Last updated: 3 August 2026
An EDI VAN, or EDI Value Added Network, is a secure private network that facilitates the exchange of EDI documents between trading partners. It helps businesses simplify their electronic trading; instead of managing multiple EDI connections to different trading partners, an organisation can use one connection into a Value-Added Network that connects to all its business partners.
How an EDI Value Added Network Works
Incoming documents are held in a virtual mailbox for the receiving party to retrieve and process. The VAN handles routing automatically: it receives documents from senders, sorts them by intended recipient, and delivers them to the correct mailbox without manual intervention at the network level.
VANs offer a range of services, including message validation, audit trails, and notifications.
Benefits of an EDI Value Added Network
The benefits of an EDI VAN include reduced complexity when connecting to multiple trading partners, built-in message validation, a full audit trail of document exchanges, and automated notifications when documents are received or rejected. For businesses trading with a large number of partners, a VAN removes the need to manage individual point-to-point EDI connections.