EDI VAN services, fully operated.
Foundational runs the Value Added Network your trading partners require, and runs it for you. Secure messaging infrastructure, provable delivery, and the routing, translation and monitoring handled by our team rather than left on your desk.
What is a VAN?
A Value Added Network is a private, secure communications network that routes EDI documents between trading partners. Think of it as a trusted postal service for business transactions, ensuring every document is delivered, tracked, and available for both parties. Every trading partner gets a secure mailbox on the network; when we send a document, it sits in your partner’s mailbox until their system retrieves it, and when they respond, the same happens in reverse. That mailbox model is what makes delivery provable and disputes rare.
Read the full guide: What Is a Value Added Network? →
Encrypted, private document exchange
Messages sit in your partner’s secure mailbox until retrieved, with automatic retransmission if delivery fails
Complete transmission history for every document
More than just message routing
Foundational’s VAN is integrated with our full managed service, so your VAN connectivity is part of a complete, managed EDI solution, not a standalone piece you have to manage separately.
Translation & Mapping
We translate between EDI standards (X12, EDIFACT) and your internal formats, so your ERP receives data in the format it expects, regardless of what your partner sends.
Protocol Bridging
Connect VAN-based partners with AS2, SFTP, and API-based partners under one managed service. We handle the routing and translation between protocols transparently.
Real-Time Visibility
Track every transaction, sent, received, acknowledged, and errored. Our monitoring team watches your traffic 24/7 and resolves exceptions before they become problems.
Compliance & Acknowledgments
Automatic 997 functional acknowledgments, transaction validation, and compliance checking against your trading partners’ exact specifications.
Interconnect Agreements
Already using a different VAN? Through our interconnect agreements with other major networks, there’s no VAN-enabled trading partner we can’t reach, your partners see no change on their end no matter which network they’re on.
Document Archiving
All transactions are archived with full audit trails, critical for dispute resolution, compliance audits, and chargeback defense.
When VAN is the right choice
Choose VAN when…
- Your trading partner requires VAN connectivity as a condition of doing business
- You need a neutral third party to prove message delivery in disputes
- Your partner has a complex, high-volume document exchange that needs reliable queuing
- You’re connecting to legacy systems that don’t support AS2 or SFTP
Consider direct (AS2/SFTP) when…
- Your partner supports modern direct-connect protocols
- You want the lowest per-transaction cost at high volumes
- Latency is a concern and real-time transmission matters
- You’re building a modern, API-first integration architecture
Many of Foundational’s customers use both, VAN for partners that require it, direct connection for everyone else. The point isn’t which method wins, it’s connecting you to any partner in whatever way works best for both of you. We manage all of it under one roof with unified monitoring and support.
Your VAN costs can only improve
We can beat your current rate
We move your VAN traffic onto our network at the better price. Your trading partners see no disruption, the connection keeps working exactly as before.
We can’t beat your current rate
That’s rare, but it happens, some providers offer exceptional legacy pricing. When it does, we simply keep your existing VAN connection in place and layer our managed service on top of it.
Either way, your VAN costs never go up when you switch to Foundational. We quote your traffic upfront and compare it directly against what you’re paying today, it’s a zero-risk move with only upside.
What buyers actually ask about VANs
How much does a VAN actually cost?
VAN traffic is billed by data volume, typically per kilocharacter (1,000 characters transmitted), not per document. A short purchase order costs a fraction of a cent to move; a large invoice with hundreds of line items costs more, because it’s more data. Most mid-market companies see VAN traffic run a modest add-on to their overall EDI service cost, not a dominant line item. See our full EDI cost breakdown for how this fits into total pricing.
Do I still need a VAN if my partners support AS2?
Not necessarily for those specific partners; direct AS2 connections skip the VAN entirely. But most companies have a mix: a few large partners requiring or preferring direct AS2, and many smaller or legacy partners still on VAN. A managed service that runs both under one roof means you’re not choosing one protocol company-wide.
How long does VAN setup take?
Connecting to an established VAN with existing interconnect agreements is typically fast, often days, not weeks, since the network infrastructure already exists. The longer part of onboarding is usually trading partner mapping and testing, not the VAN connection itself.
What happens if I switch VAN providers?
Because VANs maintain interconnect agreements with each other, your trading partners typically don’t need to change anything on their end when you switch providers, the routing updates behind the scenes. See our note on switching VAN costs above for how that transition works in practice.
What does onboarding a new trading partner on the VAN actually involve?
Setting up the network mailbox itself is usually the fast part, especially with an existing interconnect agreement. The work that takes longer is confirming your partner’s exact document specifications, mapping your data to match, and running test transactions until both sides are sending and receiving cleanly. We handle that mapping and testing directly rather than handing you a portal and a spec sheet.
How secure is VAN traffic?
Documents move encrypted, on infrastructure with defined access controls and continuous monitoring, and every transaction is archived with a full audit trail. Foundational’s systems run on hosting certified to SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2, SOC 3, HITRUST CSF Type II, HIPAA, and PCI standards, backing a 99.9% uptime target across the service. See security and business continuity for the full detail, including where those certifications are independently published.
What to ask an EDI VAN provider
Most VAN quotes look similar on the front page. These are the questions that surface the differences.
Which networks do you interconnect with?
A VAN is only useful if it reaches your partners. Interconnect agreements are what let one network hand documents to another, and coverage is not identical across providers. Ask for the list, and check it against the partners you actually trade with rather than assuming universal reach.
How is traffic billed, and what is the minimum?
VAN traffic is normally billed per kilocharacter, meaning 1,000 characters transmitted rather than per document. That part is standard. What varies is the rate, whether there is a monthly minimum you pay regardless of volume, and whether each trading partner connection carries its own fee. Ask for all three.
Do you operate the network or resell it?
Either answer can be fine. What matters is what happens when a document does not arrive. If your provider resells someone else’s network, ask who you are actually talking to at 6pm on a Friday, and how many parties sit between your question and the person who can see the logs.
What happens when a transmission fails?
Transport alone is a low bar. Ask whether failed deliveries are retried automatically, whether anyone is alerted when a document does not acknowledge, and whether you find out from the provider or from your customer. That difference is usually what separates a VAN from a managed service.
What does moving providers involve?
Because VANs interconnect with each other, switching is generally invisible to your trading partners; the routing updates behind the scenes. Ask what the cutover looks like, whether there is any window where documents could be in flight, and whether historical message archives move with you.
Can I see the audit trail myself?
The point of a VAN is provable delivery. Ask whether you get direct visibility of send, receipt and acknowledgment for every document, or whether you have to open a ticket to find out what happened to a purchase order.
Connect any partner, any way they need it
Whether your partners require VAN, AS2, SFTP, or API, Foundational handles the connections so you don’t have to manage multiple providers or protocols.
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