Connect Dropbox to EDI instantly
Join thousands of businesses moving EDI orders, invoices and fulfilment updates between Dropbox and their trading partners on XEDI, no manual re-keying.
No credit card needed ✦ Free EDI mailbox included
Getting started with Dropbox EDI
XEDI can drop trading files into a Dropbox folder and collect them from one, which suits businesses whose systems export to a folder and whose people are already working in Dropbox.
One managed platform, no custom code
XEDI maps Dropbox to your trading partners and validates every document, so data flows straight into the systems your teams already use.
A shared folder is convenient and visible, which is the trade-off
Dropbox works here because it is somewhere both a machine and a person can reach. Your system exports a file, it appears in a folder, we collect it; we place a file and your team can see it without asking anyone.
The same visibility creates the failure mode. Trading files sit among ordinary working documents where they can be moved during a tidy-up, renamed to something more descriptive, opened in a spreadsheet and saved back in a different format, or synced to a laptop that is offline for a week.
So naming, scope and archiving are agreed rather than assumed
File names carry meaning in a folder-based exchange: what the file is, which partner, when. Left informal, collection becomes guesswork and a reprocessed file becomes a duplicate order.
Access is scoped to the folders involved rather than the account, and processed files are moved to an archive rather than left to accumulate. None of that is sophisticated, but it is what separates a folder exchange that runs unattended from one somebody has to supervise.
What your team sees day to day
You get an EDI mailbox and a portal that behaves like an inbox, so what has been collected and what is outstanding is visible without opening the folder.
Orders arrive and become the despatch advice built from what is actually going, adjusted where quantities differ, carrying SSCC pallet labels where the retailer requires them, with the invoice following delivery and its arrival confirmed in the dashboard.
Dropbox is only the route. Moving to a direct integration later changes how files reach us and nothing at all about what your partners receive. Your systems and folders stay exactly as they are; the EDI capability is bolted onto them.
Documents you can exchange
- Order files placed in a folder for your system to collect
- Despatch and quantity files collected from a folder
- Invoice data exported for your finance system
- Stock and price files exchanged with partners
- Exception files for correction
Built for Dropbox teams
Whoever owns Dropbox in your business, XEDI keeps EDI accurate and hands-off.
- Small and mid-sized operations
- Businesses whose systems export to a folder
- Teams already sharing files on Dropbox
- Finance staff importing data manually today
- Suppliers without a system that can integrate directly
Dropbox EDI document types
A folder carries files; these are the exchanges they usually serve.
| Document | What it carries | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Order files | Retailer demand placed in a folder for a system that imports rather than integrates. | XEDI to folder |
| Despatch files | What is actually being sent, collected from the folder and validated before it becomes a despatch advice. | Folder to XEDI |
| Invoice data | Invoice detail exported for a finance system that takes a file. | XEDI to folder |
| Stock and price files | Availability or catalogue data exchanged on a schedule with partners that expect it. | Either direction |
| Archived files | Processed files moved aside, so a folder does not accumulate and a file is not collected twice. | Within the folder |
| Exception files | Anything that failed validation, written back with the reason for correction. | XEDI to folder |
How to connect Dropbox with EDI using XEDI
The work is making a shared folder behave predictably despite being shared. The sequence below is what onboarding looks like from your side.
-
01
We agree which folders are used and who else can see them.
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02
We fix file naming and layout so collection is unambiguous.
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03
We connect with access scoped to those folders rather than the whole account.
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04
We prove the flows, including what happens to a file that has been moved or renamed by somebody.
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05
You get a reliable route through a folder your team already uses.
Ready to connect Dropbox?
Talk through documents, mapping, testing and go-live with XEDI.
Everything about Dropbox EDI
Common requirements
- The Dropbox account and folders in scope
- Who else has access to them
- File naming and layout
- Retention and archiving expectations
- The trading partners the files relate to
What we need from you to build it
Only what we cannot decide for you. Partner requirements are ours; the folder conventions are agreed between us.
- Account and folders
- Which folders are used for exchange, so access can be scoped to them rather than to everything.
- Who else has access
- Who can move or edit files, because a folder people use is a folder people will tidy.
- Naming and layout
- How files are named and structured, since collection depends on recognising them unambiguously.
- Archiving and retention
- Where processed files go and how long they are kept, which is what prevents a file being taken twice.
- The partners the files relate to
- Which relationships this serves. What each partner requires is already ours.
Why suppliers choose XEDI for Dropbox
- Your retailers are typically connected already, so a folder exchange can be trading almost immediately.
- A file collected twice is recognised rather than becoming a duplicate order.
- What has been collected and what is outstanding is visible in the platform, not inferred from the folder.
- Access is scoped to the exchange folders rather than your whole account.
- A renamed or moved file raises an exception instead of vanishing quietly.
- If a partner raises a problem, it comes to us regardless of how the file reached us.
Is a shared folder safe enough for trading files?
With scoped access, fixed naming and archiving, it is workable and widely used. The risks are practical rather than dramatic: files being tidied, renamed or opened and saved back in another format.
What happens if someone moves a file?
It raises an exception rather than being silently missed, which is the main reason not to rely on a folder naively.
Can we move to a direct integration later?
Yes. Dropbox is only how files reach us, so changing it alters nothing about what your trading partners receive.
Plan your Dropbox EDI setup
Everything you need to scope, map and go live with Dropbox, in one place.