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If a retail chain asks you to trade by EDI and you key in their orders today: what ORDERS, DESADV and INVOIC are, what the ERP must check, and a demo.
Short answer: to sell to a large retail chain you will almost always need EDI: their orders arrive as electronic messages (ORDERS) and you answer with a despatch advice (DESADV) and an invoice (INVOIC) in the same format. If someone keys in those orders today, every code or price error ends in a rejection or a penalty. The ERP should turn the message into a sales order, check every barcode (GTIN) and price, and reply on its own. Try it below with a sample EDIFACT order.
The messages you will use
| Message | What it is | Sent by |
|---|---|---|
| ORDERS | Purchase order | The retailer |
| DESADV | Despatch advice: what is on each pallet | You, on shipping |
| INVOIC | Invoice | You |
Products are identified by GTIN (the barcode number), companies and delivery points by GLN, and each pallet in the DESADV carries an SSCC label.
What the ERP must check before shipping
Every GTIN exists in your catalogue; the order price matches the agreed price list; the delivery GLN is a known store or depot; and there is stock for the requested date.
How it is set up
Business Central has no built-in EDI: it connects to an EDI provider (the network that exchanges messages with retailers) through an app or integration. The ERP receives the ORDERS, creates the sales order, flags anything that does not match, and generates the DESADV and INVOIC when you ship and invoice. Also distributing to other customers? See Business Central for wholesale distribution.
FAQ
Does Business Central do EDI? With an app or integration with an EDI provider, yes: it receives orders and sends despatch advice and invoices automatically.
What are GTIN and GLN? GTIN identifies each product (the barcode number); GLN identifies each company, store or depot.
What if an unknown code arrives? The ERP flags it before creating the order, so you resolve it with the retailer before shipping.
Do I need SSCC labels? If the retailer requires them in the DESADV, yes: each pallet gets an SSCC, generated when the shipment is prepared.
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