EDI 875 Grocery Purchase Order: Segments and Example

The EDI 875 is the purchase order of the grocery supply chain. It does the same job as the 850 Purchase Order, but with its own segments: G50 instead of BEG, G68 instead of PO1, G76 instead of CTT. A supplier that maps it like an 850 gets an empty order, or one with every line in the wrong place.

This guide covers what the 875 carries, how grocery buyers order fixed-weight and by-the-pound items, every segment you will map, three live examples, how it compares to the 850, and the errors that ship the wrong product.

What Is an EDI 875?

An EDI 875 is the Grocery Products Purchase Order transaction set defined by the ASC X12 standards body, used by a retailer or wholesaler to request delivery of finished grocery goods from a supplier or broker. It belongs to the grocery family of X12 documents that grew out of the Uniform Communication Standard (UCS). That is why its segments carry a "G" prefix and why grocery buyers often label the version 004010UCS in GS08.

Authoritative references for 875 work:

• The X12 transaction set catalog defines the 875 and its segment order. Stedi's 004010 875 reference shows the full structure in a readable form
• GS1 US governs the UPC and GTIN identifiers on every 875 line
• Buyers publish their own 875 guides. C&S Wholesale Grocers' 4010 875 specification and the Harris Teeter 875 guide on Kroger's EDI portal are two public examples

Who sends it? The buyer: a grocery chain, a wholesaler, or a distributor ordering from a manufacturer.

Who receives it? The supplier, or the broker acting for it.

When is it sent? Whenever the buyer replenishes. Warehouse buyers often order on a fixed weekly cycle per supplier.

Why does it matter? The 875 is the source of everything that follows: the pick, the ASN, the 880 invoice, and the buyer's payment. A line that is misread here ships wrong, invoices wrong and comes back as a deduction.

How Grocery Buyers Order on the 875

Grocery orders look simple, cases of product to a DC on a date, but three things set them apart from general merchandise.

Items are identified by case code. The G68 line carries a 12-digit U.P.C. case code in G6804, built from the grocery system digits (00, 06 or 07), a 5-digit manufacturer code and a 5-digit case code. Many buyers now send the 14-digit GTIN instead, with qualifier UK in G6805; the Harris Teeter guide's sample does exactly that. Most add their own item code too. There is no line number, so lines are matched by these identifiers.

Some items are priced by weight. Cheese wheels, cuts of meat and some produce are "catch-weight": the case weight varies, so the buyer pays for actual pounds shipped. The 875 handles this in two ways:

1. Order the item in pounds. G6801 is a quantity of pounds, G6802 is LB, and G6803 is the cost per pound.
2. Order in cases and price by the pound. G6801/G6802 give the cases, and G6810/G6811 give a cost in a different unit, here per LB. The standard defines G6810 as the cost per unit in G6811 when that unit differs from the ordered unit.

Either way, the order amount is an estimate. The invoice bills the weight that actually shipped. Which method a buyer uses, and how much over or under the ordered weight it accepts, is in its guide and vendor agreement.

Deals ride on the order. Grocery runs on trade promotions. The buyer can put an allowance on the order with G72, at order level or under a line, so the order cost already reflects the deal the supplier agreed. The supplier is expected to bill the same deal on the invoice.

What the 875 does not carry is a date per line. In 4010 the only date segment, G62, sits in the header. Freshness rules such as minimum days of shelf life on arrival are usually set in the buyer's vendor agreement and item setup, not sent on each order. Lot and traceability data for FSMA 204 moves on the shipment records, such as the 856, after the supplier picks.

Interactive Example: Wholesaler Order With a Catch-Weight Line

This is order GRO-456789, the same order our 876 guide later changes. A grocery wholesaler orders from a supplier for delivery to its Reno DC on May 16:

• G50*N marks it as an original order, dated May 9
• G62*02 gives the requested delivery date
• Line 1 is 5 cases of whole wheat bread at $14.99 a case, packed 12 x 24 oz
• Line 2 is 40 lb of sharp cheddar at $6.49 a pound, a catch-weight item ordered in pounds
• G76 totals the order: 45 as a hash of the line quantities, 130 lb, and $334.55

Use the Plain English tab for a readable summary, or click any segment to break it down element by element.

The G76 amount is $74.95 for the bread plus $259.60 for the cheddar. If the supplier ships 41.2 lb of cheddar, the invoice bills 41.2 lb, not 40.

Interactive Example: Catch-Weight Cases Priced by the Pound

A natural foods distributor orders three refrigerated catch-weight items. Here the lines are in cases, and the cost per pound sits in G6810 with LB in G6811. G6810 has four implied decimals, so 124900 is $12.49 a pound. G70 gives the nominal pack, such as 2 wheels of about 7 lb, which is how the buyer estimates the order amount in G76.

The $3,532.20 in G76 is built on 260 nominal pounds. The 880 catch-weight invoice for this order bills 261.4 actual pounds.

Interactive Example: Fixed-Weight Order With an Allowance

A regional grocery chain orders four lines of shelf-stable organic product by the case. The marinara line carries a promotional allowance: G72*47*02 is a price and marketing allowance (code 47), taken off invoice (method 02), at $1.50 a case on 30 cases. G73 describes the deal, and N9*PD in the header gives the promotion number.

The lines extend to $3,449.60. The G76 amount of $3,404.60 is that figure less the $45.00 allowance. The Harris Teeter guide's sample works the same way: its G7608 equals the line extensions less its allowances.

875 Structure at a Glance

In the version 4010 standard:

The functional group code in GS01 is OG, shared with the 876. Buyers' guides narrow these rules, and many use only a handful of the optional segments.

Key Segments Explained

G50: Purchase Order Identification

G50*N*20260509*GRO-456789~

G50 replaces the 850's BEG. Note what is missing: there is no purpose code like BEG01. Changes to an order come on an 876, not on a second 875. Grocery buyers' guides state this outright, so a repeated PO number on a new 875 is a duplicate to investigate, not an update.

G62: Date/Time

G62*02*20260516~

G6201 qualifies the date and G6202 holds it. Common grocery qualifiers:

G6203 and G6204 can add a time. A buyer that books dock appointments may send a delivery window rather than one date, so map every G62 the guide lists, not just the first.

N1 Loop: Parties

N1*ST*ACME GROCERY DC #001*92*001~

N101 gives the role (ST ship-to, BT bill-to, VN vendor, BY buyer), N102 the name, and N103/N104 the ID qualifier and code. Grocery buyers often use a GLN (qualifier UL) or their own DC number (92). The ship-to code is what routes the order to the right warehouse, so map it to your ship-to master, not by name.

G68: Line Item Detail (Product)

G68*5*CA*14.99*001234567895*VN*BREAD-WW-24*UP*012345678905~

Two checks matter more than the rest. Validate the cost against your price file in the same unit: $14.99 a case and $14.99 a pound are very different orders. And confirm which identifier the buyer treats as the key. C&S's guide, for example, sends its own product code with qualifier IN.

G69 and G70: Description, Pack and Size

G69*WHOLE WHEAT BREAD 24OZ~
G70*12*24*OZ~

G6901 is a free-text description of up to 45 characters. G70 carries the pack (G7001, units per case), the size (G7002 and G7003, here 24 ounces) and optional codes. G7009 is the pallet tie and tier as six digits: the first three are cases per layer, the last three are layers per pallet. A pack on the order that differs from your item file usually means the buyer's item setup is out of date. Fix it through item maintenance before you ship.

G72 and G73: Allowances and Charges

G72*47*02***1.50*30*CA~
G73*SPRING ITALIAN PROMOTION~

Sign conventions differ. The Harris Teeter guide's sample sends allowance rates and amounts as negative numbers; others send them positive and let the code say it is an allowance. Follow the buyer's guide, and make sure the same deal reaches the 880.

G76: Total Purchase Order

G76*45*UN*130*LB****33455~

Guides define G7601 differently. The Harris Teeter guide says it is the hash total of every G6801, so a mixed order adds cases and pounds together. C&S's guide calls it the total cases. Recompute the total from the lines when the 875 arrives and stop the order if it does not match. A mismatch usually means a line was dropped in translation.

EDI 875 vs EDI 850

Which one a grocery buyer sends is its choice, not yours. Many grocery chains and wholesalers send the 875 for warehouse orders, while others use the 850 even for food. If you sell into both, you need both maps.

Where the 875 Sits in the Grocery Order Flow

1. 888 Item Maintenance and 889 Promotion Announcement. Items and deals are set up before anyone orders.
2. 875 Grocery Products Purchase Order. The buyer orders.
3. 997 Functional Acknowledgment. The supplier confirms the 875 arrived and parsed.
4. 855 PO Acknowledgment, if the buyer asks for one.
5. 876 Grocery PO Change. The buyer changes or cancels the order.
6. 856 Ship Notice. The supplier describes the shipment.
7. 880 Grocery Products Invoice or an 810. The supplier bills, at actual weight for catch-weight items.
8. 820 Payment Order/Remittance Advice. The buyer pays and reports deductions.

For direct store delivery the flow is different: the delivery is recorded on an 894 at the store, and some buyers send a DSD version of the 875 to the route ahead of time. For the wider picture, see our guide to grocery EDI requirements.

Common 875 Errors and How to Prevent Them

Paste any 875 you are unsure about into the free EDI inspector to see each line's quantity, unit, cost and identifiers, with the totals checked.

875 Implementation Checklist

Before your first live 875 with a grocery buyer:

• Get the buyer's 875 guide and confirm GS01 OG and the GS08 version (often 004010UCS)
• List the G62 qualifiers it sends and map each one
• Confirm which identifier it uses as the line key: 12-digit case code, GTIN-14 or its own item code
• Find out how it orders catch-weight items: pounds in G6801, or cases with a per-pound cost in G6810
• Load its allowance codes and handling methods for G72
• Confirm how it calculates G7601 and G7608
• Confirm whether it expects an 855, and whether it sends changes on an 876
• Make sure your 856 and invoice are built from the order, including deals
• Test with fixed-weight, catch-weight and allowance lines, and a multi-store split if the buyer uses one
• Watch 997s and early invoices for mismatches in the first weeks

The EDI document types reference shows how the 875 fits with the rest of the grocery family, and our page on EDI for grocery suppliers covers the wider requirements.

Handling Grocery Orders With OrderSync

Your EDI buyers send 875s and 850s. Your independent stores and foodservice accounts send PDFs, emails and spreadsheets, and someone keys them in. Either way, the same problems come up: case codes that do not match your item master, pounds read as cases, and deals that never reach the invoice.

OrderSync reads inbound orders in any format, including EDI 875s and 850s, PDFs, emails and spreadsheets. It matches customers, items and units to your catalog, and outputs valid X12 or clean data to your ERP. Paste any 875 into the free EDI inspector for a plain-English summary, read more about purchase order automation, or book a 15-minute walkthrough to see your own grocery orders processed.

Frequently Asked Questions