Identifiers and cross-references
Lesson 3 of 22 7 min read
How GLNs, VAT numbers, Customer-Assigned Codes, location identifiers and product cross-references let Supply Lens route and translate every EDI message.
Most EDI problems are identifier problems. A message arrives addressed to a code nobody recognises, or orders a product by a barcode that isn't in your system. In this lesson you'll learn the identifiers EDI depends on and where each one lives in Supply Lens.
Three questions every message has to answer
When an EDI message arrives, Supply Lens has to work out:
- Who is it from and who is it for? Answered by party identifiers.
- Where are the goods going? Answered by location identifiers.
- What is being ordered? Answered by product identifiers and cross-references.
Party identifiers: who is trading
A Party is a business you exchange data with. Your own business is represented by the organisation party, which Supply Lens creates for you automatically. It's marked with a small building icon on the Parties screen.
Three identifiers on your organisation party matter for EDI:
| VAT | Your VAT registration number. It must be on the organisation party before you can set up any EDI Integration. |
|---|---|
| GLN | A Global Location Number: a unique 13-digit code that identifies a business or location in the supply chain. Also required before you create an EDI Integration. At the time of writing the Supply Lens team generates GLNs and coordinates this for you. |
| Customer Assigned Code | The code a trading partner has given you, often called your supplier code. You'll have one per EDI trading partner, and they ensure messages are routed to your organisation correctly. |
Customer-Assigned Codes are added for you
You don't need to type Customer-Assigned Codes onto the organisation party yourself. Have the list to hand when the EDI Integration is set up: they're entered there, and Supply Lens adds them to your organisation party automatically.
Narrowing when an identifier applies
When you add an identifier to a Party (Settings → Reference data → Parties, edit the Party, then
+ in the Identifiers section), the Advanced options let you limit when that
identifier is used: by Integration state (Live or Test), Country, Currency,
Integration Type or a specific Integration. That's how one organisation can present a
different code to each retailer, or a test code during testing.
Location identifiers: where goods go
Retailers deliver to stores, depots and distribution centres, each with its own code. In Supply Lens those destinations are Locations, and the retailer's codes are attached as location identifiers, for example GLN or Customer Assigned Location. Setting the Locations up before configuration starts lets the Supply Lens team map the retailer's depot codes to records that already exist in your account.
Product cross-references: what is ordered
Retailers order using their own product codes, GTINs or EANs (barcodes), not your SKUs. Supply Lens matches products in one of two ways:
- Exact match: the code on the message must be identical to the SKU in your item master. One different character causes a mismatch.
- Cross-reference matching: a record maps the external code to your internal SKU, and Supply Lens translates it on every document.
EDI almost always uses cross-references, because you have no control over the codes a retailer uses. Supply Lens builds a set of cross-reference tables per trading partner: product codes, depot codes and supplier codes.
Northfield Pantry's identifiers
Northfield adds its VAT number to its organisation party. Supply Lens arranges a GLN, which is
added as a second identifier. Greenway's onboarding pack says Northfield's supplier code is
88231: that's the Customer-Assigned Code they'll give the Supply Lens team. Northfield also
creates Locations for Greenway's Leeds and Bristol depots so the depot codes have something to
map to.
Recap
- Party identifiers say who is trading, location identifiers say where goods go, product cross-references say what is ordered.
- Your organisation party needs a VAT identifier and a GLN before any EDI Integration can be created.
- Each retailer gives you a Customer-Assigned Code; these are added to your organisation party automatically when the EDI Integration is set up.
- Advanced identifier options let a code apply only to a given Integration, state, country or currency.
- EDI relies on cross-reference tables, built per trading partner, to translate retailer codes into your products, Locations and supplier code.
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