EDIfact Format Reference
Version: 2.0 — June 2026
Standard: EANCOM D.01B (UN/EDIFACT)
EDIconnect uses EANCOM D.01B — the standard version in retail and distribution in Romania and Europe. This page describes the syntax rules, envelope structure, and conventions applied to all EDIfact messages.
D.01B is the 2001 version of the UN/EDIFACT standard. Do not confuse it with D.96A (1996) — the earlier version, which is not accepted in current integrations. All EDI messages with retail partners in Romania use EANCOM D.01B exclusively.
Document Types
Each EDIfact message is identified by the BGM (Beginning of Message) segment. The qualifier in BGM determines the document type:
| Message | BGM Qualifier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ORDERS | 220 |
Purchase Order |
| ORDRSP | 231 |
Order Response (Order Acknowledgement) |
| DESADV | 351 |
Despatch Advice |
| INVOIC | 380 |
Commercial Invoice |
| INVOIC | 381 |
Credit Note |
| RECADV | 632 |
Goods Receipt Note — GRN |
| RECADV | 71 |
Goods Return |
| RECADV | 70E |
Seizure (damage/quarantine) |
| PRICAT | 9 |
Price/Sales Catalogue |
BGM structure: BGM+{qualifier}+{documentNumber}+{function}'
Examples:
BGM+220+CMD20240315001+9' ← New order
BGM+380+FACT2024001+9' ← New invoice
BGM+632+NIR20240315001+9' ← GRN (goods receipt)
Function code 9 = Original; 5 = Replacement (replaces a previous document).
Character Set & Encoding
Default: UNOA (basic Latin, uppercase)
Extended: UNOB (full Latin-1, uppercase + lowercase — used when product descriptions contain lowercase letters or diacritics)
Declared in UNB: UNB+UNOB:3+...
Service String Advice (UNA)
The UNA segment defines special characters. Standard values (may be omitted if default values are used):
UNA:+.? '
| Position | Character | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | : |
: |
Component data element separator |
| 2 | + |
+ |
Data element separator |
| 3 | . |
. |
Decimal separator |
| 4 | ? |
? |
Release character (escape) |
| 5 | |
|
Reserved (space) |
| 6 | ' |
' |
Segment terminator |
To include a special character as data, prefix it with ?:?+ in a data field means a literal +.
Message Envelope (EANCOM D.01B)
UNA:+.? '
UNB+UNOB:3+{SenderGLN}:14+{ReceiverGLN}:14+{Date}:{Time}+{InterchangeRef}++EANCOM'
UNH+{MessageRef}+{MessageType}:D:01B:UN:EAN008'
BGM+{qualifier}+{documentNumber}+9'
DTM+137:{date}:102'
... message segments ...
UNT+{SegmentCount}+{MessageRef}'
UNZ+{MessageCount}+{InterchangeRef}'
UNB — Interchange Header
| Element | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Syntax ID | UNOB:3 |
Character set + version |
| Sender ID | Your GLN | 5949876543210 |
| Sender Qualifier | 14 = EAN/GLN |
14 |
| Receiver ID | Partner GLN | 5941234567890 |
| Receiver Qualifier | Same as sender | 14 |
| Date | YYMMDD |
240315 |
| Time | HHMM |
1430 |
| Interchange Ref | Unique per interchange, max 14 chars | 000001 |
| Association Code | EANCOM |
Identifies the EANCOM profile |
UNH — Message Header
| Element | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Message Ref | Sequential within interchange | 1 |
| Message Type | Message type | ORDERS |
| Version | D |
Directory |
| Release | 01B |
EANCOM D.01B |
| Controlling Agency | UN |
|
| Association Code | EAN008 |
EANCOM profile |
Common Segments
DTM — Date/Time/Period
Format: DTM+{qualifier}:{value}:{format}'
| Qualifier | Meaning |
|---|---|
2 |
Requested delivery date |
11 |
Despatch date |
13 |
Payment due date |
17 |
Estimated delivery date |
36 |
Expiry date |
94 |
Valid from |
95 |
Valid to |
137 |
Document date |
Date format codes: 102 = YYYYMMDD, 203 = YYYYMMDDHHMM
Example: DTM+137:20240315:102'
NAD — Name and Address
Format: NAD+{party role}+{GLN}::9'
| Role Qualifier | Party |
|---|---|
BY |
Buyer |
SU |
Supplier |
DP |
Delivery Party |
IV |
Invoicee |
PW |
Payer |
Example: NAD+BY+5941234567890::9'
RFF — Reference
| Qualifier | Meaning |
|---|---|
ON |
Order number (PO buyer) |
DQ |
Despatch advice number |
IV |
Invoice number |
VA |
VAT number |
ADE |
Account number |
QTY — Quantity
| Qualifier | Meaning |
|---|---|
12 |
Despatched quantity |
21 |
Ordered quantity |
47 |
Invoiced quantity |
48 |
Received/accepted quantity |
191 |
Rejected quantity |
MOA — Monetary Amount
| Qualifier | Meaning |
|---|---|
77 |
Invoice VAT amount |
79 |
Invoice total including VAT |
124 |
Tax amount |
125 |
Taxable basis |
203 |
Line amount |
Functional Acknowledgement (CONTRL)
EDIconnect sends a CONTRL message to confirm receipt of EDIfact interchanges. See Error Codes for UCI/UCM/UCS error codes.
Grouping Multiple Messages
Multiple messages of the same type can be grouped into a single interchange:
UNB+UNOB:3+{Sender}:14+{Receiver}:14+240315:1430+000001++EANCOM'
UNH+1+ORDERS:D:01B:UN:EAN008'
BGM+220+CMD001+9'
... order 1 ...
UNT+12+1'
UNH+2+ORDERS:D:01B:UN:EAN008'
BGM+220+CMD002+9'
... order 2 ...
UNT+10+2'
UNZ+2+000001'
Each message gets its own UNH/UNT. UNZ counts the messages in the interchange.