What is ANSI X12?
ANSI X12 was developed for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) by
the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) in 1979. The aim was to develop
uniform standards for inter-industry electronic exchange of business
transactions. ANSI X12 was originally conceived to support businesses across
different industry sectors in North America. The ANSI X12 standard is now used
worldwide by over 300,000 companies.
ANSI X12 is similar to EDIFACT in that each EDI document is made up of
multiple segments. Each segment is composed of a sequence of elements.
Example ANSI X12 Document
ISA*00* *00* *01*123464321 *01*012361234
*141016*2359*U*00401*987800111*0*P*^
GS*RA*123464321*012361234*141016*2359*987600113*X*004010
ST*820*987800111
BPR*C*77.77*C*ACH*CTX*01*234056789*DA*00999**123454321*01*045678099
*DA*1073899*031016
TRN*1*1410162359
REF*AA*EDI6
N1*PR*COMPANY NAME
N3*COMPANY ADDRESS 1*COMPANY ADDRESS 2
N4*COMPANY ADDRESS 3*STATE*ZIP
N1*PE*TEST
ENT*1
RMR*AP*1111111111111111*PO*12.12
RMR*AP*2222222222222222*PO*24.24
RMR*AP*4444444444444444*PO*46.46
DTM*055*141016
SE*000000014*987800111
GE*1*987800111
IEA*1*987800111\
Service Segment Descriptions
ISA Segment – Interchange Control Header
GS Segment – Function Group Header
ST Segment – Transaction Set Header
SE Segment – Transaction Set Trailer
GE Segment – Function Group Trailer
IEA Segment – Interchange Control Trailer
Segment Formats
ISA*fields^ GS*fields^ ST*fields^ SE*fields^ GE*fields^ IEA*fields^
Note: * = Field Separator; ^ = Segment Separator
Segment Fields
ISA Segment
ISA01 Authorization Information Qualifier
ISA02 Authorization Information
ISA03 Security Information Qualifier
ISA04 Security Information
ISA05 Interchange ID Qualifier
ISA06 Interchange Sender ID
ISA07 Interchange ID Qualifier
ISA08 Interchange Receiver ID
ISA09 Interchange Date
ISA10 Interchange Time
ISA11 Interchange Control Standards ID
ISA12 Interchange Control Version Number
ISA13 Interchange Control Number
ISA14 Acknowledgement Requested
ISA15 Test Indicator
ISA16 Subelement Separator
GS Segment
GS01 Functional ID code
GS02 Application Sender's Code
GS03 Application Receiver's Code
GS04 Date
GS05 Time
GS06 Group Control Number
GS07 Responsible Agency Code
GS08 Version/Rel. Ind. ID Code
ST Segment
ST01 Transaction set ID code
ST02 Transaction set control number
SE Segment
SE01 Number of included segments
SE02 Transaction set control number (same as ST02)
GE Segment
GE01 Number of Transaction Sets Included in this Function Group
GE02 Group Control Number (same as GS06)
IEA Segment
IEA01 Number of Included Functional Groups
IEA02 Interchange Control Number (same as ISA13)
EDI SEGMENTS:
EDI document: Header, Details, and Summary
As mentioned above, an EDI document (transaction set) is a set of data that together represent
complete information that is valuable to the business partners (parties involved in the workflow).
Examples of documents – an order, an invoice, a document with information about discounts, a
catalog, etc. Each document is enclosed in an “envelope” ST / SE, which indicates the type of
document. The document (or transaction) is divided into three groups – Header, Details, and
Summary.
The Header of the document contains common information – for example, number, contact
information, dates of loading / delivery, addresses, etc.
The details of the document include the contents of the document, for example for an order –
information about the ordered product, quantity and price for this type of product.
The Summary data usually contains summary information – for an order it may be the number of
types of goods ordered, for an Invoice – the total cost of the goods, general discounts, etc.
