EDI messages in practical application: The DESADV

This article could also have been called "Use of delivery bills in EDI" or "Use of shipping notifications". However, neither would have done justice to the variety of possible uses of the DESADV message type. DESADV is one of the workhorses in Electronic Data Interchange - if there is no specific EDI message for a process, chances are you can best map it with a DESADV message. With this article we would like to give you an overview of some application areas of this message.

Let's start with the classic task of "announcing a delivery". Here, the data sender notifies the data recipient of the dispatch time of goods and their expected arrival date. In addition to the arrival date, at least the delivery quantities and the material numbers of the individual items are among the most important contents here. As a rule, however, the data recipient will also require further information, such as an identification number of the goods sender, the underlying purchase order number or the delivery note number. With the notification function, the data recipient increases transparency over the supply chain and can react in time in case of deviations from the plan.

Another classic application of DESADV is the provision of delivery bill data for a goods receipt. If these are already available with the arrival of the goods, they do not have to be entered manually, so that the goods receipt is relieved. Here, too, delivery quantities and material numbers are important; in addition, package numbers, filling quantities per package and the packaging structure often have to be transferred. As with the notification function, identification numbers for at least the goods sender and references for the delivery bill are usually added.

Almost all details of a delivery can be mapped in a DESADV. Once created, the data set can therefore be used for many processes. If, for example, it describes which reusable packaging materials were used and who owns them, this information can be used to update container account data. The data and goods sender then does not have to communicate by other means how many packages it has sent to the data and goods recipient. With a DESADV, moreover, not only full-goods but also empty-goods shipments can be represented. If you are interested in details, we recommend the documentation of the German Association of the Automotive Industry for their VDA 4987.

DESADV messages usually contain reference numbers, such as order, delivery bill or shipment numbers. Copies of the record to additional parties, such as customs brokers or forwarders, make these references a common basis that can make logistics processes more transparent. If, for example, the delivery note number is made available to the forwarder by means of a copy of the DESADV, the forwarder can integrate the information comparatively easily into a track and trace system. The consignor and consignee can thus easily track the status of the shipment and in turn consolidate the track and trace data with transport data in their systems. The forwarder may also need to include this information in the details on the bordero and can extract the data from the DESADV.

The description of the use cases could be continued: For example, the provision of information for a customs broker on which goods he should have cleared through customs where. DESADV is also used in the environment of storage and retrieval processes in a warehouse. However, all these use cases have one thing in common: Without a consistently high data quality, they lose a lot of their usefulness, even to the point of being unusable. Compared to an ORDERS, for example, most DESADV messages are also rather complex, so you have to expect that at least some data senders will have difficulties with data quality. That's why data recipients should consider what safeguards they want to build into their processes. These can include notifications in case of errors, defined correction processes and training sessions for partners with high error rates. We have described how to do this here.