EDIFACT DELJIT: Just-in-Time Call-Offs

DELJIT is the call-off a supplier ships to, hour by hour. DELFOR tells you what to plan for the coming weeks. DELJIT tells you what the line needs tomorrow morning at 06:00, at which dock and line station, and sometimes in which order, vehicle by vehicle. Read it wrong and the result is not a planning error but a stopped assembly line.

This guide covers what DELJIT carries, how it relates to DELFOR, the directories and guidelines you will meet (Global DELJIT on D.04B, VDA 4985 and 4986), a just-in-time example, a sequenced example, the segments you will map, and how DELJIT compares with the EDI 862 shipping schedule.

What Is an EDIFACT DELJIT?

DELJIT is the UN/EDIFACT Delivery just in time message: it "provides the ability for a customer to convey precise delivery sequence and Just In Time schedule requirements to a supplier, and is intended to supplement the Delivery Schedule Message (DELFOR)." That definition, from the UN/EDIFACT directory, is the key to using it: DELJIT does not replace the plan in DELFOR. It narrows the near-term part of it to exact times, places and sequences.

Authoritative references for DELJIT work:

• The UN/EDIFACT D.96A DELJIT message from UNECE gives the definition and segment table, and the D.04B layout on EDIFACTORY shows the directory the Global DELJIT uses
• The VDA list of EDI recommendations (August 2024) records VDA 4985 (JIT call-offs with DELJIT) and VDA 4986 (JIS call-offs with DELJIT) as the replacements for the VDA 4915 and 4916 flat files
• Supplier-published guides such as SEG Automotive's Global DELJIT D.04B guideline and Volvo Group's DELJIT D.04B guidelines show complete messages for KANBAN, JIT and sequenced flows

Who sends it? The customer's plant, usually from its production control or line-feeding system rather than central planning.

When is it sent? Much more often than DELFOR: daily, several times a day, or per sequence event. Volvo's guide, for example, describes sequence information sent once a day, 7 to 23 days before assembly depending on the plant.

Why does it matter? It is the instruction the line actually runs on. A missed or misread DELJIT means premium freight at best and a line stoppage at worst.

Directories and Guidelines

DELJIT is a UN/EDIFACT message but it is not part of the GS1 EANCOM subset, so retail suppliers rarely meet it. Automotive suppliers do, under these guidelines:

The examples in this guide use D.04B, because that is the directory of the published Global DELJIT guidelines we checked. The D.96A and D.04B layouts share the same backbone (SEQ group, then LIN group, then QTY and DTM), so the reading is the same; D.04B adds a transport group and a price group under each line.

The VDA list is clear that the old flat files have not gone away: it marks VDA 4915 and 4916 as replaced but still widely used. During a migration you may receive a VDA 4915 call-off and a DELJIT for the same parts, so agree with the customer which one you ship to.

JIT, KANBAN and JIS: Three Ways DELJIT Is Used

The X12 world splits these between the 862 shipping schedule for timed call-offs and the 866 production sequence for build order. In EDIFACT both run through DELJIT.

Example 1: JIT Call-Off for Two Parts

The fictional axle plant Northbrook Axle calls off two cast parts from the fictional foundry Kestrel Castings for delivery on Thursday 12 November, in three-shift slots, against the DELFOR schedule it sent the previous week.

Times are in format 203 (CCYYMMDDHHMM). Whether DTM+2 means arrival at the dock or at the line station is set by the customer's guide, so confirm it before you plan transport.

Example 2: Sequenced (JIS) Call-Off

For a sequenced part, the plant sends one SEQ group per vehicle in build order. Each group carries the sequence number, the planned time, the vehicle identifier and the one variant that vehicle needs. This example follows the shape of Volvo Group's published Global DELJIT sequence examples, with fictional codes.

You load the parts in sequence-number order, so the rack or trailer arrives with the variants in the order the line builds the vehicles. Volvo's guide lists the action codes it uses in SEQ: 39 new (preliminary), 40 agreed (firm), 38 replaced and 2 deleted. Other OEMs choose differently, so load the code list from your customer's guide.

DELJIT Structure at a Glance (D.04B)

There is no UNS and no CNT in DELJIT. The SEQ group is the only mandatory group in the detail.

Key Segments Explained

BGM: Beginning of Message

BGM+242+NB-JIT-0005521+9'

SEQ: Sequence Details

SEQ+39+004417'

QTY and DTM: What, and When

QTY+113:240'
DTM+2:202611120600:203'

QTY+113 is the quantity to be delivered. Each QTY is followed by its own DTM, so read them as pairs: the time belongs to the quantity directly before it. DTM+2 is the requested delivery date and time; DTM+194 is used for the start time of a sequence position. Some profiles add SCC between QTY and DTM to mark a quantity as firm or planned.

LOC: Where on the Customer's Site

LOC+7+D07::92'
LOC+159+L2-STA14::92'

Print the same location codes on your transport label as the call-off gives. The plant's receiving staff route parts by them.

GIR: Related Identification Numbers

GIR+4+NB26-0044171:VV'

In sequenced flows GIR carries the vehicle or build identifier that ties each part to one vehicle. The qualifier codes and the format of the identifier come from the OEM's guide, so map them from there rather than from this example.

DELJIT vs the X12 862 and 866

One EDIFACT message covers the work of two X12 sets. If a customer moves you from 862s to DELJIT, expect the sequenced parts to arrive in the same message type as the timed ones, told apart by the BGM code and the SEQ content.

Where DELJIT Sits in the Flow

The EDI 830 vs 862 article explains the plan-versus-call-off split in X12 terms, and the same logic holds here: DELFOR is the authority for what to buy and staff for, DELJIT for what leaves the dock today.

Common DELJIT Errors and How to Prevent Them

DELJIT Implementation Checklist

1. Get the partner's profile. Directory, Global DELJIT or VDA basis, and which flows it covers (JIT, KANBAN, JIS).
2. Map the BGM codes the partner uses and what each means for your planning.
3. Map SEQ action codes, including replace and delete.
4. Agree what the delivery time means: arrival at the dock, at the line, or dispatch from your site.
5. Load location codes for docks and line stations.
6. Link each call-off to its DELFOR with RFF+AAN so the two do not double count.
7. Set up labels and DESADV to carry the call-off and sequence references the plant expects.
8. Test with real call-offs, including a changed sequence, a deleted sequence and a call-off sent late in the day.

Reading DELJIT With OrderSync

DELJIT is a scheduling message. The orders the rest of your business takes in, as EDI 850s, PDFs, emails and spreadsheets, still need someone to key them. OrderSync reads those inbound orders in any format, matches customers, items and units to your catalog, and outputs clean ERP data or valid X12, and it generates the outbound 856 ship notice and 810 invoice your US customers expect.

Paste any DELJIT into the free EDIFACT inspector to see it parsed segment by segment, use the free EDI inspector for X12 862s and 866s, or book a 15-minute walkthrough to see your own orders processed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related guides

• EDIFACT DELFOR: the delivery schedule DELJIT supplements
• EDI 862 shipping schedule and EDI 866 production sequence: the X12 counterparts
• EDI 830 planning schedule: the X12 plan
• EDIFACT DESADV: the despatch advice for each delivery
• EDIFACT explained and EDIFACT message types: syntax and the full catalogue

Sources

• UN/EDIFACT D.96A DELJIT message, UNECE: definition and structure
• DELJIT in directory D.04B, EDIFACTORY: D.04B segment groups
• Liste der Empfehlungen: EDI und warenbegleitende Papiere, VDA, August 2024: VDA 4915, 4916, 4984, 4985 and 4986
• Global DELJIT D.04B JIT delivery instruction, SEG Automotive: Odette-based JIT and KANBAN profile
• Volvo Group DELJIT D.04B guidelines and examples, Volvo Group: sequence profiles and SEQ action codes
• Ordering message guidelines, Odette

Check any DELJIT or DELFOR in the free EDIFACT inspector.