UN/EDIFACT Standard
Overview of the UN/EDIFACT standard, common message types and versioning.
What is EDIFACT?
UN/EDIFACT (United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport) is the primary international EDI standard developed by the United Nations, widely used in Europe and Asia for global trade.
Its goal is to standardise the structure of business documents — invoices, orders, delivery notes, payment notifications — across different countries, industries and systems.
Common Message Types
- INVOIC — Invoice
- ORDERS — Purchase Order
- ORDRSP — Order Response
- DESADV — Despatch Advice (ASN)
- RECADV — Receiving Advice
- PRICAT — Price/Sales Catalogue
- CONTRL — Syntax and Service Message
Versions
EDIFACT versions follow the D-directory notation (e.g. D96A, D01B, D07A). In Hungary and the European automotive sector, D96A and D01B are the most common versions.