What Is an EDI 840?
An EDI 840 is a Request for Quotation, the X12 transaction set defined by the ASC X12 standards body that a buyer sends to one or more suppliers to solicit pricing, availability, and delivery terms for a defined list of items. It is the electronic version of an RFQ.
The 840 does not commit the buyer to anything. It says "here is what I want to buy, tell me your price and lead time." The supplier replies with an EDI 843 Response to Request for Quotation, which carries the actual quote.
In EDIFACT, the equivalent message is REQOTE, defined in the UN/EDIFACT message directory. Both serve the same purpose: a structured, machine-readable request for a price.
Who sends it? The buyer (a retailer, distributor, or manufacturer) sends the 840 to a prospective supplier.
When is it sent? Before any purchase order, during sourcing or bid solicitation, when the buyer wants competing prices on defined specs.
Why does it matter? A structured 840 lets a buyer request quotes from several suppliers at once and load the responses straight into a sourcing system, instead of trading spreadsheets by email.
Where the 840 Fits in the Order Lifecycle
The 840 opens the quote-to-order cycle. It sits ahead of the purchase order, not inside the fulfillment chain:
- 840 Request for Quotation - Buyer asks suppliers for a price on defined items
- 843 Response to Request for Quotation - Supplier returns pricing, availability, and delivery terms
- Buyer compares and selects - Buyer evaluates competing 843 responses
- 850 Purchase Order - Buyer places the firm order with the chosen supplier
- 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment - Supplier confirms the order line by line
A 997 Functional Acknowledgment confirms syntactic receipt of the 840. That 997 only says the file arrived and parsed. The business answer, the actual quote, comes back as the 843. For the full document chain from quote through payment, see our EDI order lifecycle guide.
RFI vs RFP vs RFQ
These three requests look similar but ask for different things, and only the RFQ maps cleanly to an EDI 840. Buyers mix them up, so it helps to keep them straight.
| Request | What it asks for | Typical output |
|---|---|---|
| RFI (Request for Information) | General capability and background information | A supplier profile, no pricing commitment |
| RFP (Request for Proposal) | A proposed solution to a problem, often with scope and approach | A proposal with pricing tied to an approach |
| RFQ (Request for Quotation) | A price against defined specs and quantities | A firm quote you can compare line by line |
The 840 is built for the RFQ case. You already know the items and quantities you want. You are asking "what does it cost and when can I get it?" An RFI or RFP usually needs free-form documents that do not fit the 840 structure.
Key Segments Explained
Here is a breakdown of the segments you work with in an 840 transaction set:
| Segment | Name | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| ST | Transaction Set Header | Identifies the start of the 840 and assigns a control number |
| BQT | Beginning Segment for Request for Quotation | Carries the RFQ purpose code, quote request number, and date |
| N1 | Name | Identifies parties (buyer, supplier, ship-to) |
| PO1 | Baseline Item Data | Line items being quoted, with quantity and product IDs |
| CTT | Transaction Totals | Count of line items in the request |
| SE | Transaction Set Trailer | Marks the end of the 840 |
BQT - Beginning Segment for Request for Quotation
The BQT segment sets the context for the whole request. It states the purpose, the quote request number, and the date.
- BQT01: Transaction Set Purpose Code (00 = Original, 01 = Cancellation)
- BQT02: Request for Quote Reference Number (your internal RFQ number)
- BQT03: Date the request was issued
- BQT04: Request for Quote Type Code (optional)
PO1 - Baseline Item Data
The PO1 segment carries each item you want quoted. You are not ordering yet, so the price fields are usually left for the supplier to fill in on the 843.
- PO101: Line item number
- PO102: Quantity you want quoted
- PO103: Unit of measure
- PO106-PO107: Product ID qualifier and number (for example, a buyer part number or UPC)
Example: Complete 840 Transaction
Here is what a typical 840 looks like in raw X12 format. This example requests a quote on two items from a supplier:
ISA*00* *00* *ZZ*BUYERCO *ZZ*SUPPLIERXYZ *260724*0900*U*00401*000000067*0*P*:~
GS*RQ*BUYERCO*SUPPLIERXYZ*20260724*0900*67*X*004010~
ST*840*0001~
BQT*00*RFQ-88231*20260724~
N1*BY*BUYER CO INC*92*BUYERCO~
N1*SU*SUPPLIER XYZ LLC*92*SUPPLIERXYZ~
PO1*001*500*EA**PE*BP*WIDGET-4400~
PO1*002*250*CA**PE*BP*BRACKET-7710~
CTT*2~
SE*8*0001~
GE*1*67~
IEA*1*000000067~
The GS01 functional identifier code for an 840 is RQ (Request for Quotation). Note the empty unit-price field in each PO1 line. The buyer is asking for the price, not stating it. The supplier fills those values on the returning 843.
How Common Is the 840 in Practice?
The 840 and 843 pair is comparatively rare in live B2B trading, and it is worth being honest about that. Most quoting today happens by email, supplier portal, or a CPQ (configure-price-quote) tool, not by exchanging X12 documents.
The 840 tends to show up in mature procurement operations, government contracting, and industries where sourcing is already fully EDI-driven and buyers want quote responses to load straight into a bidding system. If your trading partners quote by email, you will likely never see an 840. When you do see one, treating it as the front door to the 850 purchase order makes the whole flow easier to reason about.
Before you send or accept any 840, validate the file structure. Use the free EDI Inspector to check segment order, delimiters, and the envelope before it reaches your trading partner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an EDI 840 and an EDI 850?
An 840 is a request for a price. An 850 is a firm purchase order. The 840 asks "what would this cost?" and commits the buyer to nothing. The 850 says "ship this, I am buying it" and creates an obligation. In a full cycle, the 840 comes first, the supplier answers with an 843, and the buyer then issues an 850 to the winning supplier.
What does the supplier send back in response to an 840?
The supplier replies with an EDI 843 Response to Request for Quotation. The 843 carries the quoted prices, availability, and delivery terms for each line the buyer requested. A 997 Functional Acknowledgment may also come back first to confirm the 840 file was received and parsed, but that is only a technical receipt, not a quote.
Is the EDI 840 the same as EDIFACT REQOTE?
They serve the same business purpose. The 840 is the X12 (North American) transaction set, and REQOTE is the equivalent UN/EDIFACT message used internationally. The segment names and structure differ, but both are structured requests for quotation that a supplier answers with a quote message (843 in X12, QUOTES in EDIFACT).
Do I need an 840 to buy from a supplier?
No. Many buyers go straight to an 850 purchase order using an agreed price list or contract pricing. The 840 is only used when you want to solicit competing quotes before committing. If your pricing is already set, skip it and send the 850 purchase order directly.
Related Transaction Sets
- EDI 843 Response to Request for Quotation - The supplier's quote back
- EDI 850 Purchase Order - The firm order that follows the winning quote
- EDI 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment - The supplier's line-by-line order confirmation
- EDI order lifecycle - The full document chain from quote to payment
Need Help?
Use our free EDI Inspector to validate your 840 documents before you send them, or explore how OrderSync handles multi-format order processing across EDI, PDF, and email.