EDI & Standards Glossary
Electronic data interchange standards — the message formats (EDIFACT, ANSI X12, BAPLIE, COPRAR) that let carriers, ports and customs exchange data.
A
ANSI X12American National Standards Institute X12
The dominant EDI standard in North America, used for trade, transport, healthcare and finance.
ANSI X12ANSI Accredited Standards Committee X12
The dominant North American EDI standard defining electronic business transaction sets.
APERAKApplication Error and Acknowledgement Message
The UN/EDIFACT message that acknowledges a message at the application level, or reports application errors.
APIApplication Programming Interface
A defined interface that lets software systems exchange data and functions with each other automatically.
AS2Applicability Statement 2
A secure protocol for transmitting EDI and other data over the internet with encryption and receipts.
B
BAPLIEBay Plan / Stowage Plan Occupied and Empty Locations Message
The UN/EDIFACT message that communicates a container vessel's full stowage plan (which container in which slot).
C
Cargo-IMPCargo Interchange Message Procedures
The legacy IATA EDI message standard for air cargo, being replaced by Cargo-XML.
Cargo-XMLIATA Cargo-XML Messaging Standard
IATA's modern XML messaging standard for air cargo, replacing the legacy Cargo-IMP.
COARRIContainer Discharge / Loading Confirmation Message
The UN/EDIFACT message that confirms a container has been discharged from (or loaded to) a vessel.
CODECOContainer Gate-In/Gate-Out Report Message
The UN/EDIFACT message a terminal or depot sends to report that a container has passed the gate — in or out, by road or rail.
CONTRLSyntax and Service Report Message
The UN/EDIFACT service message that acknowledges an interchange was received and is syntactically valid — or reports syntax errors.
COPRARContainer Pre-Arrival Message
The UN/EDIFACT message that pre-announces a container's arrival to a terminal or port community.
CUSCARCustoms Cargo Report Message
The UN/EDIFACT message used by carriers to report cargo to customs authorities before arrival.
CUSDECCustoms Declaration Message
The UN/EDIFACT message used to lodge a customs declaration for imported or exported goods.
CUSRESCustoms Response Message
The UN/EDIFACT message customs authorities return in response to a declaration (CUSDEC) or cargo report (CUSCAR).
D
DESADVDespatch Advice Message (Advance Ship Notice)
The UN/EDIFACT message a supplier sends to announce that goods have been despatched — the electronic Advance Ship Notice.
E
EDIElectronic Data Interchange
The structured, computer-to-computer exchange of standard business documents between organisations.
F
FFMFreight Flight Manifest Message
The IATA Cargo-IMP message that lists every air waybill and shipment loaded on a specific flight.
FHLHouse Waybill Data Message (House Manifest)
The IATA Cargo-IMP message that lists the House Air Waybills consolidated under a Master AWB.
FSUFreight Status Update Message
The IATA Cargo-IMP message that reports air-cargo milestone status events like RCS, DEP, ARR and DLV.
FWBAir Waybill Data Message (Master AWB)
The IATA Cargo-IMP message that carries the full Master Air Waybill data from forwarder to airline.
I
IFTDGNDangerous Goods Notification Message
The UN/EDIFACT message that notifies the dangerous-goods details of a consignment to carriers, terminals and authorities.
IFTMBFFirm Booking Message
The UN/EDIFACT message a forwarder sends to firmly book cargo space with a carrier.
IFTMINInstruction Message (Forwarding & Transport)
The UN/EDIFACT message a shipper or forwarder sends to instruct a carrier to move a consignment.
IFTSTAInternational Multimodal Status Report Message
The UN/EDIFACT message that reports the status of a consignment as it passes each milestone across a multimodal journey.
INVOICInvoice Message
The UN/EDIFACT message a supplier sends to bill a buyer electronically.
J
JSONJavaScript Object Notation
A lightweight, human-readable text format for exchanging structured data, dominant in modern web APIs.
M
MOVINSStowage Instruction Message
The UN/EDIFACT message that instructs a terminal how and where to stow containers when loading a vessel.
O
OAuthOpen Authorization
A standard for securely authorising API access using tokens, without sharing passwords.
ORDERSPurchase Order Message
The UN/EDIFACT message a buyer sends to a supplier to place a purchase order.
ORDRSPPurchase Order Response Message
The UN/EDIFACT message a supplier sends to confirm, amend or reject a purchase order.
P
PAXLSTPassenger List Message
The UN/EDIFACT message that transmits passenger and crew data to border, customs and immigration authorities.
R
RECADVReceiving Advice Message
The UN/EDIFACT message a buyer sends to confirm what was actually received against a shipment.
REST (RESTful API)Representational State Transfer
A widely used architectural style for web APIs, using standard HTTP methods to exchange data resources.
S
SCACStandard Carrier Alpha Code
A unique two-to-four-letter code identifying a transportation carrier, used widely in North American logistics and EDI.
SFTPSSH File Transfer Protocol
A secure protocol for transferring files between systems, widely used to exchange EDI and data batches.
SOAPSimple Object Access Protocol
An older, standardised XML-based protocol for web services, still used in some enterprise and legacy interfaces.
U
UN/EDIFACTUnited Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport
The dominant international EDI standard for cross-border trade messages, used widely in maritime, customs and freight.
UN/EDIFACTUnited Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport
The international EDI standard defining the structure of electronic trade and transport messages.
UN/LOCODEUnited Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations
The UN standard five-character code identifying ports and locations used in trade and transport worldwide.
V
VERMASVerified Gross Mass Message
The UN/EDIFACT message that transmits a container's SOLAS-required Verified Gross Mass from shipper to carrier and terminal.
W
Webhook
A mechanism where one system automatically pushes real-time event notifications to another via an HTTP call.
X
XMLExtensible Markup Language
A structured, tag-based text format for representing and exchanging data, used in many standards and EDI.
See WHIZ in your operation.
A Solutions Architect will tailor a 30-minute walkthrough to your modules, integrations and rollout plan. No commitment required.