EDIFACT IFTMIN: Transport Instruction

IFTMIN is the work order for a shipment. When a European shipper hands freight to a forwarder or road carrier by EDI, this is usually the message: who is sending, who is receiving, what is moving, how heavy it is, and when it must be collected and delivered. If it is wrong, the driver turns up on the wrong day, with the wrong vehicle, or the consignment is billed to the wrong party.

This guide covers what IFTMIN carries, who sends it and to whom, the directories you will meet, a full example, the segments you will map, and how it compares with the X12 204 load tender and 304 shipping instructions.

What Is an EDIFACT IFTMIN?

IFTMIN is the UN/EDIFACT Instruction message: "a message from the party issuing an instruction regarding forwarding/transport services for a consignment under conditions agreed, to the party arranging the forwarding and/or transport services." It belongs to the IFTM family of transport and forwarding messages, alongside IFTMBF (firm booking), IFTMBC (booking confirmation) and IFTSTA (status report).

GS1's EANCOM manual sets out the principles: the instruction results in a transport contract for one consignment, it is "the message from shipper to carrier or forwarder containing the final details of the consignment", and one instruction message should always equal one consignment. GS1 also says it should not be used to instruct the despatch of products; that is the job of INSDES.

Authoritative references for IFTMIN work:

• The UN/EDIFACT D.96A IFTMIN message from UNECE, also laid out group by group on EDIFACTORY
• The GS1 EANCOM 2002 IFTMIN specification, directory D.01B, with its principles, code lists and a worked example using GLNs and SSCCs
• Each carrier, forwarder and transport platform publishes its own IFTMIN guide, which sets the references, codes and services it accepts

Who sends it? The party that orders the transport: a manufacturer or retailer shipping goods, or a forwarder passing an instruction on to a subcontracted carrier.

Who receives it? The party arranging the move: a freight forwarder, a road carrier, a parcel or groupage network, or an ocean carrier.

When is it sent? Once the consignment is ready to be booked: packed, weighed and with a collection date. Changes and cancellations follow as further IFTMINs with a different message function in BGM.

Why does it matter? The carrier plans collection, vehicle type and delivery from it, and invoices from it later. Data missing from the IFTMIN becomes a phone call, a failed collection or a freight invoice query.

Who Uses IFTMIN

In ocean freight the IFTM messages divide the work the way the X12 300 series does: IFTMBF requests the booking (the 300), IFTMBC confirms it (the 301), and IFTMIN carries the shipping instructions (the 304). Road freight usually skips the booking pair and sends IFTMIN on its own.

Directories

There is no single directory every transport partner uses:

The segment groups are similar across these directories, but positions, code lists and mandatory segments vary. Build to the guide of the carrier or forwarder you are sending to, and read the version in UNH on anything you receive.

Example: Road Instruction to a Forwarder

The fictional foundry Kestrel Castings books two pallets of brake carriers with the fictional forwarder Alder Freight Forwarding, for collection in the UK on 12 November and delivery to its customer's plant in Germany on 13 November.

The totals in CNT must agree with the goods items: two packages and 812 kg here, matching the single GID and its MEA. Forwarders use them as a check, and a mismatch is a common reason for a rejected instruction.

IFTMIN Structure at a Glance (D.96A)

Statuses are from the UN/EDIFACT D.96A message. Carrier guides make many conditional groups required.

Key Segments Explained

BGM: Beginning of Message

BGM+610+KC-TI-26-04412+9'

NAD: The Parties

NAD+CZ+++Kestrel Castings Ltd+Unit 4 Foundry Way+Walsall++WS2 9ZZ+GB'

After the qualifier come the party code (with its code list, such as a GLN in EANCOM), then the name and the structured address: street, city, postcode and country. Many carriers want both a code and a full address, because the driver needs the address and the carrier's billing needs the code.

TDT: Transport Details

TDT+20++3'

The first element is the transport stage (20 main carriage); the third is the mode, from UN/ECE Recommendation 19 (3 road). Pre-carriage and on-carriage, when the instruction covers several legs, each get their own TDT group with their own locations and dates.

GID, MEA and FTX: The Goods

GID+1+2:PX'
FTX+AAA+++Machined brake carriers, cast iron'
MEA+AAE+G+KGM:812'

GID numbers the goods item and gives the number and type of packages, with package types from UN/ECE Recommendation 21 (PX pallet, CT carton). FTX+AAA is the goods description, and MEA+AAE+G the gross weight. In EANCOM, each pallet's SSCC goes in a package identification group under the goods item, as PCI followed by GIN+BJ, the same identifier the DESADV guide covers. Dangerous goods go in the DGS group under the goods item.

CNT: Control Totals

CNT+7:812:KGM'
CNT+11:2'

IFTMIN vs the X12 204 and 304

The biggest difference from the 204 is the stop model. A 204 lists every pickup and delivery stop in sequence for one truck. An IFTMIN describes one consignment from consignor to consignee and leaves the routing to the forwarder or carrier.

Where IFTMIN Sits in the Flow

The DESADV goes to the customer and the IFTMIN goes to the carrier, but they describe the same pallets. Build both from the same despatch record so weights, package counts and SSCCs agree.

Common IFTMIN Errors and How to Prevent Them

IFTMIN Implementation Checklist

1. Get the carrier's or forwarder's guide: directory, mandatory segments, services and codes.
2. Agree party identification: GLNs, customer account numbers or the carrier's own codes.
3. Agree references the carrier must quote back on status reports and invoices.
4. Map package types and services to the carrier's code lists.
5. Build totals from the goods items so CNT always agrees.
6. Decide how changes and cancellations are sent, and test both.
7. Test with real consignments: a single pallet, a multi-item load, and dangerous goods if you ship them.
8. Set up status reporting so the carrier's IFTSTA messages update the same shipment record.

Where OrderSync Fits

Every transport instruction starts with an order. The consignee, the order numbers, the quantities and the delivery date on an IFTMIN all come from purchase orders someone had to get into your ERP, whether they arrived as EDI, a PDF, an email or a spreadsheet. OrderSync reads those inbound orders in any format, matches customers, items and units to your catalog, and outputs clean ERP data or valid X12, so your shipping and transport systems start from accurate orders.

Paste any IFTMIN into the free EDIFACT inspector to see it parsed segment by segment, use the free EDI inspector for X12 204s and 304s, or book a 15-minute walkthrough to see your own orders processed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related guides

• EDIFACT IFTSTA: the status reports that follow
• EDI 204 load tender and EDI 990: the X12 road tender cycle
• EDI 304 shipping instructions and EDI 300 booking request: the X12 ocean equivalents
• EDIFACT DESADV: the despatch advice for the same goods
• EDIFACT explained and EDIFACT message types: syntax and the full catalogue

Sources

• UN/EDIFACT D.96A IFTMIN message, UNECE: definition and structure
• IFTMIN in directory D.96A, EDIFACTORY: segment groups
• EANCOM 2002 S3 IFTMIN instruction message, GS1: principles, code lists and example
• EANCOM 2002 Syntax 3, GS1

Check any IFTMIN or IFTSTA in the free EDIFACT inspector.