What is an EDI 850?

What is an EDI 850?

An EDI 850 is an electronic document that trading partners use to order goods or services. It is very similar to a paper Purchase Order (PO) document. You can use an EDI 850 to communicate electronically with trading partner’s order information such as:

• Cost
• Number of Items Ordered
• Payment Terms
• Discounts
• Shipping Information

EDI 850 Format

EDI 850s enable businesses to streamline the supply chain by eliminating the need to receive orders via fax or email and manually re-key the information into different systems. The automation also keeps the cost of business down as a whole because it frees up resources and reduces human error.

How do I send/receive an EDI 850?

It is fairly easy for a system to send/receive EDI 850s. For the most part, the transmitting is done through the Internet or Value Added Network (VAN). To keep EDI costs affordable, today most EDI transmission is done through the internet using AS2 or secure FTP, eliminating the need for an expensive VAN. The file is kept secure using encryption to keep the data safe.

Translating the EDI 850

Once an EDI 850 document has been received, it must be translated into a functional format for your system. Many organizations have their own standard set of definitions for EDI 850s and companies use a platform like logicbroker to configure and translate these different documents. Once the EDI 850 is translated, the order information can be synced to your internal system of record such as an ERP – eliminating the need for manual data entry. Once the information exists in your systems, you can quickly process the order. Typically, the next step is to send back similar documents such as an EDI 855 (Purchase Order Acknowledgement) and an EDI 856 (Advance Shipment Notice).

To learn more, please download our complete EDI 850 booklet or contact us for more information.