Glossary for EDI & Master Data Management 

Key terms and definitions for electronic data exchange and master data – clearly explained for manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers who collaborate to share product information efficiently. 

Glossary

Here's a detailed glossary with descriptions and explanations for each term related to EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) Solutions and Master Data Management (MDM): 

 

| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X |   

 

A 

  • 810 Invoice – An electronic document used to request payment for goods or services provided. 
  • 820 Payment Order/Remittance Advice – A transaction used to transfer funds and provide details about payments. 
  • 824 Application Advice – A response to a transaction, indicating acceptance, rejection, or errors. 
  • 830 Planning Schedule – A forecast of demand or production schedules shared between suppliers and manufacturers. 
  • 832 Price/Sales Catalog – An electronic catalog containing product details, pricing, and availability. 
  • 850 Purchase Order – A document issued by a buyer to request goods or services from a supplier. 
  • 852 Product Activity Data – A transaction providing inventory movement, sales, and other product activity. 
  • 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment – Confirmation from a supplier that an order has been received and processed. 
  • 856 Advance Ship Notice (ASN) – A notification sent before shipment detailing contents, tracking, and delivery details. 
  • 860 Purchase Order Change Request – A document sent by the buyer to request modifications to a previously issued purchase order. 
  • 865 Purchase Order Change Acknowledgment – A supplier’s response to confirm or reject requested changes. 
  • 867 Product Transfer and Resale Report – A document tracking product movement from a seller to a buyer. 
  • 940 Warehouse Shipping Order – Instructions sent to a warehouse to ship products to a specified destination. 
  • 943 Warehouse Stock Transfer Shipment Advice – A document indicating that a stock transfer has been shipped from one warehouse to another. 
  • 944 Warehouse Stock Transfer Receipt Advice – Confirmation that a warehouse has received transferred stock. 
  • 945 Warehouse Shipping Advice – Notification that an order has been shipped from the warehouse. 
  • 947 Inventory Adjustment – A report indicating changes in inventory due to discrepancies, damages, or adjustments. 
  • Acknowledgment – A confirmation message indicating the receipt and status of an EDI transaction. 
  • Active Tag – A type of RFID tag that has an internal battery to transmit signals. 

 

B 

  • B2B (Business-to-Business) – Transactions between businesses, such as manufacturers and suppliers. 
  • B2C (Business-to-Consumer) – Transactions between businesses and individual consumers. 
  • B2G (Business-to-Government) – Transactions between businesses and government agencies. 
  • Back-End Integration – The process of connecting EDI systems to internal enterprise applications like ERP. 
  • Barcode – A machine-readable representation of data used for product identification. 
  • Bill of Lading (BOL) – A legal document detailing the shipment of goods. 

 


 

C 

  • Centralized Master Data Management – A system where all master data is managed in a central repository. 
  • Change Data Capture (CDC) – A method for identifying and tracking changes in data. 
  • Cloud-Based EDI – An EDI system hosted in the cloud for easy accessibility and scalability. 
  • Compliance Checking – Ensuring that data follows established industry and company standards. 
  • Consolidation – The process of combining multiple data sources into a single repository. 
  • Customer Data Integration (CDI) – Merging customer data from multiple sources into a single, consistent record. 

 

D 

  • Data Cleansing – The process of identifying and correcting errors in data. 
  • Data Consolidation – Combining data from multiple sources into a unified system. 
  • Data Enrichment – Enhancing existing data by adding missing or relevant information. 
  • Data Federation – A method that allows data from different sources to be accessed in real-time without replication. 
  • Data Governance – Policies and procedures that ensure data quality, security, and compliance. 
  • Data Integration – Combining data from various sources into a single view. 
  • Data Migration – The process of transferring data between systems or storage formats. 
  • Data Profiling – Analyzing data to understand its structure, quality, and consistency. 
  • Data Quality – The measure of how accurate, consistent, and complete data is. 
  • Data Stewardship – The management and oversight of data to ensure its quality and consistency. 
  • Data Synchronization – Ensuring that data remains consistent across multiple systems. 
  • Data Transformation – Converting data from one format to another. 

 

E 

  • EANCOM – A subset of EDIFACT used for EDI transactions in retail and distribution. 
  • EDIFACT – An international standard for EDI transactions. 
  • Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) – The electronic exchange of business documents in a standardized format. 
  • Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) – The digital transfer of money between financial institutions. 
  • Encryption – A method of securing data by converting it into an unreadable format. 
  • Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) – Connecting enterprise applications for seamless data flow. 
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) – A software system that integrates core business processes. 

 

G 

  • Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) – A system that enables the consistent sharing of product data. 
  • Global Location Number (GLN) – A unique identifier for businesses and physical locations. 
  • Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) – A globally recognized product identifier. 
  • Golden Record – The most accurate and complete version of a data record. 

 

I 

  • Integration – The process of connecting different systems and applications. 
  • Interchange Control Structure – A set of rules governing the structure of EDI transactions. 
  • Invoice – A document requesting payment for goods or services. 
  • Item Master – A database containing details about all products a company manages. 

 

M 

  • Mapping – The process of converting data between different EDI formats. 
  • Master Data – Foundational business data, such as product, customer, and supplier information. 
  • Master Data Management (MDM) – The governance and management of master data to ensure accuracy and consistency. 
  • Metadata – Data that describes other data for classification and organization. 

 

P 

  • Partner Agreement – A contract defining the terms of data exchange between trading partners. 
  • Partner Profile – A document detailing the technical and business requirements of a trading partner. 
  • Physical Inventory – A manual count of stock to verify accuracy. 
  • Product Data Management (PDM) – A system for managing product-related information. 
  • Product Information Management (PIM) – A system for centralizing and maintaining product data. 
  • Purchase Order – A document issued to suppliers requesting goods or services. 

 

R 

  • Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) – A technology that uses radio waves for product identification and tracking. 
  • Reference Data – Data used to classify or categorize business data. 
  • Registry – A centralized directory of data records. 

 

S 

  • Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) – A secure method for transferring data. 
  • Service Level Agreement (SLA) – A contract defining service expectations between parties. 
  • Supply Chain Management (SCM) – The management of goods and services as they move from suppliers to customers. 
  • Syntax – The structure and format rules used in data exchange. 

 

T 

  • Trading Partner – A business entity that exchanges EDI documents with another organization. 
  • Transaction Set – A predefined structure for an EDI document. 

 

V 

  • Value-Added Network (VAN)– A third-party provider that facilitates secure EDI transactions. 

 

W 

  • Warehouse Management System (WMS) – A software solution that helps manage warehouse operations, including inventory tracking, order fulfillment, and shipping. WMS integrates with EDI and ERP systems to streamline logistics and improve efficiency. 
  • Web EDI – A cloud-based or browser-based Electronic Data Interchange system that allows companies to exchange business documents without needing on-premises EDI software. It provides a more accessible and cost-effective solution for small and medium-sized businesses. 
  • Web Services – A set of standardized protocols and tools that enable different applications to communicate over the internet. In the context of EDI and MDM, web services facilitate real-time data exchange and integration between systems. 
  • Workflow – A sequence of tasks or processes that are executed in a defined order to achieve a business outcome. In EDI and MDM, workflows automate data validation, approvals, and synchronization between systems. 

 

X 

  • X12 – A widely used EDI standard developed by ANSI (American National Standards Institute) that defines formats for business document exchange, such as invoices, purchase orders, and shipment notices. 
  • XML Schema Definition (XSD) – A language used to define the structure and rules of XML documents. In EDI and MDM, XSD ensures that XML-based data exchanges conform to agreed-upon formats, improving data consistency and validation.