EDI stands for Electronic Data Interchange. It is a standard communication protocol for system-to-system integration. Companies in a variety of industries use EDI to transmit business information electronically. Organizations that handle large volumes of data often use EDI to minimize data entry and share information with other systems within their organization. In the shipping industry, customers can set up EDI with their carriers to submit and receive shipment information. If you use EDI for existing business applications, you may want to consider using it to manage your shipment data.