Systems and methods relating to the establishment of EDI trading partner relationships

A method of certifying a computer system for transmitting electronic data messages in accordance with a set of standards, comprising:

• receiving a first data file transmitted by said computer system;
• analyzing said first data file for compliance with a set of rules developed to test compliance with said standards;
• and
• issuing a certification when said database reflects predetermined criteria with respect to said computer system.

A method of testing electronic data receiving capabilities, comprising:

• conveying at least a first data transmission to a receiver, said at least a first data transmission containing at least a first information set in at least a first data field;
• providing the receiver with a set of enquires to be responded to following processing of said at least first data transmission;
• receiving a set of actual responses to said set of enquiries from said receiver;
• comparing said set of actual responses to a predetermined set of desired responses;
• and
• analyzing the differences between said set of actual responses and said set of desired responses to determine the capabilities of the receiver.

A method of providing a single secure password to users of a common certification system, comprising:

• creating a database of users;
• said database associating a unique password with each user;
• and
• building a directory of said users from said database, said directory including each of said passwords associated with each of said users as a hashed password, said hashed password created by subjecting said unique password to a one-way hash encryption algorithm.

A system for certifying a computer system for transmitting EDI messages in accordance with a set of EDI standards, comprising:

• means for receiving data files transmitted by said computer system;
• means for analyzing said data files for compliance with a set of rules developed to test compliance with said EDI standards;
• means for creating a database entry in a database for said computer system containing the results of said analysis;
• and
• means for issuing a certification when said database reflects predetermined criteria with respect to said computer system.

A system of testing electronic data receiving capabilities, comprising:

• means for conveying at least a first data transmission to a receiver, said at least a first data transmission containing at least a first information set in at least a first data field;
• means for providing the receiver with a set of enquires to be responded to following processing of said at least first data transmission;
• means for receiving a set of actual responses to said set of enquiries from said receiver;
• means for comparing said set of actual responses to a predetermined set of desired responses;
• and
• means for analyzing the differences between said set of actual responses and said set of desired responses to determine the capabilities of the receiver.

A system for providing a single secure password to users of a common certification system, comprising:

• means for creating a database of entities certified by an independent certifier;
• said database associating unique passwords with each certified user;
• means for building a directory of certified users from said database, said directory including each of said passwords associated with each certified user as a hash password, said hash password created by subjecting said unique password to a one-way encryption algorithm;
• means for replicating said directory to selected entities;
• and
• means for providing said selected entities with said one-way encryption algorithm.