IFTMBF
IFTMBF is the UN/EDIFACT firm booking message — the electronic request a freight forwarder or shipper sends to a carrier to reserve space for a consignment on a specific service or sailing. It carries the parties, the goods and equipment required, the routing, and the requested departure, and commits the booking (as opposed to a provisional enquiry).
IFTMBF is part of the IFTM booking family alongside IFTMIN (transport instruction), IFTMBC (booking confirmation, the carrier's reply) and IFTMCS (contract status). The firm-booking → confirmation exchange (IFTMBF → IFTMBC) is the electronic backbone of ocean and multimodal space booking, replacing the emailed booking form and its re-keying errors.
IFTMBF is the digital "book this space" — sent as structured EDI, the carrier's system ingests the booking directly and replies with an IFTMBC confirmation. It removes the manual booking form that causes wrong equipment, missed sailings and mismatched party details.
confirmed
What is the difference between IFTMBF and IFTMIN?
IFTMBF is the firm booking request for space; IFTMIN is the transport instruction to actually move the consignment. They are two messages in the same IFTM family.
What does the carrier reply to an IFTMBF with?
An IFTMBC — the booking confirmation message — which accepts (or amends) the requested booking.