About

In 1979, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) chartered the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 to develop uniform standards for interindustry electronic interchange of business transactions – electronic data interchange (EDI).

ASC X12 develops, maintains, interprets, publishes and promotes the proper use of American National and UN/EDIFACT International Electronic Data Interchange Standards. The ASC X12 body comes together three times each year to develop and maintain EDI standards. Its main objective is to develop standards to facilitate electronic interchange relating to such business transactions as order placement and processing, shipping and receiving information, invoicing, and payment and cash application data, and data to and from entities involved in finance, insurance, education, and state and federal governments. Together, committee members develop and promote EDI standards that streamline business transactions.  X12 standards facilitate these transactions by establishing a common, uniform business language for computers to communicate across town or around the world.  With more than 275 transaction sets, X12 standards can be used to electronically conduct nearly every facet of business-to-business operations.

The X12 standard development process involves negotiation and consensus building, resulting in approval and publication of Draft Standards for Trial Use and American National Standards.  The committee maintains current standards, proposes new standards and embraces new ideas.

Mission

ASC X12 develops, maintains, interprets, publishes, and promotes the proper use of American National Standards and UN/EDIFACT international standards for electronic data interchange (EDI). Scope of Activities

• Standards activities undertaken by ASC X12 may encompass any subject area for which EDI standards can be developed.
• ASC X12 standards may allow data conforming to standards maintained by other standards organizations to be contained within an ASC X12 transaction set.
• ASC X12 will provide education to ensure proper use of its standards and will promote the expanded implementation of its standards.

Principles

• Provide high-quality standards that are responsive to the needs of the standards user and delivered in a timely manner.
• Develop standards that are simple, efficient in use, and support as broad a user base as possible. The standards must be functionally specific and unambiguous to the standards user so that only one standard is available to satisfy the intended use.
• Emphasize, as our primary responsibility, the development and maintenance of standards. However, we must also promote the expanded and proper use of the standards without interfering with the development and maintenance process.
• Manage the evolution of EDI standards to accommodate change and introduce new technology while ensuring an orderly and acceptable transition within the existing user base.
• Defined architecture with comprehensive and effective rules and procedures for standards development and maintenance and must dedicate ourselves to following the same.
• Collaborate closely with other related standards bodies to avoid any duplication of effort, conflict, or confusion which may adversely affect the EDI user community.
• Represent our user community in the development of the UN/EDIFACT standards, ensuring maximum compatibility with American National Standards. As our ultimate goal, we should strive for one set of EDI standards worldwide.
• Adhere to the highest ethical principles.

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