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Specializing in EDI and vendor compliance for manufacturers, distributors, &  retailers.

Common Terms And Definitions

Click here to see a list of common documents and their EDI document numbers.

Bill Of Lading:  A document (contract) between the shipper and the freight carrier which describes the goods being shipped in terms of their freight classification. 

Charge-back:  A financial penalty assessed by a customer to a vendor (a supplier of goods) for non-compliance with established vendor compliance rules.

EDI:  Electronic Data Interchange - a means of passing document information (i.e. a purchase order or invoice) between two companies electronically instead of via paper.  In uppercase EDI, the documents conform to the ANSI standards for electronic data interchange and will typically pass through a VAN (see definition below).

edi:  The same as uppercase EDI, except that in lowercase edi the documents do not conform to the ANSI standards for electronic data interchange and may not pass through a VAN (see definition below), but rather may be passed directly from the customer to the vendor and visa-versa.  For example, e-mailing a spreadsheet that represents a purchase order or invoice is a form of edi.

LTL:  The abbreviation for Less Than (Truck) Load.  A less than truck load shipment is a shipment, typically from a single source, that does not fill an entire truck.

Manifest:  A shipping document issued by the shipper to the end customer detailing where the shipped goods are to be routed to (i.e. a store or distribution center).

Mapping:  The act or process of translating electronic data from one format (i.e. EDI) to another format (i.e. flat file).

Product Catalog:  Typically maintained by a 3rd party company selected by the customer, a product catalog is where a vendor will store all information about the items it sells to the customer.  The product catalog allows the customer to access information about all its vendors' products in a single, structured format with consistent definitions of all the items.  An example of consistent definitions of items is the use of NRF (National Retail Federation) color and size codes.

SCAC:  Standard Carrier Alpha Code.  This code is defined by the NMFTA (National Motor Freight Traffic Association) for the purpose of identifying all transportation carriers with a single, industry-wide code (abbreviation).

SKU:  The abbreviation for Stock Keeping Unit.  An SKU is an individual item or part, and is typically represented by a UPC.

Small Package:  A shipment that is too small (by weight, volume, and/or number of cartons), to be transported via a standard motor carrier freight company.  Typical small package carriers are the United States Postal Service, FedEx, and UPS.

Trading Partner:  The customers a vendor conducts business with via EDI.  These customers are called trading partners because the two companies trade (electronic) documents.

TL:  The abbreviation for Truck Load.  A truck load shipment is a shipment, typically from a single source, that fills an entire truck.

UPC:  Universal Product Code - a unique 12-digit number assigned by the vendor to an item it makes.  The first 6 digits of the UPC are the vendor's (manufacturer's) unique ID as assigned by the Uniform Code Council (UCC).  A UPC is generally recognized as describing a unique style/color/size of an item.  The UPC acts as a cross-reference between the vendor's part number and the customer's item number.  

VAN:  Value Added Network - a company who acts as an electronic mailbox between vendors and customers for the purpose of conducting business using electronic documents.

Vendor:  A company that supplies goods to another company.  A vendor provides goods to their customers, known in the EDI-world as trading partners.