Common EDI Interview Questions

 1. A trading partner says they did not receive your EDI 850. What will you do?

Answer:

• Check outbound EDI logs

• Verify AS2/SFTP transmission status

• Look for 997 or MDN

• Re-send only if no acknowledgment received

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2. You received a 997 with AK3/AK4 errors. What does that mean?

Answer:

• Structural or segment-level error

• Check which segment and element failed

• Correct mapping or data and resend

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3. An ASN (856) is rejected but invoice (810) is accepted. Why?

Answer:

• ASN has stricter hierarchy rules

• Pack, item, or shipment loops missing

• Partner validates 856 more strictly

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4. Control numbers are duplicated. What will happen?

Answer:

• Partner rejects the file

• Risk of duplicate processing

• Must reset or sync control numbers

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5. A customer says invoice amount is wrong. How do you troubleshoot?

Answer:

• Compare ERP vs EDI

• Check price, quantity, tax, freight

• Validate mapping and rounding rules

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6. What do you do if AS2 MDN is not received?

Answer:

• Check outbound status

• Verify partner server

• Retry or switch to async MDN

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7. How do you onboard a new trading partner?

Answer:

• Collect partner specifications

• Setup communication

• Build mapping

• Test documents

• Get go-live approval

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8. How do you handle a failed cutover?

Answer:

• Stop production flow

• Roll back to old system

• Fix issues

• Re-test and re-deploy

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9. What causes duplicate EDI documents?

Answer:

• File resubmission

• Network failure

• Missing duplicate check

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10. What is the difference between 997 and 855?

Answer:

• 997 = technical receipt

• 855 = business acceptance

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11. A partner changes their EDI version. What must you do?

Answer:

• Update mapping

• Test all documents

• Validate backward compatibility

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12. Why does EDI succeed but ERP posting fails?

Answer:

• Master data mismatch

• Invalid SKU, GLN, or customer code

• ERP validation errors

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13. How do you prevent EDI chargebacks?

Answer:

• Validate ASN, invoice, ship dates

• Monitor rejections

• Follow partner rules

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14. What Middleware tools and protocols you know?

Typical answer:

• Cleo, OpenText, IBM Sterling, SAP PI/PO, CPI

• AS2, SFTP, VAN, FTP

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15. How do you monitor production EDI?

Expected answer:

• Dashboards

• Error alerts

• Acknowledgment tracking