Guide

EDI codes explained: the 15 documents a retailer, brand or 3PL will send you

Every code your retailer, carrier or 3PL might send: what it means, who sends it and why it matters, written for operators and brand owners. If a buyer just asked you for an 850 or an 856, or a 3PL asked whether you are EDI compliant, this page is for you.

Browse the codes What to ask a 3PL about EDI

15EDI codes, plain English
4categories: orders, trucking, ocean, returns
850 to 997the retail flow, step by step
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How the documents flow

One retail order, five EDI documents

The same sequence runs for every wholesale purchase order, whether the retailer is a grocery chain or a marketplace.

Retailer sends the 850The purchase order lands in the brand's ERP or EDI platform with the PO number that every later document will reference. The clock on the retailer's compliance rules starts here.
Brand returns an 855, 3PL ships against itThe brand acknowledges the order, then the 3PL picks, packs and labels to the retailer's routing guide: carton labels, pallet build, SSCC numbers and ship window.
3PL sends the 856 before the truck landsThe ASN describes exactly what is on the truck, carton by carton, so receiving can scan it in. Then the 810 invoice follows, and every document gets a 997 acknowledgment in return.

Where the 3PL sits. The brand usually owns the EDI connection and the retailer relationship; the 3PL executes the physical side (pick, pack, label, ship) and produces the data the 856 needs. Whether the 3PL sends the ASN directly or feeds the brand's EDI provider is one of the first integration decisions to make, and it decides who gets the chargeback when an ASN is late.

EDI code library 1 of 4

Orders and invoicing

Buying, selling and getting paid. The four codes almost every retail account requires.

EDI850Purchase OrderA formal order with item numbers, quantities, prices and ship-to details. The retailer sends an 850 to the supplier to place an order. Everything downstream (855, 856, 810) references its PO number.Sent by Retailer to supplierNext 855 PO Acknowledgment, then 856 ASNGlossary Purchase orderDeep dive EDI 850 segment by segment
EDI855PO AcknowledgmentConfirmation that the order was received and accepted, with any changes or problems flagged (short quantities, substitutions, revised dates). The supplier sends an 855 back to the retailer, usually within 24 hours.Sent by Supplier to retailerNext 856 ASN once the order shipsGlossary Purchase orderDeep dive EDI 855 segment by segment
EDI856Advance Ship Notice (ASN)Shipment details sent before the truck arrives: carton contents, pallet structure, SSCC labels, tracking numbers and expected delivery date. The supplier or its 3PL sends the 856 to the retailer. Late or inaccurate ASNs are the most common source of chargebacks.Sent by Supplier or 3PL to retailerNext 810 Invoice, and a 997 from the retailerGlossary Advance shipping noticeDeep dive EDI 856 segment by segment
EDI810InvoiceA bill for the goods or services shipped, with line items, costs and payment terms. The supplier sends an 810 to the retailer to request payment, matched against the 850 and the 856.Sent by Supplier to retailerNext 997 acknowledgment, then payment on termsGlossary InvoiceDeep dive EDI 810 segment by segment

EDI code library 2 of 4

Motor carrier (trucking)

Land freight, from tendering the load to proof of delivery.

EDI204Motor Carrier Load TenderA job offer to a trucking company. The shipper or 3PL offers a load with origin, destination, weight, equipment and timing, and the carrier accepts or declines (often with a 990 response).Sent by Shipper or 3PL to carrierNext 990 accept or decline, then 211 and 214Glossary Truckload carriers
EDI210Freight Details and InvoiceThe carrier's invoice for a move, with line items for linehaul, fuel surcharge and accessorials such as liftgate or residential delivery. The carrier sends it to the shipper or 3PL for payment.Sent by Carrier to shipper or 3PLNext 997 acknowledgment, then freight paymentGlossary Freight
EDI211Motor Carrier Bill of LadingThe digital bill of lading: a contract and receipt for a shipment listing contents, counts and pickup terms. It replaces the paper BOL the driver would otherwise carry.Sent by Shipper or 3PL to carrierNext 214 status updates through deliveryGlossary Bill of lading
EDI214Shipment Status MessageA tracking update. The carrier sends the shipper location, milestone (picked up, in transit, out for delivery, delivered) and estimated arrival. This is what powers tracking pages and exception alerts.Sent by Carrier to shipperNext Repeats at each milestone until deliveredGlossary Delivery confirmationDeep dive EDI 214 segment by segment
EDI215Motor Carrier Pickup ManifestA list of shipments ready for pickup with IDs, contents and locations. A 3PL sends a 215 to the carrier so the driver knows what to collect on that day's run.Sent by 3PL to carrierNext 204 load tender or 211 bill of ladingGlossary Carrier

EDI code library 3 of 4

Ocean freight

Cross-border container shipping between the origin factory or co-manufacturer and the 3PL.

EDI310Freight Receipt and Invoice (Ocean)The ocean equivalent of an invoice and often the bill of lading too. The ocean carrier or forwarder bills the brand for moving goods overseas.Sent by Ocean carrier or forwarder to brandNext 315 status updates while in transitGlossary Ocean bill of lading
EDI315Status Details (Ocean)Tracking for ocean shipments: vessel location, ETA, port events and delays. The carrier notifies the brand when a container reaches port and clears or waits on customs.Sent by Ocean carrier to brand or forwarderNext Repeats at each port eventGlossary Freight forwarder

EDI code library 4 of 4

Routing, returns and confirmations

The supporting cast that keeps the main flows honest.

EDI180Return Merchandise AuthorizationA digital return approval. The retailer asks the brand or 3PL for permission to return items and receives instructions for how and where to send them.Sent by Retailer to brand or 3PLNext Return shipment, then credit memo or 812Glossary RMA
EDI753Request for Routing InstructionsThe shipper asks the retailer (or its carrier or 3PL) how a shipment should be routed: which carrier, which service, which consolidation point. Common with big-box retailers that control inbound freight.Sent by Shipper to retailer, carrier or 3PLNext 754 Routing InstructionsGlossary Freight management
EDI754Routing InstructionsThe reply to the 753. The retailer, carrier or 3PL sends the routing decision back so the shipper can book the freight accordingly.Sent by Retailer, carrier or 3PL to shipperNext 204 load tender or carrier booking, then 856Glossary Freight management
EDI997Functional AcknowledgmentA digital receipt. Confirms an EDI document was received and passed syntax checks, accepted or rejected, with error details if applicable. Nearly every trading partner expects a 997 for every document.Sent by Receiver of any document back to the senderNext Nothing; it closes the loop for the document it acknowledgesGlossary Functional acknowledgementDeep dive EDI 997 segment by segment

Before you sign

What to ask a 3PL about EDI

EDI compliant on a sales deck can mean anything from a full trading-partner library to a plan to hire an integrator. Three questions separate them.

Which codes and which partnersAsk for the list of EDI documents the 3PL already exchanges and the retailers it is live with. A warehouse that already runs 856 ASNs for Target or Walmart has done the hard part; onboarding a new trading partner still takes two to six weeks of testing.
Who owns the mappingEDI is a format, and every retailer has its own version of the 856 with mandatory fields and label specs. Confirm whether the 3PL, your EDI provider (SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce, Orderful, CRSTL and similar) or you own the mapping and who fixes it when a document is rejected.
Chargeback accountabilityLate ASNs, wrong labels and mis-packed cartons all generate retailer chargebacks. Get the 3PL's ASN accuracy and on-time rate in writing and agree who pays when a chargeback traces to the warehouse.

Compare providers

EDI providers and connectors compared

Twelve vendors a brand or 3PL is likely to shortlist, on the attributes that actually decide the choice. Every figure is the claim the vendor publishes about itself, read September 2026. Listed alphabetically, not ranked.

EDI providers and networks

These vendors own the trading partner relationship. They hold a map for each retailer, run or reach the network that carries the documents, and most will do the onboarding and testing for you.

ProviderHow they connectSetup speedConnectionsG2 ratingPricing

CleoMixed EDI and APISelf or managedEDI plus APIUnder 3 daysRetail Library, no totalApps Not published4.4 (600 reviews)On request

CrstlBrands new to retailAPI firstERP connectorDays, not monthsRetail Not publishedApps Not published2 reviews, too few to rateFlat fee, no doc charges

eZCom (Lingo)Apparel and CPGWeb appHands-onNot publishedRetail Hundreds namedApps Not published4.7 (280 reviews)Tiered, month to month

LogicbrokerDropshipDropshipAPI and EDIUnder 1 hourRetail 15,000+Apps 200+4.0 (30 reviews)On request

OrderfulLegacy VAN swapAPI firstOwn networkUnder 5 daysRetail 10,000+Apps 244.7 (117 reviews)From $99 a month

SPS CommerceFull outsourcingFully managedOwn networkAbout 2 weeksRetail 500,000+Apps 100+4.3 (705 reviews)On request, plus setup fee

TrueCommerceEDI plus channelsFully managedOwn networkNot publishedRetail 180,000+Apps 60+4.4 (446 reviews)On request

ZenbridgeEDI as an APIAPI firstMaps managedDaysRetail Not publishedApps Not published4.8 (52 reviews)$450 to $850 a month

Integration platforms that handle EDI

These are integration platforms first. They translate EDI and move data between your systems, but none of them runs a retail trading partner network, so the maps and usually the network still come from somewhere else. Worth knowing before a demo positions one as a straight swap for a managed provider.

ProviderHow they connectSetup speedConnectionsG2 ratingPricing

BoomiEDI, API and dataTranslates EDINeeds a VANWeeks to hoursRetail No networkApps 1,000+4.4 (505 reviews)From $99 a month plus usage

CECeligoNetSuite brandsTranslates EDIVAN via ECGridAbout 2 weeksRetail Named retailersApps Not published4.6 (1,102 reviews)By endpoints and flows

JitterbitRetailer libraryTranslates EDIEDI is an add-on3 weeksRetail 1,000+Apps 200+4.5 (629 reviews)Tiered, EDI priced separately

Pipe173PLs, fast onboardingEDI connectors3PL packagingWeeksRetail Not publishedApps 300+4.6 (29 reviews)By order volume, plus setup

Every count here is published by the vendor itself, and vendors count different things. SPS Commerce alone publishes 105,000 companies, 500,000 connections and 1,000,000 connections across its own site, so treat any single figure as a signal of scale rather than a measurement.
Onboarding times are marketing claims or single case studies, never independent tests, and they range from under an hour to three weeks. What operators report for a new retailer, whichever provider they use, is two to six weeks, most of it spent testing documents against the retailer specification.
G2 scores and review counts were read on 17 September 2026 and move continuously. The count is shown because a 5.0 from one review is not a rating. Trustpilot is not used here because most of these vendors have no Trustpilot reviews at all.
Headcount and ownership sit in a tooltip on each vendor name rather than a column. SPS Commerce is the only one that publishes an exact figure, because it is the only public company here; the rest are third-party estimates or not published at all.

Names you will see that are not in the table.

Stedi. Now a healthcare clearinghouse. Its pricing and documentation cover claims and eligibility checks with no retail transaction sets, so it is no longer an option for a retail EDI project.
DiCentral and B2BGateway. Both are TrueCommerce now, acquired in 2021 and 2020, and their old domains redirect there. A quote from either is a TrueCommerce quote.
OpenText and IBM Sterling. The enterprise ceiling, claiming over 1 million and over 3 million connected partners. Real options at high volume across many countries, priced and implemented accordingly, and rarely the right first EDI platform for a brand or a mid-market 3PL.

Questions

EDI FAQ

What is EDI?Electronic Data Interchange is a standardized way for businesses to exchange documents such as purchase orders, invoices and advance ship notices computer to computer, without retyping. Each document type has a number (850 for a purchase order, 856 for an ASN) and a strict format, so a retailer can process thousands of suppliers the same way. It cuts errors, speeds processing and creates an auditable trail between trading partners.

Who uses EDI?Retailers, brands, distributors, manufacturers, carriers and 3PLs. A typical retail flow is 850 purchase order, 855 acknowledgment, 856 advance ship notice and 810 invoice, each answered by a 997. Carriers and 3PLs exchange transportation documents such as 204, 211 and 214. If you sell wholesale into a major retailer, EDI is usually a condition of the vendor agreement.

EDI or API: which one does a brand need?Both, usually. Large retailers and most carriers still require EDI, and that will not change quickly. APIs connect your storefront, ERP and the 3PL's warehouse system in real time and are how most DTC integrations work. In practice the 3PL's WMS talks to your store by API and to your retail accounts by EDI, with an EDI provider translating in between.

What software do people use for EDI?Most companies use an EDI provider or integration platform to translate, validate and transmit documents rather than building their own. Common options include SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce, Orderful and CRSTL. They connect to ERPs, warehouse systems and eCommerce platforms, handle the mapping between each retailer's flavour of a document, and manage trading partner onboarding and testing.

Why do retailers insist on EDI?To standardize communication with thousands of suppliers, cut manual work, shorten lead times and automate receiving and compliance checks with real-time visibility across purchase orders, shipments and invoices. The result for the retailer is fewer errors and delays, and the mechanism that enforces it is the chargeback for every ASN, label or ship-window miss.

How long does EDI setup take and what does it cost?Connecting a brand to one retailer through an established provider typically takes two to six weeks, most of it testing documents against the retailer's specification. Costs vary by provider: a monthly platform fee plus per-document or per-partner charges, commonly from a few hundred dollars a month for a single retailer to several thousand for a large trading-partner network. A 3PL already live with that retailer shortens the timeline considerably.

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EDI codes explained: the 15 documents a retailer, brand or 3PL will send you

One retail order, five EDI documents

Orders and invoicing

Motor carrier (trucking)

Ocean freight

Routing, returns and confirmations

What to ask a 3PL about EDI

EDI providers and connectors compared

EDI providers and networks

Integration platforms that handle EDI

EDI FAQ

Get matched with an EDI-capable 3PL

Ready to shortlist 3PLs?

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EDI codes explained: the 15 documents a retailer, brand or 3PL will send you

One retail order, five EDI documents

Orders and invoicing

Motor carrier (trucking)

Ocean freight

Routing, returns and confirmations

What to ask a 3PL about EDI

EDI providers and connectors compared

EDI providers and networks

Integration platforms that handle EDI

EDI FAQ

Find a 3PL that already runs these codes

Get matched with an EDI-capable 3PL

Ready to shortlist 3PLs?

The 3PL newsletter, every two weeks

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