Standards for the computer-to-computer electronic exchange of business data, such as invoices and purchase orders, in standard formats. The parties engaged in an EDI transaction agree to a format that allows data transfer requiring no human intervention or re-keying on either end. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) developed the ANSI ASC X12 standard, which is popular in North America and is used widely throughout Pump Laser Pump Laser 1480 nm 1480 nm Optical Isolator Optical Isolator Optical Isolator DWM DWM 1550 nm the world.The UN/EDIFACT international standard, a United Nations recommendation, is predominant outside of North America. EDI standards specify data formats, character sets, and data elements. See also ANSI and standard. EDIFACT (Electronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce, and Transport) See EDI.