairly constant throughout the day. Point to Point connections do not provide the transaction visibility, reporting or traceability that a Value Added Network provider can offer.

Establishing point to point connections use to be a labour intensive process for companies such as Walmart. They had to take on the responsibility of on-boarding their suppliers and ensuring they had the correct communications infrastructure, eg high speed modems, to be able to send information through to them.

Since the introduction of the internet, Walmart decided to retain their own point to point connection with suppliers, but this time using the AS2 communication protocol across the internet.  Walmart has helped drive the adoption of the AS2 communication protocol, especially across the retail industry. For companies that do not have the resources to onboard suppliers then a Value Added Network provider such as GXS can offer an outsourced AS2 service.  This outsourced service will still be a point to point connection but GXS would do all the work behind the scenes to ensure that a company such as Walmart received the information across an AS2 connection. Further information can be found in the EDI via AS2 section shown in the left hand menu.