EDI 855 Definition
An EDI 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgement is an electronic document that is used by sellers to confirm receipt, reject, or request modification of a purchase order (EDI 850) back to the buyer or trading partner. The buyer knows that the supplier is ready to fulfill the order and ship the goods by the date as requested.
What EDI 855 Represents in Real Life
EDI 855 is the commitment checkpoint in the order lifecycle.
Until the 855 is sent:
-
- Buyers do not know if inventory is truly available
- Production schedules may still be uncertain
- Delivery expectations are not locked in
Once the 855 is received:
-
- Buyers can plan downstream inventory
- Retailers can forecast store replenishment
- Distributors can communicate availability internally
- Exceptions are handled early, not after shipping fails
This is where surprises are either prevented or created.
EDI 855 Specification
This X12 Transaction Set contains the format and establishes the data contents of the Purchase Order Acknowledgment Transaction Set (855) for use within the context of an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) environment. The transaction set can be used to provide for customary and established business and industry practice relative to a seller’s acknowledgment of a buyer’s purchase order. This transaction set can also be used as notification of a vendor generated order. This usage advises a buyer that a vendor has or will ship merchandise as prearranged in their partnership.
Source: Accredited Standards Committee X12. ASC X12 Standard [Table Data]. Data Interchange Standards Association, Inc., Falls Church, VA. https://x12.org/node/4397
Components of an EDI 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgement include:
- Purchase order number & Date
- Shipping & delivery Details & instructions
- Item/Service Identifiers (UPC/EAN/GTIN)
- Order and item status (i.e. accepted, rejected, or backordered)
EDI 855 can also include:
- Item Price and Quantity
- Name & Address of the Buyer
- Name & Address of the Supplier
- Any additional terms for the sale, such as discounts, etc
How the EDI 855 Fits into the Full Document Flow
The EDI 855 sits directly between ordering and fulfillment:
- EDI 850 – What the buyer requested
- EDI 855 – What the seller commits to
- EDI 856 – What actually ships
- EDI 810 – What is billed
- EDI 820 – What is paid
If the 855 is skipped or inaccurate, everything downstream is at risk.
Related EDI Transactions
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- EDI 810 – Invoice
- EDI 856 – Advance Ship Notice
- EDI 850 – Purchase Order
- EDI 860 Order Change Request
- EDI 812 – Credit / Debit Adjustment
- EDI 820 – Payment or Order Remittance
- EDI 832 – Price/Sales Catalog
- EDI 830 – Planning Schedule with Release Capability
- EDI 846 – Inventory Inquiry
- EDI 867 – Product Transfer and Resale Report File Format
- EDI 870 – Order Status Report
- EDI 875 – Grocery Products Purchase Order
- EDI 990 – Response to a Load Tender
- EDI 997 – Functional Acknowledgment
EDI 855 Sample File Format (Raw EDI File)
ISA*00* *00* *01*789456123 *01*943556183 *180305*1433*U*00401*000001199*0*P*> GS*PR*789456123*943556183*20180305*1433*1199*X*004010 ST*855*4321 BAK*00*AT*345678910*20180305 REF*VR*4567890000 N1*ST*UNFI Aurora*9*9435561830035 N3*17901 East 40th Ave N4*Aurora*CO*80011 PO1**2*CA*99.04**MF*176427*PI*21382*UA*076566711069*UI*76566711069*UK*10765667110697 ACK*IA*2*CA*068*20180319**MF*176427*PI*21382*UA*076566711069*UI*76566711069*UK*10765667110697 PO1**42*CA*90.79**MF*52793*PI*21389*UA*076566752793*UI*76566752793*UK*00765667527931 ACK*IA*42*CA*068*20180319**MF*52793*PI*21389*UA*076566752793*UI*76566752793*UK*00765667527931 PO1**36*CA*91.63**MF*100707*PI*21692*UA*076566710070*UI*76566710070*UK*00765667100707 ACK*IA*36*CA*068*20180319**MF*100707*PI*21692*UA*076566710070*UI*76566710070*UK*00765667100707 PO1**3*CA*97.9**MF*166427*PI*17545*UA*076566711001*UI*76566711001*UK*00765667110010 ACK*IA*3*CA*068*20180319**MF*166427*PI*17545*UA*076566711001*UI*76566711001*UK*00765667110010 PO1**28*CA*91.22**MF*11020*PI*29624*UA*076566711020*UI*76566711020*UK*00765667110201 ACK*IA*28*CA*068*20180319**MF*11020*PI*29624*UA*076566711020*UI*76566711020*UK*00765667110201 PO1**217*CA*91.63**MF*176184*PI*52505*UA*076566711059*UI*76566711059*UK*00765667110591 ACK*IA*217*CA*068*20180319**MF*176184*PI*52505*UA*076566711059*UI*76566711059*UK*00765667110591 PO1**217*CA*91.63**MF*176345*PI*52507*UA*076566711060*UI*76566711060*UK*00765667110607 ACK*IA*217*CA*068*20180319**MF*176345*PI*52507*UA*076566711060*UI*76566711060*UK*00765667110607 PO1**406*CA*24.884**MF*011010340*PI*25806***UA*079452221012*UK*00794522210121 ACK*IC*376*CA*068*20180326**MF*011010340*PI*25806***UA*079452221012*UK*00794522210121 PO1**290*CA*91.63**MF*176378*PI*52508*UA*076566711067*UI*76566711067*UK*00765667110676 ACK*IA*290*CA*068*20180319**MF*176378*PI*52508*UA*076566711067*UI*76566711067*UK*00765667110676 PO1**18*CA*95.4**MF*177985*PI*85666*UA*076566711075*UI*76566711075*UK*00765667110751 ACK*IA*18*CA*068*20180319**MF*177985*PI*85666*UA*076566711075*UI*76566711075*UK*00765667110751 PO1**42*CA*99.6**MF*400104*PI*21420*UA*076566740010*UI*76566740010*UK*00765667400104 ACK*IA*42*CA*068*20180319**MF*400104*PI*21420*UA*076566740010*UI*76566740010*UK*00765667400104 PO1**29*CA*44.8749**MF*011069635*PI*54608***UA*076211119949*UK*00762111199492 ACK*IA*29*CA*068*20180621**MF*011069635*PI*54608***UA*076211119949*UK*00762111199492 PO1**22*CA*31.9199**MF*011019077*PI*21640***UA*076211191164*UK*00762111911643 ACK*IR*0*CA*068*20180621**MF*011019077*PI*21640***UA*076211191164*UK*00762111911643 PO1**9*CA*29.9199**MF*011019075*PI*21638***UA*076211191165*UK*00762111911650 ACK*IA*9*CA*068*20180621**MF*011019075*PI*21638***UA*076211191165*UK*00762111911650 PO1**29*CA*34.8749**MF*011010285*PI*25786***UA*079452220005*UK*00794522200054 ACK*IA*29*CA*068*20180621**MF*011010285*PI*25786***UA*079452220005*UK*00794522200054 CTT*10 SE*38*4321 GE*1*1199 IEA*1*000001199
Real-World Example: Distributor Sending an EDI 855
A distributor receives an EDI 850 with 25 line items.
-
- Inventory is checked automatically
- 20 lines are accepted as requested
- 3 lines are backordered
- 2 lines are rejected due to discontinued SKUs
- The EDI 855 is sent within minutes
The buyer now knows:
-
- What will ship immediately
- What will ship later
- What needs to be substituted
No phone calls. No guessing.
Why EDI 855 Accuracy Matters
If the EDI 855 is wrong or missing:
-
- Buyers expect shipments that never arrive
- Retailers penalize suppliers for missed dates
- Distributors oversell inventory
- Customer service teams scramble to explain failures
A clean 855 prevents false commitments.
Common Challenges with EDI 855 Acknowledgments
- Buyers require line-level acknowledgments, not just order-level
- Backorder logic varies by trading partner
- ERP inventory timing does not always match PO receipt
- Some partners enforce strict response time SLAs
- Missing acknowledgments can trigger compliance penalties
Flexible EDI systems help manage these variations.
What Happens After an EDI 855 Is Sent
Once the buyer receives the 855:
- They send an EDI 997 Functional Acknowledgment
- Inventory planning is updated
- Receiving expectations are set
- Shipping and billing proceed
The order is now officially “real.”
Table of Content
Read next
An EDI 856 transaction known as an Advance Shipping Notice or ASN is used to communicate the contents of a fulfilment of an order between trading partners.
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