EDIFACT PRODAT: Product Data Message Guide

PRODAT is the product master message for data that does not change often and has no price attached. It tells a buyer what a product is: its GTIN, its size and weight, how to handle it, what it is made of and how many go in a case. Prices, discounts and order terms belong elsewhere. If a partner's spec asks for PRODAT, it usually wants that split on purpose: technical data from one feed, commercial data from another.

This guide follows the GS1 EANCOM 2002 PRODAT layout: directory D.01B, subset version EAN004. EANCOM 2002 is GS1's current edition and the basis of the other EDIFACT guides on this site. A partner on EANCOM 1997 sends D.96A instead, and its UNH says which.

What Is an EDIFACT PRODAT?

PRODAT (product data) is the UN/EDIFACT message for "master data, to identify and describe products available for supply or for information purposes", in GS1's words. GS1 is specific about the scope: the data "changes infrequently" and "does not include commercial terms and conditions but technical and functional product descriptions".

The message can carry:

• product identification: GTIN, supplier and buyer article numbers, substitutions and number changes
• product characteristics: material, composition, size, colour, style, finish
• technical data: dimensions, weights, lead time, availability, certificates
• handling information: handle with care, foodstuffs, unstackable, hazardous goods
• the pack hierarchy: which products, and how many, sit inside which

GS1 also notes that suppliers can use PRODAT to feed a central product catalogue, and that a catalogue can send PRODAT back out to interested parties.

Who sends it? A supplier or manufacturer, or a central catalogue on its behalf.

When? When a product is introduced, when its technical data changes, and when it is withdrawn.

Why does it matter? A buyer's warehouse, ranging and compliance teams work from this data. Wrong dimensions break pallet plans and shelf plans; a missing handling code puts a fragile product at the bottom of a stack.

PRODAT or PRICAT?

This is the first question to settle, because GS1 has already answered it for new work. The EANCOM manual says PRODAT is "similar" to PRICAT, and the difference is that PRODAT carries technical and functional data with no commercial terms. Then it adds:

GS1 advises to implement the Price/Sales Catalogue message since it offers more functionality. However, some users have already implemented the Product Data message and have no business reason to replace it.

In practice you build PRODAT because a partner already runs it. If you are designing a new product data link with a European buyer, propose PRICAT, or ask whether the buyer takes product attributes through the GS1 Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) instead.

Example 1: A New Product and Its Case

The fictional supplier Brindle and Oak Homeware (GLN 5412345000068) sends technical data for a new cordless kettle to the fictional retailer Westmere Department Stores (GLN 5412345000075). It describes two levels: the kettle (consumer unit) and the case of four (traded unit). The message references the PRICAT that carries the prices. All identifiers use GS1's documented example prefix 5412345 and carry valid check digits.

The case has its own GTIN because it is a different trade item from the kettle inside it. The weight on the case line is the net weight of four kettles; EANCOM's PRODAT MEA list has unit net weight (AAA) but no gross weight qualifier, so if your partner needs gross weight, ask how it wants it sent.

Example 2: A GTIN Change on the Case

From January, the kettle ships six to a case. A change of quantity in a case means a new case GTIN under the GS1 GTIN rules, so Brindle and Oak tells the buyer that the old case number is being replaced. PRODAT does this with PIA qualifier 3 (substituted by): the LIN keeps the old GTIN and the PIA gives the new one.

The new case of six is itself a new trade item. Send its full technical data, as in Example 1, in an addition message before the switch date, so the buyer can load it before it appears on a delivery. GS1 also defines PIA qualifier 4 (substituted for), which works the other way round: the LIN carries the new GTIN and the PIA the old one.

PRODAT Structure at a Glance

Status and repeats follow the EANCOM 2002 structure chart. M is mandatory, C conditional.

Like PRICAT, PRODAT has no UNS and no CNT: the summary section is just UNT.

Key Segments Explained

BGM: Message Function

BGM+289+BOH-PD-0907+2'

The document code is 289 for product data. EANCOM also lists 721 for a product data response.

LIN and PIA: Identifying the Product

LIN+1+1+5412345100171:SRV'
PIA+1+BO-KT17:SA'

GS1 accepts GTIN-8, GTIN-12, GTIN-13 and GTIN-14 in LIN, using only the significant digits.

MEA: Dimensions and Weight

MEA+PD+AAA+KGM:1.1'
MEA+PD+HT+MMT:245'

GS1's own worked examples also show a width qualifier, WD, but it is not in the PRODAT MEA code list, which uses depth (DP) for the third dimension. Use the qualifiers your partner's guide lists.

HAN and DOC: Handling and Certificates

HAN+HWC::9'
DOC+2+BOH-COC-1741'

IMD: Descriptions and Unit Type

IMD+F++:::CORDLESS KETTLE 1.7L BRUSHED STEEL'
IMD+C++CU::9'

IMD with format C and a GS1 code in the third element states the unit type: CU consumer unit, TU traded unit, DU despatch unit, IN invoicing unit and others. With format F it carries free text. The second element can name what the text describes: 35 colour, 98 size, 4 finish, 219 style. GS1 says descriptions are needed when a product is new or its description changes, and not otherwise.

CCI and CAV: Characteristics

CCI+11++ZZZ:::POWER RATING'
CAV+:::3000 W'

CCI names a characteristic and CAV gives its value. Codes can come from GS1, a national trade agency (60), the supplier (91) or the buyer (92). Where no code exists, GS1's pattern is a dummy ZZZ in the code position and the characteristic in free text, as here. Free text is easy to send and hard to process, so agree a coded list with the partner for any attribute it filters or reports on.

HYN and QTY: Pack Hierarchy

QTY+59:4'
HYN+2+2++5412345100171:SRV'
QTY+17E:4'

PRODAT links levels differently from PRICAT. PRICAT adds a sub-line for each child, while PRODAT keeps one line per product and points to its children with HYN. One caution: the EANCOM segment layout lists only 17E for the quantity under HYN, but GS1's own worked examples use 45E there. Follow your partner's guide and sample files.

PRODAT vs the X12 832 and 888

The 888 is the closer match in spirit: both carry item data without prices and leave prices to another message, the 879 in X12 and PRICAT in EDIFACT. The 832 is closer to PRICAT, since it carries items and prices together. The EDI 888 guide and EDI 832 guide cover the X12 side.

Where PRODAT Sits in the Flow

A buyer can also ask for product data first, with the PROINQ product inquiry message, which GS1 says may be answered with PRICAT, PRODAT or both.

Common PRODAT Errors and Fixes

PRODAT Implementation Checklist

1. Ask whether the partner wants PRODAT, PRICAT, GDSN or a spreadsheet. If it is a new link, ask about PRICAT first.
2. Get its PRODAT guide and confirm the directory, the EANCOM version in UNH, and the mandatory segments.
3. Agree which characteristics are coded and which code lists apply.
4. Agree how the pack hierarchy is expressed, including the HYN quantity qualifier.
5. Validate every GTIN and GLN check digit.
6. Test an addition, a change, a GTIN substitution and a deletion before go-live.
7. Check each test file's envelope, counts and identifiers in the EDIFACT inspector.

Where OrderSync Fits

Product data is what makes order matching possible. OrderSync reads inbound orders in any format, including EDIFACT ORDERS, X12 850s, PDFs, emails and spreadsheets, and matches each line's customer, item and unit to your catalogue before the order reaches your ERP. When a buyer orders by case GTIN, the case and consumer unit data you sent in PRODAT or PRICAT is what that match depends on.

Check PRODAT files in the free EDIFACT inspector, and X12 832 or 888 files in the EDI inspector. To see order matching on your own customers' orders, book a 15-minute walkthrough.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related guides

• EDIFACT PRICAT: the price/sales catalogue GS1 recommends instead
• EDIFACT PARTIN: location master data, the other half of master data alignment
• EDIFACT explained: syntax, envelopes and the full X12 mapping
• EDIFACT ORDERS: the orders that depend on your product data
• EDI 888 item maintenance: the closest X12 counterpart
• EDI 832 price/sales catalog: X12 items and prices together
• EDIFACT message types: every message and its X12 equivalent

Sources

• EANCOM 2002 S3: PRODAT product data message, GS1: structure chart, segment layouts, code lists and worked examples
• EANCOM 2002 S3 Part I: message descriptions, GS1: PRODAT vs PRICAT and the GS1 recommendation
• Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), GS1
• GS1 Global Data Synchronisation Network, GS1
• UN/EDIFACT D.01B PRODAT message, UNECE

Check any PRODAT's structure, counts and GTIN check digits in the free EDIFACT inspector.