BATCHING
Batching. The practice of aggregating multiple EDI messages into a single interchange to reduce exchange cost.
Definition
Batching is the operational practice of grouping multiple business EDI documents (orders, invoices, acknowledgments) into the same X12 ISA-IEA or EDIFACT UNB-UNZ interchange. The batch is then sent in a single transmission to the partner. Batching contrasts with real-time mode where each document is sent independently as soon as it is generated.
Origin
Batching is inherent to the very design of X12 and EDIFACT: ISA/UNB envelopes were designed to carry multiple Functional Groups, themselves containing multiple Transaction Sets or Messages. In the VAN era (1980s-1990s), daily or hourly batching was the norm: every session opening cost money, and grouping was more economical. With AS2 over HTTPS and real-time APIs, batching has receded but remains used for cost and operational simplicity reasons.
Example in context
UNB+UNOC:3+SENDER:14+RECEIVER:14+260514:1200+REF42'
UNH+1+ORDERS:D:96A:UN'
...PO 1...
UNT+...+1'
UNH+2+ORDERS:D:96A:UN'
...PO 2...
UNT+...+2'
UNH+3+INVOIC:D:96A:UN'
...Invoice...
UNT+...+3'
UNZ+3+REF42'This EDIFACT batch interchange contains two ORDERS messages and one INVOIC. It will be sent to the partner over a single AS2 connection. The 3 counter in UNZ confirms the count of contained messages.