Your retailer asked for EDI. Here is what happens next.
A retailer has accepted your products and sent a vendor guide with a deadline. This page explains what it is asking for, the steps to your first live order, and where first-time suppliers lose money. No EDI experience needed.
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What the retailer is asking for
EDI is the exchange of business documents in a fixed format, computer to computer. With a retailer, it comes down to six documents. Each has a number you will see everywhere in the vendor guide.
| Document | Who sends it | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| 850 Purchase order | The retailer | What the retailer orders, at what price, for which store or warehouse, and by when. |
| 855 Order acknowledgment | You | Whether you accept the order as is, change a quantity or a date, or refuse a line. |
| 856 Advance ship notice (ASN) | You | What is on the truck, carton by carton, sent before the shipment arrives. The carton labels must match it. |
| 810 Invoice | You | What you bill for what was shipped. |
| 820 Payment advice | The retailer | Which invoices the retailer is paying, and what it deducted. |
| 997 Acknowledgment of receipt | Both | A receipt for each document: it arrived and could be read. It says nothing about agreeing with the content. |
Not every retailer uses all six, and some add others. The vendor guide says which ones apply to you.
From the vendor guide to your first live order
Read what your retailer requires
The vendor guide lists the documents, the deadlines for each one and the fees for getting them wrong. We summarise the requirements of the major retailers in plain language, with sources.
Retailer EDI requirements →Gather your identifiers
Every document identifies your company and each product. The retailer will ask how your company is identified in EDI and expects each product to carry the identifier on its barcode (usually a UPC or GTIN). Have your product list ready with those numbers.
Open the connection
Documents travel over a secure connection that the retailer specifies, most often AS2 or SFTP. This is a one-time setup for each retailer.
Pass the retailer’s tests
Before real orders, the retailer sends test orders and checks what you send back. Checking your own documents against its rules first saves rounds of back-and-forth.
Check a document with the free validator →Go live
The retailer switches you to production and the first real purchase order arrives. From here, every order follows the same path.
Keep the rhythm
Acknowledge each order within the retailer’s deadline, send the ship notice before the truck arrives, and invoice what was shipped. Most fees come from one of these three being late or not matching.
Where first-time suppliers lose money
The ship notice leaves after the truck
Retailers plan receiving from the ship notice. One that is late or missing is commonly charged per order or per shipment.
The cartons do not match the notice
The label on each carton must point to what the ship notice says is inside. A substitution at the dock without a corrected notice becomes a discrepancy.
The invoice does not match the order
A price or quantity that differs from the purchase order and the ship notice is paid short or rejected, and the difference shows up later as a deduction.
One example: Canadian Tire’s published vendor requirements set a CAD 200 charge per purchase order or shipment for a missing, late or inaccurate ship notice.
Canadian Tire EDI requirements →How Weredi gets a first-time supplier live
Your retailer set up and tested for you
Weredi sets up and tests any trading partner for you, at no extra charge. Specifications for more than 350 partners are already in the network.
Replies built from the order
When a purchase order arrives, the acknowledgment, the ship notice with its carton labels and the invoice are prepared from it. You confirm quantities; you do not retype the order.
Checked before it is sent
Each document is validated against the retailer’s rules before it leaves, and the problem is shown on the field that causes it.
One price, in English and French
$199 CAD a month, with unlimited trading partners and transactions. The whole platform works in English and French.
Questions buyers ask
How long does it take to get set up with EDI for a retailer?
It depends mostly on the retailer: each one runs its own testing steps on its own schedule, described in its vendor guide. Your side (the connection, your products and the first test documents) can be ready early, so the retailer’s calendar is the only thing you wait for.
Do I need an ERP or accounting integration to start?
No. You can receive orders and send acknowledgments, ship notices and invoices from the Weredi portal itself. Connecting QuickBooks Online, Sage Accounting, Xero or NetSuite is available on Weredi Plus when you want orders and invoices to flow through your books.
What does EDI cost for a first retailer?
Weredi is $199 CAD a month with unlimited trading partners and transactions, so a second retailer does not change the price. You can try it free for 14 days without a credit card.
Do I have to use the EDI provider my retailer suggests?
Read your vendor guide: it is the authority. Retailers define the documents and the connection they accept, and many leave the choice of software to the supplier while naming a provider as a suggestion. If your guide makes one provider mandatory, that rule applies.
What if my retailer is not in your list?
Its specifications may already be in the EDI network, which holds more than 350 trading partners. If not, Weredi sets up and tests the partner for you from its vendor guide, at no extra charge.
Speak to an EDI expert today
Connect with one of our experienced EDI experts to learn how Weredi’s Modern EDI Platform can handle your company’s EDI needs.