I learned about the three-way match way before I ever heard about EDI. It was done in a large office that had many, many clerks with big stacks of paper all over their desks. I first heard of EDI when I was in Finance and got put on a team to study what we could do with EDI. You guessed right if you said our first and most important project should be the three-way match.
What is the three-way match (sometimes called three-way correlation)? For an expert accounting definition, I turned to the Accounting Coach for an explanation:

In accounting, the three-way match refers to a procedure used when processing an invoice received from a vendor or supplier. The purpose of the three-way match is to avoid paying incorrect and perhaps fraudulent invoices.

Three-way refers to the three documents involved:

1. Vendor's invoice which was received and will become part of an organization's accounts payable if approved.

2. Purchase order that was prepared by the organization.

3. Receiving report that was prepared by the organization.

Match refers to the comparison of the quantities, price per unit, terms, etc. appearing on the vendor's invoice to the information on the purchase order and to the quantities actually received. After the vendor's invoice has been validated by the three-way match, it can be further processed for payment. The three-way match is an important step in safeguarding an organization's assets.

Well, implementing the three-way match was never easy. It is not an EDI Standards problem. It is not a technical problem. As a matter of fact, it is now much easier because the shipping notice (ASN) was invented. It all boils down to communications.

I searched for somebody that could make the process easier. That somebody is RVCF, the Retail Value Chain Federation. I went right to their Retail Collaboration Solutions and here is what I found:

Retailer Collaboration Groups:
As part of the enhanced offerings RVCF's website has to offer, you can now set up your own retail portal within their site. By setting up a Retailer Collaboration Group, you can communicate with your supplier base securely and with ease. Post your trading partner requirements, send notifications in real-time, and much more.

Factory Communications Service:
Bring your factory base into the loop without the extra hoops to jump through. With the Factory Communications service, you can communicate with your factory base securely and with ease. Post your requirements, send notifications in real-time, and much more.

Supplier Communication Programs:
Take advantage of RVCF's expertise in developing and executing events designed to educate your supplier base. Whether you're interested in training, communicating new initiatives, or onboarding suppliers, RVCF specializes in retail event programming and will handle all of the event logistics so you can focus on the essentials.

Supplier Data Integrity Program:
Keeping track of your contact information for your supplier base can be a hassle. With many retailers experiencing that the contacts are scattered amongst the various departments in their organizations, it can be difficult to determine if information is really reaching the right parties. RVCF's Supplier Data Integrity Program can help you obtain the right contacts and keep them up-to-date.