EDI Resource Center
EDI 852: Improve Your Supply Chain Management
What is EDI 852?
The EDI 852 document follows the ANSI X12 message standards, the most common EDI standard used in the United States. Also known as the Product Activity Data Report, the EDI 852 transaction document is the standard format that provides trading partners with information on current product and inventory levels, as well as information about product sales rates at the point of sale (POS).
Learn more: What Are EDI Transactions? A Complete Guide with Examples
What are EDI 852 transactions used for?
With EDI 852 transactions, distributors, warehouses, and retailers can give their suppliers the information and data they need to plan, ship, and reorder the stocking levels for their products efficiently. Sent at regular intervals—whether daily, weekly, or monthly—or triggered by significant inventory shifts, EDI 852 files ensure suppliers have timely, actionable insights to respond to demand.
The goal is to ensure inventory levels are accurately managed, shipments are up-to-date, and inventory costs are low. The EDI 852 helps suppliers, retailers, and warehouses optimize and automate much of the inventorying process, driving higher return on investment (ROI) and helping businesses focus on growth while maintaining agile operations.
Learn more: EDI in the Supply Chain: Overview, Benefits, and How CData Can Help with a Seamless Integration
10 Key elements of EDI 852 documents
- Inventory (quantity on hand)
- Item and quantity sold in units (e.g., amount of goods sold)
- Item and quantity sold in USD (value of goods sold)
- Item specification
- Estimated sales
- Quantity on hand
- Quantity on order
- Quantity sold
- Sales history and comparison to previous periods
- Forecast sales
5 EDI 852 benefits
The data contained in the EDI 852 provides valuable information about product performance with outcomes that can be evaluated at a store level, by vertical, geographic location, or product line. This level of detail provides important benefits:
Inventory management optimization
The EDI 852 data enables suppliers and retailers to optimize inventory management by giving visibility into product demand and stock levels. This can provide critical insights that help adjust inventory levels so that suppliers can reduce stockouts, prevent overstocking, and improve order fulfillment rates.
Learn more: What is EDI for Inventory Management? All You Need to Know
Strategic decision-making
EDI 852 files include essential product activity data that allows suppliers and retailers to make data-driven strategic decisions. With visibility into real-time sales trends, suppliers can improve profitability, enable more intelligent resource allocation, and better align with market demands.
Improved demand forecasting
Product activity data in EDI 852 files enhances demand forecasting accuracy for suppliers and retailers. Suppliers can refine their demand forecasts and respond proactively to changing market conditions with access to near real-time sales and inventory movements.
Learn more: What is 3PL EDI Integration? A Guide to Optimize Supply Chains
Improved data accuracy
EDI 852 files provide a standardized and reliable way for suppliers to receive accurate and timely product activity data from their partners. With the risk of manual data entry errors removed, this ensures that inventory, sales, and demand data are accurate and up to date. This precision helps support smooth operations across the supply chain, leading to stronger relationships with trading partners and improved customer satisfaction.
Competitive advantage
With real-time access to product activity data from EDI 852 files, suppliers can swiftly respond to shifts in market trends and demand by optimizing inventory levels to deliver a consistent and timely service. By leveraging the EDI 852 data, suppliers can improve their operational efficiency and build stronger partner relationships to give themselves a competitive advantage in today's fast-paced market.
Learn more: Benefits of EDI: 5 Advantages You Need to Know
The EDI 852 format
Here is one example of how the EDI 852 format looks. Your files may look different, but this should give you a good idea of what to expect.
Example EDI 852 file
ISA*00*1234*00*1234*ZZ*SENDERID*ZZ*RECEIVERID*220930*1234*U*00401*000000905*0*P*>
GS*PD*SENDERID*RECEIVERID*20220930*1234*905*X*004010
ST*852*0001
XQ*H*20220930*W
N1*WH*WAREHOUSE ID*92*123456
LIN**VN*12345*UP*012345678901
ZA*QA*100*20220930
ZA*QS*50*20220930
LIN**VN*67890*UP*098765432109
ZA*QA*250*20220930
ZA*QS*70*20220930
CTT*2
SE*12*0001
GE*1*905
IEA*1*000000905
Key segments of EDI 852
- ISA/GS: The interchange and group headers with sender and receiver data
- ST: The start of the transaction set
- XQ: The reporting frequency and report date
- LIN: The item identification number, such as the SKU
-
ZA: The product activity details
- QA: Quantity available
- QL: Minimum inventory quantity
- QM: Maximum inventory quantity
- QS: Quantity sold
- CTT/SE: The transaction totals and the end of the transaction set
- GE/IEA: The Functional Group and Interchange Control trailers that conclude the file
CData Arc: Easy X12 EDI 852 mapping and translation
CData Arc is a modern, end-to-end EDI solution complete with EDI mapping and translation, secure file exchange with EDI partners, and automated EDI-backend integration. CData Arc can translate any EDI document into XML, Excel, CSV, or any other major business format. With built-in EDI document transformation flows, you can easily and automatically transform EDI documents at the click of a button.