Inventory evidence fundamentals
What Is an EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice?
A practical guide to direct, source-reported inventory inquiry/advice evidence.
EDI 846 is the X12 Inventory Inquiry/Advice transaction set. It can communicate an inventory inquiry or source-reported inventory evidence. BIA supplies transaction context; each physical LIN identifies an item; QTY carries quantity qualifier evidence; SDQ carries destination/quantity pairs; SCH carries schedule evidence; and parties, references, dates, descriptions, sublines, and CTT retain their physical ownership.
What the main segments contribute
BIA identifies the purpose and report context. LIN supplies ordered qualifier/value product pairs. QTY, SDQ, and SCH remain distinct source mechanisms. N1-loop parties, REF references, DTM dates, PID descriptions, and SLN sublines remain scoped to their physical owner. CTT is source-reported summary evidence only and is not reconciled to LIN rows.
846 and 852 overlap, but are not interchangeable
An EDI 846 is a direct inventory inquiry/advice. An EDI 852 Product Activity Data transaction supports broader product activity, inventory, and sales-movement reporting. Both can contain inventory-related evidence, but their purposes, structures, and partner agreements differ.
Who exchanges an EDI 846?
Manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, warehouses, and other inventory partners may exchange an 846 when one party requests or reports inventory-related evidence. Direction and cadence are defined by the trading-partner agreement: the transaction name alone does not identify one universal sender, receiver, or reporting schedule.
Related transactions have different jobs
An 850 Purchase Order places a commercial order. An 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment reports a seller's order decision. An 856 Ship Notice / Manifest describes shipment and packaging hierarchy. A 940 Warehouse Shipping Order directs or requests warehouse shipment activity. A 945 Warehouse Shipping Advice reports warehouse shipment-advice evidence. An 846 performs none of those roles.
What an 846 does not prove
An 846 does not independently establish inventory accuracy, available inventory, sellable stock, shortage, surplus, ATP, allocation, a physical-count certification, or fulfillment readiness. The converter does not add inventory arithmetic, reconcile QTY/SDQ/SCH mechanisms, or turn source reports into operational guarantees.
Safe synthetic shape
ST*846*0001~
BIA*00*PI*SYNTHETIC-REPORT*20260908~
LIN*1*BP*SYNTHETIC-ITEM-001~
QTY*33*001.00*EA~
SDQ*EA*92*SYNTHETIC-LOC*001.00~
CTT*1~
SE*6*0001~This illustrative sample is synthetic and demonstrates structure only; it makes no claim about real stock.
Common EDI 846 questions
Does an 846 prove inventory is available?
No. It preserves source-reported, qualifier-specific evidence. Availability, sellability, allocation, ATP, and fulfillment readiness require business rules and facts outside the generic transaction.
What is the difference between EDI 846 and EDI 852?
846 is Inventory Inquiry/Advice; 852 is Product Activity Data. An 852 can report broader source-reported activity and movement context, while an 846 is organized around inventory inquiry/advice. Their segments and partner rules differ.
Open or map an EDI 846
Use the 846 reading guide, inspect the EDI 846 canonical data map, convert an 846 for analysis, or review the generic validation guide. You can also open the source in the browser-local EDI Viewer.