ORDERS
Also: EDIFACT purchase order · electronic order
ORDERS is the EDIFACT message for electronic purchase orders. It transmits the order header, line items, quantities, dates and further agreed details in structured form into the supplier's system.
What it is
An ORDERS message typically contains the order number and date, the companies and delivery locations involved, and the items ordered. For each item it can carry the article identification, quantity, unit of measure, delivery date and — depending on the agreement — prices or further terms.
There are related EDIFACT messages around the order. ORDRSP serves as the order response or confirmation; ORDCHG is used for order changes. Whether these are needed as well depends on the process and on the trading partner's requirements.
In practice
The aim of an ORDERS connection is usually to turn the incoming message into an order in the ERP or merchandise management system with as little manual work as possible. Three areas in particular have to be settled cleanly for that.
First, article mapping: the customer may order using their own article number, a GTIN or another reference. That reference has to map unambiguously onto an article in your own system.
Second, units of measure: pieces, cartons, pallets and kilograms are not interchangeable. The codes used and any conversions required have to be defined unambiguously.
Third, prices and terms: if the order carries a price, it has to be established how deviations from your own system are handled. Whether a difference is accepted automatically, logged, or referred for review is a commercial rule.
A robust connection therefore includes clearly defined exceptions. What is unambiguous gets automated; unclear cases are deliberately referred for a decision.
When it affects you
ORDERS is often the entry point into EDI, because it directly reduces the manual capture of incoming orders. The message becomes particularly relevant when customers require it contractually or when larger order volumes are processed regularly.
The technical effort is largely determined by master-data quality. Where customer article numbers, units and delivery locations are mapped cleanly, a large part of the process can be automated. Where those mappings are missing, creating them is a substantial part of the project.
An implementation guideline and one real sample order are therefore the best basis for a first estimate.