ANSI X12
ANSI ASC X12 is the standard used for most B2B EDI in North America, spanning retail, logistics, finance, and — via its HIPAA-mandated subsets — healthcare.
Maintained by
Accredited Standards Committee X12
Envelope structure
ISA/IEA (interchange), GS/GE (functional group), ST/SE (transaction set)
Primary regions
Primarily North America
Transactions under ANSI X12
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 Acknowledgment
The X12 855 is the supplier's formal response to an 850 Purchase Order, confirming, changing, backordering, or rejecting each line item.
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.
Invoice
The X12 810 is the electronic invoice a supplier sends after (or with) a shipment, billing the buyer 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.
Warehouse Shipping Order
The X12 940 instructs a third-party warehouse to pick, pack, and ship a specific order on behalf of the merchandise owner.
Warehouse Shipping Advice
The X12 945 is the warehouse's confirmation back to the merchandise owner that a 940 shipping order was picked, packed, and shipped.
Functional Acknowledgment
The X12 997 confirms that an interchange was received and whether it passed structural (syntax) validation — it does not confirm business acceptance of the content.
Transportation Carrier Shipment Status Message
The X12 214 provides in-transit status updates (pickup, in-transit, delivered, exception) for a freight shipment.
Motor Carrier Load Tender
The X12 204 is a shipper's offer (tender) of a freight load to a carrier, specifying origin, destination, equipment, and commodity details.