EDI 753 Request for Routing Instructions Guide

The EDI 753 is how a supplier says "my freight is ready, tell me how to ship it." When a retailer pays for inbound freight and chooses the carrier, you cannot book a truck yourself. You send a 753 with what is ready, where it is going and when it can be picked up. The retailer plans the load and replies with a 754 Routing Instructions. The quality of the 754 you get back depends almost entirely on the numbers you put in the 753.

This guide covers what the 753 carries, when to send it, every segment you will map, a live example with two distribution centers, and the errors that lead to the wrong truck or no truck at all.

What Is an EDI 753?

An EDI 753 is the Request for Routing Instructions transaction set defined by ASC X12, used by a supplier to request routing for merchandise that is ready to ship and to give the buyer the details it needs to plan the move. X12 describes it as a way to request routing instructions and provide general information about merchandise ready to be shipped. It travels in functional group RF (the GS01 value). The reply, the 754, travels in group RG.

Authoritative references for 753 work:

• The X12 transaction set catalog defines the 753 structure, segment order and loops
• The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) issues the carrier SCACs used in the 754 reply and maintains the NMFC freight classes a 753 can carry in its CMC segment
• Each retailer publishes a routing guide and a 753/754 implementation guide that set lead times, required references and the ship-to IDs to use

Who sends it? The supplier, or the 3PL or warehouse shipping on the supplier's behalf.

Who receives it? The retailer's inbound transportation team, or the logistics provider that plans its freight.

When is it sent? Once purchase orders are picked and packed, or close enough that cartons, weight and cube are known, and early enough to meet the retailer's lead time. One published retailer guide, for example, requires at least 48 hours between sending the 753 and the earliest pickup date. Your retailer's guide sets its own rule.

Why does it matter? On collect freight the retailer decides the carrier, the mode and the pickup appointment. Without a 753, or with a late one, nothing gets scheduled. With wrong weights or cube, the retailer books the wrong equipment.

When You Need a 753: Collect vs Prepaid Freight

The freight terms on the 850 purchase order and the retailer's routing guide tell you which POs are collect. Retailers that publish 753/754 guides include Kohl's, Amazon (for vendor shipments), JCPenney, and military exchanges such as AAFES and the Navy Exchange (NEXCOM). Walmart and Target also route much of their inbound freight under collect programs; depending on the program, the routing request goes through EDI or the retailer's supplier portal. Check the current routing guide for each retailer, because requirements change and can differ by vendor.

The Routing Request Cycle, Step by Step

1. Orders released. The retailer sends 850s. Collect POs are flagged by their freight terms.
2. Pick and pack. Your warehouse picks the orders, packs cartons and builds pallets. Now you know real cartons, weight and cube.
3. Send the 753. One request covers a ship-from location and one or more destinations, each with a pickup window and the POs going there.
4. Receive a 997. The retailer's system confirms the 753 arrived and was structurally valid. See the 997 Functional Acknowledgment guide.
5. Retailer plans the load. It groups your POs, perhaps with other suppliers' freight, into loads and books a carrier, often with a 204 load tender.
6. Receive the 754. It names the carrier (by SCAC), the load number, the pickup appointment, and which POs ship together.
7. Ship. Print the bill of lading with the 754's references, load the trailer, and send the 856.
8. Changes. If quantities change before pickup, send a replacement or change 753; if the order is no longer ready, cancel it. The retailer may send a revised 754.

Interactive Example: 753 for Two Distribution Centers

A home goods supplier in Grand Rapids has three purchase orders ready: two for DC 6021 in Columbus and one for DC 6043 in Savannah. The 753 opens with the ship-from in the heading N1 loop and a contact in PER. A single LX starts the detail. Each destination gets its own N1 loop with its own routing request number (L11 qualifier RRC), an earliest and latest pickup time (G62 with EP and LP), a pallet count with a stackability flag (USI), and one OID per purchase order with cartons, weight in pounds and cube in cubic feet. All names, IDs and numbers are fictional.

Use the Plain English tab for a readable summary, including totals per destination, or click any segment to see each element.

The retailer's reply to this exact request, with a carrier per DC, is the first example in the EDI 754 guide.

753 Structure at a Glance

The table follows X12 release 004030, the first release that includes the 753. Note the shape: one LX, then a repeating ship-to N1 loop, with the order detail nested inside each ship-to.

Some retailers allow only one destination per 753. Others accept several. Retailer guides also tighten "optional": L11, G62 and USI are often required.

Key Segments Explained

BGN: Beginning Segment

BGN*00*RR-20261104-01*20261104*0930~

Retailer guides differ on what goes in BGN02 and BGN06. Some ask for your bill of lading number in BGN02; some ask for the load ID from their 754 in BGN06 when you change a request that has already been routed. Follow the guide exactly here, because these fields are how the retailer finds the request to update.

PER: Contact

PER*IC*DANA PRICE*TE*6165550142*EM*SHIPPING@LAKESHORE.EXAMPLE~

PER01 = IC (information contact), then a name and up to three communication numbers, each with a qualifier (TE telephone, EM email, FX fax). Some retailers pass this to the carrier so it can call your dock to set the pickup.

N1 Loop (Heading): Ship-From

N1*SF*LAKESHORE HOME GOODS*92*V48213~
N3*4100 EASTERN AVE SE~
N4*GRAND RAPIDS*MI*49508*US~

N101 = SF (ship from). The ID in N103/N104 is whatever the guide asks for: often a location ID the retailer assigned (92), sometimes a DUNS number (1). The address must be the physical dock the carrier will drive to, not your billing address.

N1 Loop (Detail): Ship-To

N1*ST*BIG-BOX RETAILER DC 6021*92*6021~

N101 = ST (ship to). Use the DC or store ID exactly as it appeared on the purchase order's ship-to. If one PO is split across DCs, each DC gets its own ship-to loop with its share of the cartons.

L11: Business Instructions and Reference Number

L11*RR784501*RRC~

The routing request control number is the reference the retailer will echo back on the 754, so make it unique per destination and store it against the POs.

G62: Date/Time (Pickup Window)

G62*EP*20261110*EP*0800~
G62*LP*20261112*LP*1600~

The window is a promise. The retailer can schedule the pickup anywhere inside it, so only offer dates and hours your dock can actually meet. A window that is too narrow, or that starts before the retailer's minimum lead time, is a common reason for rejection.

USI: Unitized Shipment Information

USI*14*PLT*N~

Pallet count and stackability decide how much trailer space your freight needs. Fourteen non-stackable pallets take fourteen floor positions; the same freight stacked might take seven. Getting this wrong is how a load gets planned for a trailer it does not fit.

OID: Order Identification Detail

OID*SO-55120*4500781234**CTN*220*L*4180*E*610~

X12 requires the packaging code and quantity together, the weight unit and weight together, and the volume unit and volume together. Send one OID per PO. The retailer adds them up to choose parcel, LTL or truckload, so take the numbers from what was packed, not from the PO's ordered quantities.

CMC: Commodity Classification

CMC01 carries the NMFC commodity code and CMC02 the freight class (for example 70 or 92.5). Many retailers do not ask for it; some require it only for hazardous or temperature-controlled freight. Use the class from your carrier or NMFC classification, not a guess, because class drives LTL pricing.

753 vs 754, 856 and 204

The 753 is the only one of these that happens before anything is booked. It is a planning document: the retailer uses it to decide how to move your freight, and the 856 later confirms what actually moved.

Which X12 Version Does the 753 Use?

The 753 and 754 were added in X12 release 004030 and do not exist in 004010. Many suppliers run their 850, 856 and 810 on 004010, so a retailer may use 004010 for orders and 004030 or later for routing. The retailer's 753 guide names the version, and GS08 in each functional group carries it. Check that your translator has the right dictionary before you start mapping.

Common 753 Errors and How to Prevent Them

753 Implementation Checklist

• Get the retailer's routing guide and 753/754 guide, and confirm the X12 version
• Confirm which POs are collect and how the 850 shows it
• Confirm the IDs it expects for ship-from (N1*SF) and ship-to (N1*ST)
• Confirm how many destinations one 753 may carry
• Agree the reference numbers: what goes in BGN02, BGN06, L11 and OID03
• Pull packages, weight, cube, pallet count and stackability from your warehouse system
• Set the minimum lead time and default pickup window per ship-from location
• Map changes and cancellations with the right purpose codes
• Match each returning 754 to its 753 and feed the carrier and appointment into shipping
• Test an original, a change, a cancellation, a multi-PO request and a multi-destination request

For the wider picture, see our EDI compliance guide, the EDI document types reference, and retailer notes for Walmart, Target and Amazon.

Where OrderSync Fits

Every 753 is built from purchase orders, so the request is only as accurate as the orders behind it. Those orders reach you as EDI 850s and 875s, PDFs, emails and spreadsheets, and the ship-to IDs, items and units have to be right before your warehouse can pick and pack them.

OrderSync reads inbound orders in any format, matches customers, items and units to your catalog, and outputs clean ERP data or valid X12, so the orders your warehouse ships and routes start out correct. Paste any 753 into the free EDI inspector to see it parsed with a plain-English summary and totals per destination, or book a 15-minute walkthrough to see your own orders processed.

Frequently Asked Questions