The Makeup of an Odette/EDIFACT EDI Code
Network and File Node EDI codes may be up to 25 characters long but at interchange level an EDI code may be as many as 35 characters. The codes should be made up using the following list of characters and no others.
| A to Z |
Uppercase alphabetic characters |
| 0 to 9 |
Numeric characters |
| - |
Hyphen |
| / |
Slash or Oblique |
| , |
Comma |
| . |
Full Stop |
| & |
Ampersand |
| ( |
Left hand bracket |
| ) |
Right hand bracket |
| |
Blank or space (CAUTION - this is NOT recommended as some systems cannot cater for it). |
There are currently no standards for EDI codification schemes. Obviously it is vital that the code should be unique. New EDI users have a number of choices available to them.
- Choose their company name (not recommended)
- Be allocated an EDI code by a third party network (VAN) or trading partner
- Derive their own EDI Code
If users wish to take the latter course of action, the following are the Odette recommendations for the structure of an EDI code.
| Length |
Name |
Description |
| 1 |
Code Prefix |
The letter ‘O’ |
| 4 |
ICD Code |
The ICD (International Code Designator) is a 4 character code as specified by the ISO standard ISO 6523. This identifies a standards organisation responsible for managing a numbering scheme. The scheme could either be an international scheme, such as the European Article Numbering Association (EAN) or a national scheme such as the U.K. Company Registration number. |
| 14 |
Company Code |
This is the code assigned by the agency specified in the ICD code above. If it is less than 14 character positions, then it should be right aligned and zero padded to the left. |
| 6 |
Sub-Address |
This alpha-numeric field is a user assigned sub-address. It can identify various Physical Addresses within an organisation. |
An example EDI code for Data Interchange Plc would be :-
O093200000002078041SYS001
O is the code prefix
0932 is the ICD for the U.K. company registration scheme
2078041 is the Company Registration number for Data Interchange Plc.
SYS001 is a locally assigned code to describe the EDI entity.
Please note that this is a recommendation for the formation of an EDI code and NOT a standard.
The Makeup of a Tradacoms EDI Code
Network and File Node EDI codes may be up to 25 characters long but at interchange level a Tradacoms EDI code must be exactly 13 numeric characters long. In the Tradacoms standard, EDI codes are referred to as ANA codes and may be obtained from one of the standards bodies, such as DUNS or GS1.
If users prefer not to use the standards bodies, the following are the Data Interchange recommendations for the structure of a Tradacoms EDI code.
| Length |
Name |
Description |
| 4 |
ICD Code |
The ICD (International Code Designator) is a 4 character code as specified by the ISO standard ISO 6523. This identifies a standards organisation responsible for managing a numbering scheme. The scheme could either be an international scheme, such as the European Article Numbering Association (EAN) or a national scheme such as the U.K. Company Registration number. |
| 9 |
Company Code |
This is the code assigned by the agency specified in the ICD code above. If it is less than 9 character positions, then it should be right aligned and zero padded to the left. |
An example Tradacoms EDI code for Data Interchange Plc would be :-
0932002078041
0932 is the ICD for the U.K. company registration scheme
2078041 is the Company Registration number for Data Interchange Plc.
Please note that this is a recommendation for the formation of an EDI code and NOT a standard.
VDA EDI Codes
Network and File Node EDI codes may be up to 25 characters long but at interchange level an EDI code can only be a maximum of 9 characters. For VDA communications, users are normally allocated an EDI code by their trading partner. This EDI code is usually their supplier code. Trading partner EDI codes are usually their customer code.