Streamline Operations With API Integrations Across Your Supply Chain

EDI and APIs are both methods for exchanging data between business systems, but they serve different purposes and work in different ways. Understanding the distinction helps you choose the right approach, or the right combination of both.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is the longstanding standard for B2B document exchange. It uses structured, standardized formats to transmit business-critical documents, orders, invoices, shipment notices, acknowledgments, between trading partners. EDI is highly reliable, widely required by major retailers and distributors, and purpose-built for supply chain compliance. When a trading partner mandates EDI, there is no substitute.

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) allow systems to communicate using modern web protocols. APIs are more flexible than EDI and better suited to dynamic, developer-driven workflows. They let teams retrieve data programmatically, trigger actions across systems, and integrate business data into internal tools and dashboards without manual file handling.

The key difference is not which is better. It is what each is designed for.

EDI handles the structured, compliance-driven exchange between you and your trading partners. APIs handle how your internal teams access and use that data within your own systems and workflows. Most organizations benefit from using both.

How TrueCommerce supports both

TrueCommerce manages EDI compliance, document translation, and trading partner delivery on your behalf. TrueCommerce API gives your development team direct, programmable access to that B2B transaction data so you can integrate it into your own systems, build visibility into internal dashboards, and automate workflows, all without replacing the EDI foundation underneath.

The TrueCommerce API lets customers connect their own systems to TrueCommerce the way modern software works: programmatically without replacing what already works.

The right choice depends on who is doing the work and what your team needs from the connection.

For non-programmers and teams without dedicated IT resources, SFTP is the simpler starting point. It requires no API coding just structured data formatting such as CSV or XML. Setup is straightforward and the workflow is predictable, making it a practical choice for businesses that need reliable data exchange without technical overhead.

For teams with development resources, TrueCommerce API provides another way to work with B2B transaction data. Instead of relying solely on file-based exchanges, developers can access and submit transaction data through APIs, apply business-specific logic, and integrate transaction data into internal applications, workflows, and dashboards.

Because TrueCommerce API is built for B2B commerce, common transaction types such as orders, acknowledgements, order changes, shipment notices, and invoices are already supported. Teams can focus on building the business processes they need rather than creating transaction frameworks from scratch.

Many customers use both APIs and file-based integrations together. For example, organizations may continue using SFTP for established batch-based processes while using APIs for workflows that require greater flexibility, event-driven integration, or tighter connections to internal systems. Both approaches operate on the same TrueCommerce platform, allowing customers to modernize at their own pace while preserving the EDI foundation already in place.

Both SFTP and API offer strong security for EDI data exchange, but they do so in different ways. The right choice depends on your technical environment and how your team manages access.

SFTP uses encrypted file transfer over SSH, making it a reliable and well-established option for batch-based workflows. It is widely supported, simple to configure, and a solid choice for teams that need secure, predictable data movement without event-driven requirements.

TrueCommerce API uses OAuth token-based authentication with encrypted transmissions, giving development teams enterprise-grade, governed access to B2B transaction data. Tokens expire automatically and access is controlled at the application level, which reduces the risk of unauthorized access compared to shared file system credentials. For teams with developers managing integrations, this model provides tighter, more auditable security controls.

Both options are supported on the TrueCommerce platform. Many customers run them alongside each other, using SFTP for stable batch workflows and TrueCommerce API for processes that require event-driven accessor tighter integration with internal systems. TrueCommerce continues to manage trading partner compliance, document translation, and delivery regardless of which connection method you use.