The Challenge
With the transition to SAP S/4HANA and the cloud-first strategy, companies are faced with the question: How can we efficiently connect with thousands of business partners (customers, suppliers, logistics providers)?
In-house operation of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) ties up valuable IT resources. Maintaining hundreds of mapping formats, certificates, and security protocols slows down innovation and increases operating costs.
The Solution: The Hybrid Model
We combine the best of both worlds:
We combine the best of both worlds:
- Your SAP Cloud Platform Integration (CPI) acts as a technical gateway.
You retain control over the data interface to the backend. - Mercoline Managed EDI, acting as an external specialist department, handles all the complexities of conversion, partner integration, and monitoring.
Business Value & Benefits
| Value | Benefit for your company |
| Focus on Core Competencies | Your internal IT team is freed from maintenance tasks and can focus on core SAP processes and digitalization |
| Faster Time-to-Market | New business partners are connected via Mercoline. No internal development cycles or bottlenecks |
| Risk Minimization | Maximum security through encrypted tunnels. Mercoline guarantees adherence to global EDI standards and compliance |
| Cost efficiency | Conversion of fixed infrastructure and personnel costs into scalable, usage-based service costs |
| Future-proof | Native integration into the SAP strategy. The setup is fully S/4HANA-compatible and low-maintenance |
Architecture at a Glance
The principle is “Smart Gateway, Powerful Service”:
- Internal IT (SAP CPI):
- Responsible for: Data outbound & inbound (connection to the SAP backend).
- Effort: Minimal. The CPI passes data through 1:1 (pass-through).
- Managed Service (Mercoline):
- Responsible for: EDI business → mappings (e.g., IDoc to EDIFACT), certificate management, error handling, and direct partner support.
conclusion
This architecture resolves the conflict between technical modernization (cloud) and business complexity (B2B). You get a streamlined, low-maintenance interface within your SAP environment, while the scaling of partner connections is handled externally and flexibly.
The result: maximum operational stability with minimal strain on your own IT team.
CS.Line EDI
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