BEST PRACTICES FOR HIPAA-COMPLIANT EDI IMPLEMENTATIONS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE

Factors affecting the implementation of electronic data interchange in Korea

Electronic data interchange (EDI) has been increasingly adopted in Korean industries to facilitate their online transactions with customers and suppliers. We investigate organizational factors affecting successful implementation of EDI in current Korean industries. Regression models are developed and tested using survey results from 110 Korean companies that have been using EDI.

In this paper we argue that electronic data interchange (EDI) should not be viewed simply as a technological infrastructure, but as a technology which may enable an organization taking a strategic view to derive comparative advantage from utilizing it as part of a process of business re-engineering – in other words, as a sociotechnical entity. We suggest that strategic information systems planning (SISP) is a suitable superstructure within which EDI implementation may be considered from an appropriate strategic, as opposed to tactical, perspective. Finally we describe the theory and current practice of SISP and present guidelines for its application in relation to EDI.

A case study was performed examining the electronic data interchange (EDI) implementation projects of four divisions of an aerospace company. By interviewing both partners in the relationship, a business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce (e-commerce) implementation framework was developed. The framework provides guidelines for the type of e-business partnership to be pursued based on the volume of transactions (low vs. high) and complexity of transactions (simple vs. complex). Machine-to-machine B2B solutions should be pursued when the there is a high transaction volume of simple transactions. In other situations, potential B2B solutions include: e-business pull, partner access-extranet/push, or manual e-transmission.

:This study illustrates how electronic data interchange (EDI) could be used in conjunction with organizational transformation to generate phenomenal gains in organizational efficiency and effectiveness. It reviews the current literature on information-technology-enabled organizational transformation to identify key variables for measuring organizational change. It employs the case research method to examine TradeNet, a well-established EDI system in Singapore. It discusses how the Trade Development Board (TDB) of Singapore has taken advantage of the TradeNet opportunity to drastically transform its own organizational structure, business processes, business network, and business scope. The organizational transformation that accompanied TradeNet implementation resulted in significant gains for both the public and the private sector in Singapore. TDB and other public-sector organizations gained in terms of increased productivity in carrying out their organizational functions. The trading community, comprising the private-sector organizations, benefited in terms of increased competitiveness. Change-point analyses carried out on annual organizational and performance figures confirmed the productivity increases at TDB. Analyses of the results of questionnaires administered to TradeNet participants confirmed the increased competitiveness experienced by the trading community. Noteworthy lessons from this study, important for EDI implementation, are a willingness to change existing mindset, to institute radical transformation, to leverage knowledge and technology, and to foster win-win situations. This study demonstrates that the use of IT, or EDI in particular, for organizational transformation could lead to phenomenal gains.