The Celigo platform (integrator.io) lets you exchange EDI documents with your trading partners using the Trading Partner Connector Framework (TPCF). TPCF isn't tied to a single connection type — it supports several transport protocols, so you can choose the one that matches how each trading partner sends and receives files. This article lists the supported connector types.
Generic EDI connections
Initially, B2B Manager features were only available through AS2, FTP, and VAN connections, but now it supports Amazon S3 and HTTP file providers also.
- AS2: A standardized, secure way to exchange EDI documents directly over the internet with a trading partner. Set up an AS2 connection
- FTP, SFTP, and FTPS: Exchange files with a trading partner's FTP server. Set up an FTP connection
- VAN (value-added network): Connect to trading partners through Celigo's VAN service (via ECGrid) instead of connecting to each partner directly. Request access and set up a connection to the VAN connector
- Amazon S3: Exchange EDI documents with a trading partner that uses Amazon S3 as a file transport, without needing a workaround. [New] Set up a connection to Amazon S3
- HTTP file providers: Exchange EDI documents with a trading partner over the cloud storage or file-sharing service they already use, instead of routing through FTP or Amazon S3. Use Azure Blob Storage, Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2, Box, Celigo Storage, Dropbox, Google Cloud Storage, Google Drive.
Direct trading partner connections
Along with the general-purpose transport connectors listed above, integrator.io also offers prebuilt connectors for specific trading partners — for example, individual retailers or distributors you exchange EDI documents with regularly. Each of these connectors comes premapped to that trading partner's required EDI documents and messages, so you don't have to build the transaction mapping yourself.
See EDI trading partners for the full list of available trading partner connectors, along with the industry, supported EDI documents or messages, and flow direction (inbound, outbound, or both) for each.
To configure one, see Set up a connection to EDI trading partner. You can choose AS2 or FTP as the underlying protocol type, based on how that specific trading partner communicates — a direct trading partner connector saves you the document mapping work, not the choice of transport.
Flows using these connectors
If you're using B2B Manager in an EDI flow, then when any of the above supported connections are used you get all the B2B Manager capabilities: EDI profiles, the EDI parser and file generator (v2), and the capability for acknowledgment generation and reconciliation for your exports and imports. For an overview of B2B Manager capabilities, see Getting started with EDI-B2B Manager.
Connectors & export terms
Based on the connection you use, the source step (general export step) that you create in the flow builder is referred to as a:
- Listener (create listener): when using VAN & AS2 connections, the Step type is Listen for real-time data from a source application. (A listener receives incoming information from the source application and initiate the flow with the data sent)
- Transfer (create transfer) when using FTP, Amazon S3, & HTTP file provider (any listed under "Generic EDI connections") connection, the Step type is Transfer files from a source application.
- Export (create export) when using trading partners, the Step type is Export records from source application.
Example flow with EDI VAN connector
See Configure an EDI flow.
For an export or import related to a specific connection, search the Help Center based on the connector name. For example, "Azure Blob Storage" or "Azure Blob Storage transfer."