The
EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice transaction set is used to communicate inventory information between manufacturers, their suppliers and resellers. It is used in a number of ways, including:
- By sellers of goods and services to provide inventory information to a potential customer
- By a seller’s representatives to supply the seller with inventory information
- By one seller’s location to supply another location with inventory information
- By a seller to inquire on the availability of inventory
Manufacturers and suppliers often use 846 transactions to notify trading partners of on-hand inventory in various inventory holding locations, such as warehouses, outlets, stores, distribution centers, etc. One common situation is where a manufacturer uses an 846 to advise a trading partner of overstocked inventories available at discounted prices.
Information included in the 846 transaction set includes inventory location identification, item or part description, and quantities. The quantity of an item may be presented in a number of ways, including:
- Quantity in float
- Quantity on hand
- Committed quantity
- On order quantity
- Returns
- Backorder quantity
- Quantity in transit
In some cases, the item quantity information in an 846 document may trigger shipment of materials, if an automatic replenishment agreement exists between the trading partners. Such a replenishment agreement would be established separately, via an
850 Purchase Order transaction.
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EDI 846 Format
ISA*01*0000000000*01*0000000000*ZZ*ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO*ZZ*123456789012345*101127*1719*U*00400*000003438*0*P*>
GS*IB*4405197800*999999999*20101127*1719*1421*X*004010VICS
ST*846*1001
BIA*13*PI*4589*20001104
DTM*040*20001108
N1*DS*HC DISTRIBUTOR*21*78YU0JN90
PER*IC*M.J. SMITH*TE*651-555-0891*EM*FEEDBACK@1edisource.com
LIN*1*MG*1000*UK*50387698433528*LT*43552
PID*F****DRAPE, SMALL TOWEL, CLEAR PLASTIC, ADHESIVE STRIP
CTT*1
SE*9*1001
GE*1*1421
IEA*1*000003678
EDI 846 Specification
This X12 Transaction Set contains the format and establishes the data contents of the Inventory Inquiry/Advice Transaction Set (846) for use within the context of an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) environment. The transaction set can be used in the following ways: (1) for a seller of goods and services to provide inventory information to a prospective purchaser, with no obligation to the purchaser to acquire these goods or services; (2) for a representative of a seller of goods and services to supply inventory information to that seller; (3) for one location to supply another location with inventory information; and (4) for an inquiry as to the availability of inventory with no obligation on the seller of goods and services to reserve that inventory.
