B2B Gateway

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B2B Gateway overview

B2B Gateway
overview

Use

B2B Gateway

to streamline and automate order-to-cash and procure-to-pay processes with your trading partners.

B2B Gateway

uses

Data Integration

mappings to process and exchange messages and files between the organization and its partners. To simplify EDI message handling,

B2B Gateway

includes pre-packaged, EDI processing mappings that validate and handle the EDI messages and convert EDI messages from partners to XML interface files, which you can then process and move from the gateway to the backend systems.

When partner EDI messages arrive,

B2B Gateway

receives and validates the messages and sends functional and technical acknowledgments to the partners. To process the messages to the backend systems, you can create

Data Integration

mappings.

To send EDI messages to partners, you create

Data Integration

mappings that extract the information from the backend systems, write the information to the interface files, and move the files from the backend system to the gateway. The gateway enriches the data in the interface files with metadata from the gateway, creates a valid EDI message file for each interface file, and sends the message files to the partners. You can ask to receive acknowledgments from the partner. For EDI X12 messages, the gateway tracks all the acknowledgments that the partner sends.

B2B Gateway

can also process non-EDI files. For custom, non-EDI files, you create the mappings that process the files for all the stages of the order-to-cash and procure-to-pay processes. For the exchange of custom files with your partners you can use any type of file as the interface file.

For inbound Excel, TXT, and CSV files, instead of creating custom mappings to process the incoming files, you can use Informatica Intelligent Structure Discovery to automatically discover the file structure and create CSV interface files. You can then create custom mappings that process the data to your backend system.

B2B Gateway

generates events as it processes messages and files, to help you track and monitor the data that you exchange with partners. The event list provides full visibility into the data exchange and alerts you to errors that might occur.

Order-to-cash example

You are a supplier that receives purchase orders from a retail chain. Message exchanges between you and the retail chain can include sending and receiving messages, for example, receiving purchase orders and payment or order remittance advices and sending functional acknowledgments and invoices.

Procure-to-pay example

You place orders with an Internet supplier. Message exchanges between you and the supplier can include sending and receiving messages, for example, sending purchase orders and payment or order remittance advices and receiving purchase order acknowledgments and invoices.

Data exchange setup

To set up the data exchanges with the retail chain and the Internet supplier, you perform the following tasks:

B2B Gateway

, create a new customer for the retail chain.

Define the type of messages that you exchange with the customer and the communication protocols through which you exchange data with the customer, select whether to send functional acknowledgments, assign mappings to the inbound and outbound flows as applicable, and define messaging schedules.

If you want

B2B Gateway

to process inbound messages from the gateway to the backend system, create a

Data Integration

mapping where

B2B Gateway

is the source and the backend system is the target. In

B2B Gateway

, in partner management, select the mapping as the process-to-backend mapping.

For outbound messages, create a

Data Integration

mapping where the backend system is the source and