AS2 over HTTPS
Partners post signed X12 to a private intake URL and receive a synchronous MDN. Outbound documents are signed with your certificate, and the partner's MDN decides delivered or rejected.
X12 EDI integration over AS2, SFTP, and FTPS.
Retailers and marketplaces still run on EDI, and a CSV export is not an 856, so Flows reads and writes real X12 004010 interchanges.
How an exchange flows
EDI integration built into the integration platform.
Control numbers are allocated per partner and acknowledgements are tracked to the document they answer. Most integration platforms sell EDI as a separate module. In Flows, a purchase order arrives, becomes an order, is acknowledged, and ships with a real advance ship notice, all on the same orders and shipments your flows already act on.
Trading partner
RetailerAS2 · SFTP · FTPSOne connection per partner, inbound and outbound.Inbound
850 Purchase orderParsed from the ISA envelopeBecomes an order in Orderly, ready for flows.Acknowledged
997functional ack855PO acknowledgement
Outbound
856 ship notice810 invoiceSent by exchange.send. A retry never resends a document already delivered.Transaction sets
X12 integration for the 850, 855, 856, 810, and 997.
850 purchase orders in; 855, 856, and 810 out; 997 acknowledgements both ways. These are the documents retail and marketplace partners ask a shipper or 3PL for first, produced as real X12 004010, not a spreadsheet someone converts.
850Purchase orderInbound- Parsed from the ISA envelope and turned into an Orderly order automatically, ready for flows. Invalid lines surface as validation errors instead of bad orders.
855PO acknowledgementOutbound- Sent automatically when a received 850 is accepted and the partner expects it, or from any flow with exchange.send.
856Advance ship noticeOutbound- Built from the real shipment and sent over the partner's connection. A retried step never resends a notice that already went out.
810InvoiceOutbound- Generated as real X12 and delivered over the same connection, with its control numbers allocated per partner.
997Functional acknowledgementBoth ways- Orderly acknowledges every interchange it receives, and partner 997s mark each sent document acknowledged or rejected.
Transports
AS2, SFTP, and FTPS EDI connections.
Use whichever transport each partner requires. Credentials are stored encrypted and never shown again, and partners can allowlist the fixed egress IP Orderly connects from.
SFTP
Orderly connects out to the partner's server on a schedule from a fixed IP. The host key is pinned, and transfers stay off until you confirm its fingerprint with the partner.
FTPS
The same scheduled exchange over FTP with TLS, with the server certificate verified on every connection.
Parsing
Mapless X12 parsing: no EDI maps to build.
Traditional EDI work starts with a map for every document and every partner. Flows understands the standard X12 004010 structure natively, so an 850 becomes an order and an 856 is generated from a shipment without a map to design, test, or maintain.
Partners that send flat files are covered too. Parse and serialize CSV, XML, and JSON up to 1 MB and 10,000 rows, and map fixed-width records column by column, with a dry run on a sample file before anything goes live. The mapping tools are described on the designer page.
- Control numbers handled. Control numbers are allocated automatically per partner.
- Strict about money. Malformed money or quantity elements become validation errors, never silent zeros.
- Test mode respected. Documents from a partner in test mode carry the T usage flag.
- Included, not an add-on. X12 and trading partner connections come with Flows Pro and Dedicated, not as a separate EDI module.
Trading partners
Trading partner management with every document on record.
One connection per partner
Each trading partner has its own connection for both directions, its own ISA sender and receiver identifiers with qualifiers, and the transaction sets you agreed with them.
Documents that start runs
An inbound partner document is a trigger in its own right, so a received file can start the flow that handles it.
Acknowledgements you can see
Sent documents wait in a Sent state until their 997 arrives, so a refused ship notice is visible, not assumed delivered.
Every file kept, never duplicated
Each file is stored immutably and checksummed, so the same file twice never creates a duplicate order or shipment.
Exceptions with the raw file
A document that fails validation lands in an exceptions queue with its exact errors and raw content, ready to retry, ignore with a note, or escalate.
Safe delivery
Outbound files are uploaded under a temporary name and renamed when complete, so a partner never reads a half-written file. Failed deliveries retry with increasing delays.
What you build with it
Advance ship notices your retailer accepts.
Selling into retail
From purchase order to ship notice
Inbound 850 purchase orders become orders, with an automatic 855 and 997 when the partner expects them. When the shipment is created, load it and send a real X12 856 over the partner's AS2, SFTP, or FTPS connection. A retried step never resends a document that already went out.
shipment_createdorderly.shipment.getexchange.send856
X12 and trading partner connections are included with Flows Pro and Dedicated. Starting on Launch? Pro is the upgrade for your first EDI partner; see Flows pricing. Read the trading partner exchange guide ↗
Questions
EDI integration FAQ.
Can Flows handle real EDI?
Yes. Flows reads and writes X12 004010: inbound 850 purchase orders become orders, with an automatic 855 and 997 when the partner expects them, and flows send 856 ship notices, 810 invoices, and 855 acknowledgements. Inbound 997s mark sent documents as acknowledged or rejected. CSV, XML, JSON, and fixed-width files are handled by the parse, serialize, and mapping steps.
Which Flows plans include EDI?
X12 EDI and trading partner connections over AS2, SFTP, and FTPS are included with Flows Pro and Flows Dedicated, with no separate EDI module to buy. Flows Launch covers your own flows, endpoints, and the full Orderly Growth plan; move to Pro when your first retailer or marketplace asks for EDI.
Do we need to build EDI maps?
Not for the X12 documents Flows supports. The standard 004010 structure of the 850, 855, 856, 810, and 997 is understood natively, so there is no map to design or maintain. Flat files are different: CSV, XML, JSON, and fixed-width partner files use a mapping you build and test against a sample file.
Which EDI transports does Flows support?
SFTP and FTPS, where Orderly connects out to the partner's server on a schedule from a fixed IP, and AS2 over HTTPS with signed documents and synchronous MDN receipts. Encrypted AS2 payloads are not supported yet and are refused with a clear error, so confirm your partner accepts signed, unencrypted AS2 before choosing that transport.
Does Flows support EDIFACT or other X12 transaction sets?
Not today. Flows produces X12 004010 850, 855, 856, 810, and 997 documents. If you need EDIFACT or other transaction sets, a broader EDI product may suit you better, and the logistics iPaaS comparison covers when that is the right call.
Meet the EDI mandate
Bring us the retailer that wants an 856.
Tell us who the partner is, what they send, and what they expect back. We will show you the connection and the flow.