What does D.96A mean? Understanding EDIFACT versions
Every EDIFACT message declares which rule set it follows, in the UNH segment:
UNH+ME000001+ORDERS:D:96A:UN:EAN008'
Each part of that line says something.
The parts
| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
ORDERS | Message type |
D | Directory type — the published standard directory |
96A | Version: the A release of 1996 |
UN | Controlling agency: the United Nations |
EAN008 | Associated usage guideline, where one applies |
|---|
So D.96A means the standard directory published in the first half of 1996.
Why still 1996?
Newer versions exist — D.01B, D.07A, D.16A. Yet retail has largely stayed on D.96A. The reason is simple: upgrading a working integration costs more than the newer version is worth.
Differences between versions are mostly added segments and codes; the core structure (UNB, UNH, BGM, NAD, LIN) has stayed the same throughout.
The fifth part: the usage guideline
A value such as EAN008 points not at the standard itself but at an industry guideline. EANCOM is GS1's EDIFACT subset for retail, and in European retail it is in practice more decisive than the standard it derives from.
This field records which guideline you are following, as set out in your partner's specification.
When it bites
A version mismatch is a quiet source of failure. Send D.96A where your partner expects D.01B and the message will usually still process — right up until you use a segment that exists only in the newer version.
That makes the version in the specification a field to match exactly, not one to skim past.