VAN, AS2, SFTP or API: how the documents actually travel

VAN — a post office for EDI

A value-added network is a mailbox service. You send to the VAN, the VAN delivers to the retailer, and it keeps a copy. You do not manage certificates or IP allow-lists, and the retailer already has a connection to it.

• Easiest to start; no certificate exchange with the retailer.
• Priced per document or per mailbox, which matters at volume.
• Adds a hop, so delivery confirmation is the VAN's word plus the retailer's response.

AS2 — a direct, signed connection

AS2 is a point-to-point HTTP connection with certificates on both sides. It is the default for large retailers, it is free of per-document fees, and it is the one that needs paperwork: exchange certificates, agree identifiers, test.

• Cheapest at volume, no intermediary.
• Certificate expiry is the classic outage, and it is silent until documents stop.
• Requires someone to own the keys.

SFTP — a folder on their server

Older and simpler: files land in a directory. Common with logistics providers and some retailers, less common for new retail programmes. No signing, so no non-repudiation.

API — for Amazon and the marketplaces

Amazon's Vendor Central offers an API route alongside EDI. Good for low volume with human approval on each send, worse as volume grows, and it does not remove the matching rules.

So which one

If the retailer accepts a VAN and you have one or two partners, start there: no certificates, no allow-lists, fastest to live. If you have volume or several partners, AS2 pays for itself. Either way, decide on day one, because the paperwork is the schedule risk and not the mapping.

Questions

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