Glossary

EDIFACT

EDIFACT (UN/EDIFACT) is the international EDI standard of the United Nations, maintained by UN/CEFACT. Its syntax rules are set out in ISO 9735, and it defines messages such as orders and invoices.

In short

  • UN/EDIFACT is the international EDI standard of the United Nations. It is maintained by UN/CEFACT, and its syntax rules are set out in ISO 9735.

  • It defines messages for business documents. The main ones are ORDERS (purchase order), ORDRSP (purchase order response, used as order acknowledgement), ORDCHG (purchase order change request), DESADV (despatch advice) and INVOIC (invoice).

  • Each segment ends with an apostrophe. Data elements are separated by a plus sign, and components by a colon.

Example

A message is one business document in this format, such as an order with its lines. An ORDERS message starts with a message header (UNH) and a beginning-of-message segment (BGM). The BGM segment carries the order number PO-4711. The DTM segment gives the date, and the NAD segment names a party.

Each line starts with a LIN segment that holds the line number and an article number. The QTY segment after it gives the quantity, here 48. Each segment starts with a three-letter code, such as BGM, DTM, NAD, LIN or QTY, and ends with its apostrophe.

What to watch for

  • Agree the directory version, for example D.96A, and the subset with each trading partner. EANCOM is the GS1 subset used in retail.

  • Check the qualifiers. They decide which article number sits in LIN or PIA.

  • EDIFACT files are hard to read without a viewer. The EDI viewer shows messages as readable tables.

  • Many smaller customers will never send EDI. Their orders arrive as PDF or email.

Not to be confused with

  • ANSI X12: the US standard, with its own numbering. The counterparts are 850 for ORDERS, 855 for ORDRSP, 856 for DESADV and 810 for INVOIC.

  • openTRANS and BMEcat: XML formats for orders and catalogues in Germany.

  • ORDERS and ORDRSP: ORDERS is the order, ORDRSP the answer to it. Keep the two apart when you read a message.

Start of an EDIFACT ORDERS message
UNH+1+ORDERS:D:96A:UN'
BGM+220+PO-4711+9'
DTM+137:20261113:102'
NAD+BY+4012345000009::9'
LIN+1++4012345123456:EN'
QTY+21:48'

In Mercura

Mercura's free EDI viewer shows EDIFACT and X12 messages as readable tables.

Related terms

ANSI X12

ANSI X12 (ASC X12) is the EDI standard used mainly in North America. It defines numbered transaction sets for business documents, such as the 850 purchase order and the 855 purchase order acknowledgment.

Purchase order (PO)

A purchase order (PO) is the buyer's document that orders goods or services from a supplier. It states the PO number, the buyer, the ship-to address, the line items, the requested dates and the terms.

Order acknowledgement

An order acknowledgement (Auftragsbestätigung, AB) is the seller's confirmation of a customer's order. It states the items, quantities, prices, delivery dates and terms.

Touchless order processing

Touchless order processing (German: Dunkelverarbeitung) is a business process that runs fully automatically, without anyone touching it. An incoming order is read, checked against master data and created in the ERP without manual work.

Advance ship notice (ASN)

A Lieferavis (advance ship notice, ASN) is the supplier's electronic notice that goods have been dispatched or are ready for dispatch. It is sent before the goods arrive and says which order, packages and items are on the way.

openTRANS

openTRANS is an XML standard for business documents in the order process, such as orders, order responses, dispatch notifications and invoices. It is built on BMEcat, the format for product catalogues.

On mercura.ai

Sources

Updated

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