EDI 846 provides inventory inquiry, enabling real-time inventory updates and enhancing supply chain visibility for efficient management.

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The most used EDI messages in the supply chain management

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This post was updated to reflect current trends and information.

In this article, we want to talk about the top EDI messages commonly used by trading partners in supply chain management. We will explain the purpose of the EDI messages and their benefits.

What is EDI?

The acronym of EDI is Electronic Data Interchange. The main objective of EDI is to replace the exchange of paper-based business documents.

EDI is the exchange of structured business documents used in B2B. The implementation of EDI is almost limitless. EDI is present in every commercial activity:
– supply chain management
– e-commerce
– Warehousing
– Insurance
– Banking and finance
Electronic data interchange (EDI) is helping businesses to automate specific business processes, as well as to cover an entire cycle of logistics.

What does EDI mean in logistics?

In short terms, an EDI is a flow where one business partner can create digital and electronic “business documents”, compliant to a specific standard (i.e. X12, EDIFACT, Tradacom, RosettaNet,) and transfer to the second party in a secured telecommunication channel.

Useful: eBook: EDI – Key Information You Need to Know

The most commonly used set of EDI messages

Following is the list of o the most commonly used EDI transaction sets used in today’s business space, from supply chain management to e-commerce, you will find the following documents as the basics for EDI exchange:

– EDI 846 Inventory status

– EDI 850 Purchase Order

– EDI 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgement

– EDI 856 Ship Notice/manifest (ASN)

– EDI 860 P/O Change

– EDI 810 Invoice

The above EDI messages, called “must-have” because they are necessary to automate the most important trading cycle in the supply chain management, eCommerce, and Drop-ship space.

Many companies do not limit themselves only on the above EDI messages, they can decide to leverage other transactions and business documents to improve their supply chain effectiveness; as an example, they can request to add the 753, 754, and other documents related to pickup and delivery…

Useful: EDI Transaction Types – Complete List of EDI Transactions

EDI messages types

EDI 846 Inventory status

Most trading partners in the supply chain and eCommerce space, request that their suppliers update them with their inventory status by sending the EDI 846 document. You can check the details about this document in this article.

EDI 850 Purchase Order

Often, this is the first type of EDI message that companies such as retail chains, manufacturers, warehouses, or 3PL-providers to exchange when they switch to EDI.

EDI 850 contains:

Order number
Required date and time of delivery
Reference to the contract or contract number
Price
Sender and customer information, the place of delivery
Information on the contents of the order (bar codes, quantity, the name of the goods, multiplicity of packaging).

With the EDI 850, the product ordering process goes faster and becomes cheaper as the number of people involved in the process is reduced. Thanks to the fast and guaranteed transfer of information about the order, the supplier improves the reliability of the deliveries.

EDI 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgement

EDI 855 response to the Purchase Order is a “couple” message for EDI 850. The supplier sends EDI 855 to the buyer in accordance with the order value or suggesting to make changes regarding order quantities. This helps to avoid disruption in the supply chain.

Useful reading: What is EDI 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment?

EDI 856 Ship Notice/manifest or ASN

ASN is a pair of EDI 861 Receiving Advice.

These notifications are exchanged between the business partners at the stage of shipment and receipt of the goods.

The supplier sends ASN immediately after the shipment. This EDI message helps to simplify and speed up the process of acceptance of goods. EDI 856 Ship Notice/manifest contains detail shipment information:

Shipment information (bill of lading number, ship to, ship from, etc.)
Unit load information about a physical shipping item.
Order information such as purchase order number, buying place, division number, etc.
Tare information about the pallets.
Pack information about the shipping package (cartons, racks, bags, etc.,)
Item information about the shipped goods, such as SKU identification, quantity shipped, etc.

Companies that have implemented ASN significantly increase the speed of receiving goods and entering data into the business system – with EDI 856 you do not need to drive numbers manually from the invoices. ASN information can go directly to the business system.

For the big trading retailers, this type of EDI message is a vital necessity. Advance notification of the goods delivery helps to prepare for its acceptance. Even before the supplier’s truck arrives, the retailers already have a list of the goods sent.

EDI 860 Buyer triggered P/O change

EDI 860 is a transaction sent to the supplier advising him about a change in the Purchase order sent earlier. The change can be to increase/decrease/delete quantities on an order or to change dates.

EDI 810 Invoice

EDI 810 Invoice is an electronic invoice transaction sent by the supplier to the buyer.

Learn more about x12 810 Invoice in this article: What is an ANSI ASC X12 EDI 810 invoice?

Becoming EDI Compliant

We will help you save on EDI, quickly perform the integration, configure the connection with any trading partner or supplier.

What is EDI 846 document?

What is EDIFACT? | UN / EDIFACT standard overview

Electronic Data Interchange: Key Information You Need to Know

What Are the Differences Between ANSI X12 and UN/EDIFACT

August 2, 2018

Why EDI 846 is important to do business with big-box retailers

Blog, EDI, EDI2XML

Many vendors these days want their products to be sold at Big-box store such as Target, Walmart, Home Depot or Costco. If you want your product on their shelf, you should be complying with their EDI requirements. EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is the standard electronic messaging between two business partners.

B2B Integration Matters to Business Success

connect-to-large-retails-with-EDI2XML

Nowadays, big box retailers work exclusively with companies that are capable of complying with their EDI requirements, and there is a good reason for it.

Large stores move a huge amount of goods, so all that they track in their inventory systems, must comply with a variety of requirements. This means that your inventory data must be properly formatted and transmitted on time and in accordance with their requirements.

Before starting EDI Integration, you must to identify the trading partners you want to do business with. The reason for this is that each trading partner you deal with, has his own unique requirements. One of the most popular EDI document in demand these days for big-box retailers is the EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry / Advice.

What is the EDI 846 and how is used?

Based on the ASC (Accredited Standards Committee) X12 format, the transaction set Inventory Inquiry/Advice (EDI 846) could include vendor number, products, and quantity in stock. 846 documents can be used by manufacturer or supplier in the following ways:

for a vendor of goods and services to provide inventory information to a prospective purchaser, with no obligation to the purchaser to acquire these goods or services;
for a seller’s representatives of goods and services to supply inventory information to that seller;
for one location to supply another location with inventory information;
for an inquiry as to the availability of inventory with no obligation on the seller of goods and services to reserve that inventory.

Benefits of EDI 846

There are benefits of 846 Inventory Advice to both business partners as for the supplier and for the purchaser. Some of the benefits:

Enable the supplier to advise when product is out of stock or no longer being manufactured
Allows better management of manufacturing and logistics
Communicating to the purchaser when the item will be available again if out of stock
The purchaser is able to better plan warehouse and store ordering
Supports the ability to order non-stock items or make some special orders

How to send/receive an EDI 846?

For the most part, the transmission of EDI is carried out via the Internet or Value-Added network (VAN). To make EDI more accessible, today most of the EDI data is carried out via the Internet using AS2 or a secure FTP. This eliminates the need for expensive VANs. The file is protected by encryption to ensure data security.

Need to know more about EDI? View our SlideShare Presentation on EDI in the Business World

Connect to large retailers with EDI2XML

Don’t miss your opportunities to trade with big chains, because of their requirements of EDI. Using our service, even small companies can get the opportunity to trade with large stores and send 846 documents.

Delegate EDI to a third party and focus on running your business. We are well-qualified EDI-as-a-Service provider and we produce results rapidly while avoiding common errors that can endanger business operations and trading partner relationships.

If you need EDI Integration, let us show you what our popular translation and communication service EDI2XML as a Service can do for your business. Don’t give up big retailers, Contact us today!

February 14, 2018

What is EDI 846 document?

Blog, EDI

This post was updated to reflect current trends and information.

What is EDI 846 Document?

One of the most important electronic EDI documents heavily exchanged between trading partners is the 846 X12 document. It is important mainly due to the evolution of the drop-shipping business that saw a great advancement in the last few years, because of eCommerce and online sales.

The EDI 846 document, also known as the Inventory Inquiry/Advice transaction set, is used in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to provide inventory information between trading partners in the context of e-commerce. This transaction set is commonly employed in the retail industry to facilitate the exchange of inventory details.

This EDI document originates from the paper-based “inventory inquiry and advice”. Basically, it is a notification sent by the manufacturer to the seller, advising about stock status and availability. It can also include pricing information. In other words, this EDI message is to exchange information about stock levels and the availability of goods.

For e-commerce, it is very important to have up-to-date information about the availability of goods. That is why one of the major EDI requirements for Amazon, is the capability of the supplier to transmit an EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry message. This is not only a requirement for Amazon exclusively; Other leading retailers such as Cabela’s, Wal-Mart, Costco … all have the same EDI requirement, to be able to feed their e-commerce platform with quality inventory status information.

The EDI 846 document can be sent to business partners, as many times as necessary. It can be 2-3 times a week, up to several times a day; each retailer has his own requirements. EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice permits suppliers to provide trading partners with information about their products without forcing them to make a purchase. In addition, the EDI 846 transaction is often used to notify business partners about the availability of goods at discounted prices.

EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry and Advice Usage

The other obvious question about 846: who uses this EDI 846 message other than Amazon and the major eCommerce retailers?
The truth is that not only eCommerce retailers can use this EDI transaction and exchange 846 documents. All trading partners can agree to use it to exchange inventory availability and stock level. Some examples:

sellers to provide inventory information to a potential customer
seller’s representatives to supply the seller with inventory information
one seller’s location to give another location inventory information
seller to demand the availability of inventory

Diverse Applications of the EDI 846 Transaction Set in Varied Industries and Business Scenarios

The EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice transaction, has varied usage across different industries and business scenarios. Its primary purpose is to provide detailed information about the current inventory levels of a product at a specific location, typically a warehouse or distribution center. This information is crucial for effective supply chain management and helps trading partners optimize their inventory levels and order fulfillment processes.

Here are some of the varied uses of EDI 846:

Inventory Replenishment: Retailers and suppliers use the EDI 846 to communicate current inventory levels and forecast demand. This helps in making timely decisions regarding inventory replenishment and avoiding stockouts.
Order Planning: The information exchanged through EDI 846 aids in order planning by providing insights into product availability. Retailers can adjust their order quantities based on the actual inventory levels at the supplier’s end.
Demand Forecasting: By analyzing historical inventory data provided through EDI 846, businesses can better forecast future demand for products. This can lead to more accurate production and procurement planning.
Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI): In VMI arrangements, suppliers use EDI 846 to monitor and manage the inventory levels at their customers’ locations. This collaborative approach helps in maintaining optimal stock levels and reducing carrying costs.
Supply Chain Optimization: The use of EDI 846 contributes to overall supply chain optimization by enhancing communication and collaboration between trading partners. It streamlines the flow of information related to inventory, reducing manual processes and improving efficiency.
E-commerce Integration: In the context of e-commerce, EDI 846 plays a role in updating online product availability and supporting real-time inventory visibility for customers. This is important for online retailers and marketplaces to provide accurate information to customers about product availability.

Overall, the varied usage of EDI 846 reflects its importance in facilitating efficient inventory management, enhancing collaboration between trading partners, and improving the overall supply chain performance.

What Information Does the EDI 846 Document Transmit?

In the EDI 846 transmission, inventory location identification, item, and part description, and quantity are the basic information included in almost any EDI 846 document; however, additional information can be added such as:

Quantity forecasted
Quantity sold already
Quantity available in stock
Pricing information

With EDI 846 online stores optimize their deliveries. They do not need to enter data manually into their internal systems, such as ERP or back-office of their stores. It gives an accurate information to online shoppers about the availability of stock, in a real-time mode. Moreover, it does reduce the administration fees and expenses to process orders and items bought by consumers, while having no stock.

What are the Benefits of Using the EDI X12 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice?

The EDI X12 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice transaction set provides several benefits for businesses that use it. Here are some of the key benefits:

1. Improved inventory management: The 846 transaction set provides real-time updates on inventory levels and enables businesses to quickly identify inventory shortages or excesses. This helps businesses to optimize their inventory levels, reduce carrying costs, and avoid stockouts.

2. Increased efficiency: The use of EDI eliminates the need for manual data entry and reduces the risk of errors. This can result in faster order processing times, reduced labor costs, and improved accuracy.

3. Enhanced collaboration: The 846 transaction set allows for seamless communication between trading partners and provides a standardized format for inventory information. This makes it easier for businesses to collaborate with their partners and share inventory data consistently and efficiently.

4. Better decision-making: By having access to real-time inventory data, businesses can make better decisions about when to reorder products, how much to order, and where to allocate inventory. This can help businesses to reduce inventory holding costs, improve customer satisfaction, and increase profitability.

5. Competitive advantage: By using the 846 transaction set, businesses can differentiate themselves from their competitors by offering faster, more accurate inventory information to their customers. This can help businesses to attract and retain customers, increase customer loyalty, and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

For more information about how edi2xml fully managed services or web service can help you set up your EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice with your trading partners, please contact us.