UN/EDIFACT
UN/EDIFACT (United Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport) is the international standard for EDI, maintained under the UN, that defines the structure, syntax and content of electronic business messages used in trade, transport and administration worldwide. It is the dominant EDI standard outside North America (where ANSI X12 prevails) and is especially entrenched in international shipping, logistics and customs.
EDIFACT specifies a library of standard message types — each with a code — covering the flow of trade and transport: for example ORDERS (purchase order), INVOIC (invoice), IFTMIN/IFTMBF (transport instructions/booking), COPRAR/CODECO (container discharge/gate messages), CUSDEC/CUSRES (customs declaration/response), BAPLIE (stowage plan) and many more. Its rigorous, internationally agreed structure lets systems across countries and companies exchange logistics and customs data reliably. In freight and shipping software, handling EDIFACT messages is a core requirement for carrier, port, terminal and customs integration. UN/EDIFACT is a foundational data standard of global trade, and its message types form much of the technical vocabulary of logistics EDI.
UN/EDIFACT is the message dictionary of international logistics — the standard behind COPRAR, IFTMIN, CUSDEC, BAPLIE and the rest that carriers, ports, terminals and customs exchange worldwide. Handling EDIFACT is a core requirement for integrating shipping systems across borders, making it and its message types essential technical vocabulary in freight and trade software.
How does EDIFACT relate to ANSI X12?
Both are EDI standards; UN/EDIFACT is the international standard (dominant outside North America), while ANSI X12 prevails in North America.
What kinds of EDIFACT messages are used in shipping?
Transport and customs messages like IFTMIN, COPRAR, CODECO, CUSDEC and BAPLIE, plus commercial ones like ORDERS and INVOIC.