In the modern retail supply chain, calling suppliers or faxing orders is obsolete. High-volume purchasing relies entirely on Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)—a standardized method for exchanging business documents between systems.

When a Purchase Order is approved in Oracle RMS, it must be extracted and transformed into an EDI 850 format. This guide breaks down the outbound order transmission architecture, the batch programs involved, and how inbound shipping data (EDI 856) flows back.

1. The Outbound EDI 850 Workflow#

When a buyer clicks "Approve" on a PO, RMS sets ORDHEAD.STATUS = 'A'. However, the supplier is completely unaware of the order until the EDI transmission runs.

The edidlord Batch

The extraction of POs is handled by an RMS Pro*C batch program called edidlord.pc (EDI Download Orders).

1. Selection: edidlord queries ORDHEAD for all orders where STATUS = 'A' and the supplier is configured to receive EDI (checked via SUP_TRAITS.EDI_ORDER_IND = 'Y').
2. Translation: It gathers header data (ORDHEAD), location quantities (ORDLOC), item details (ORDSKU), and cost components.
3. Staging: Instead of writing directly to a flat file, it populates intermediate staging tables (like EDI_ORD_DTT and EDI_ORD_HEAD).
4. File Generation: A secondary translation tool (like Oracle B2B or a third-party EDI VAN) reads these staging tables, converts the data into the strict X12 EDI 850 format, and transmits it to the supplier.

First-Time Transmission vs. Revisions

If a PO is un-approved, revised, and re-approved, edidlord runs again. However, it sends an EDI 860 (Order Change) rather than a fresh 850. It does this by checking the REV_NO. If REV_NO > 0, it knows the supplier already has the base order and only sends the deltas.

2. EDI Staging Tables#

Because strict EDI X12 formats are complex and vary slightly by region (e.g., EDIFACT in Europe), RMS does not hardcode the final output. Instead, it extracts the relational data into a flattened, easy-to-parse set of staging tables.

3. Inbound ASNs (EDI 856)#

Once the supplier packs the goods onto a truck, they transmit an Advance Shipment Notice (ASN) back to the retailer. This is the EDI 856 document.

An ASN tells RMS exactly what is on the truck, down to the specific carton barcode (SSCC-18).

The Inbound Flow

1. The supplier's EDI VAN sends the EDI 856.
2. A translation layer converts the 856 into the RIB payload format (e.g., ASNInDesc).
3. The RIB publishes the message to RMS.
4. RMS consumes the ASN and creates an Inbound Shipment record (SHIPMENT and SHIPSKU tables).
5. The warehouse management system (WMS) now has visibility to the incoming truck, allowing them to schedule dock doors and prepare for receiving.

4. Core Tables Reference#

EDI Order Staging (EDI_ORD_DTT)

5. SQL Deep Dives#

Checking if a PO has been Staged for EDI

When a buyer complains that a supplier "never got the order," the first troubleshooting step is checking if RMS actually staged it.

SELECT 
    oh.order_no,
    oh.status,
    oh.supplier,
    st.edi_order_ind,
    eoh.edi_status, -- Usually 'N' (New), 'E' (Extracted), or 'P' (Processed)
    eoh.extract_date
FROM ordhead oh
JOIN sup_traits st ON oh.supplier = st.supplier
LEFT JOIN edi_ord_head eoh ON oh.order_no = eoh.order_no
WHERE oh.order_no = 998877;

Finding ASNs Linked to a PO

To see if the supplier has notified RMS that the goods are in transit:

SELECT 
    s.shipment,
    s.asn,
    s.status, -- 'I' (In Transit), 'R' (Received)
    s.est_arr_date,
    ss.item,
    ss.qty_expected
FROM shipment s
JOIN shipsku ss ON s.shipment = ss.shipment
WHERE s.order_no = 998877;

6. Common Gotchas#

7. Key Takeaways#

8. Official Oracle Resources#

For further reading, consult the official Oracle documentation:

• Oracle Retail Merchandising System Operations Guide: EDI Download
• Oracle RMS Data Model: EDI Tables (EDI_ORD_DTT)