Supply Chain & Distribution
EDI for Supply Chain
Connecting People, Systems and Business Across the Supply Chain
Business Process
End-to-End Supply Chain EDI
From purchase order through shipment, invoicing, and payment — the core EDI exchange connecting supply chain trading partners.
EDI Process Flow
End-to-End Supply Chain Flow
From purchase order through shipment, invoicing, and payment — the core EDI exchange connecting supply chain trading partners.
Goods move from the supplier's dock to the buyer's receiving location.
Payment Sent
Physical / Business Flow
Systems Involved
Key Benefits of EDI
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Common EDI Transactions
The X12 and EDIFACT transaction sets that appear in this flow.
Purchase Order
The X12 850 is the electronic purchase order a buyer sends to a supplier to request goods or services, replacing paper or PDF POs with a structured, machine-readable document.
Purchase Order Message
UN/EDIFACT ORDERS is the international equivalent of the X12 850 — a structured purchase order used widely across Europe and global trade lanes.
Purchase Order Acknowledgment
The X12 855 is the supplier's formal response to an 850 Purchase Order, confirming, changing, backordering, or rejecting each line item.
Purchase Order Response Message
UN/EDIFACT ORDRSP is the supplier's response to an ORDERS message, confirming, amending, or rejecting the purchase order — the EDIFACT counterpart to the X12 855.
Advance Ship Notice
The X12 856 (ASN) tells the buyer exactly what was shipped, how it was packed (pallet/case/item hierarchy), and when it will arrive — before the truck reaches the dock.
Despatch Advice Message
UN/EDIFACT DESADV is the international equivalent of the X12 856 Advance Ship Notice, describing what was shipped and how it is packed.
Invoice
The X12 810 is the electronic invoice a supplier sends after (or with) a shipment, billing the buyer for goods or services delivered.
Invoice Message
UN/EDIFACT INVOIC is the electronic invoice message, the EDIFACT counterpart to the X12 810, used to bill for goods or services delivered.
Payment Order/Remittance Advice
The X12 820 instructs a financial institution to make a payment and/or advises the payee which invoices a payment covers.
Systems Involved
EDI Standards
Step-by-Step Explanation
- 1
Supplier
A trading partner in this flow.
- 2
Purchase Order (850 / ORDERS)
Communicates a buyer's request for goods or services.
- 3
Buyer / Distributor
A trading partner in this flow.
- 4
Order Acknowledgment (855 / ORDRSP)
Confirms, changes, or rejects the line items on a purchase order before fulfillment begins.
- 5
Advance Shipping Notification (856 / DESADV)
Tells the buyer what was shipped, how it was packed, and when it will arrive, before the truck reaches the dock.
- 6
Shipment
Goods move from the supplier's dock to the buyer's receiving location.
- 7
Invoice (810 / INVOIC)
Communicates billing information for goods or services delivered.
- 8
Payment / Remittance (820)
Instructs a payment and/or advises which invoices a payment covers. The exact transaction used depends on the trading partner's implementation.
- 9
Buyer / Distributor
Trading partner role: Payment Sent.
Common EDI Documents
Business Benefits
- Gives every trading partner in the supply chain a single, structured record of each order, shipment, and invoice.
- Shortens the purchase-to-pay cycle by removing manual re-keying between systems.
- Improves cash-flow visibility with faster, more accurate invoice-to-payment matching.
- Reduces disputes and chargebacks by keeping order, shipment, and invoice quantities in sync.
Related Articles
X12 850 Purchase Order: Complete EDI Guide
A complete, segment-by-segment walkthrough of the X12 850 Purchase Order — what it is, how it's structured, how to map it, and how to troubleshoot the errors that show up most often in production.
X12 856 Advance Ship Notice: The Complete EDI Guide
Everything you need to build, validate, and troubleshoot an X12 856 ASN — including the HL hierarchy that trips up almost every new implementation.
EDIFACT ORDERS: A Complete Guide to the International Purchase Order Message
How UN/EDIFACT ORDERS compares to the X12 850, its segment structure, and what to watch for when trading with European and global manufacturing partners.
EDI Mapping Explained: From ERP Fields to X12 and EDIFACT Segments
A practical guide to how EDI mapping actually works — the concepts, common source formats, and a worked example translating SAP IDoc fields into an X12 850.
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