Understand the Interchange ID and Qualifier

What are Interchange IDs and Qualifiers?

EDIFACT and X12 both use Interchange IDs to specify the sender and receiver of a transaction. In X12, the Interchange ID is often referred to as the "ISA ID", derived from the ISA (Interchange Control Header) segment. In EDIFACT, this identifier is part of the UNB (Interchange Header) segment. Each transaction contains an Interchange ID for the sender and another one for the receiver. Each of these IDs has an associated Qualifier which provides additional information about it. Together, the ID and Qualifier uniquely identify a Trading Partner.

For example:

ISA*00* *00* *12*4155559874 *ZZ*ODFL001AMAZON

Here the sender's X12 Interchange ID and Qualifier is *12*4155559874 and the receiver's ID and Qualifier is *ZZ*ODFL001AMAZON.

Interchange ID Format

Orderful recommends the following format for Interchange IDs:

[ODFL][T][001][COMPANYNAME]

ODFL - Short for Orderful
T - (Optional) Add this if this is a test ISA ID
001 - Indicates the number of this ID. This is helpful if you have multiple ISA IDs.
COMPANY NAME - a shortened version of your company's name

For example:

Interchange ID: ODFL001AMAZON
Test Interchange ID: ODFLT001AMAZON

The Interchange Qualifier indicates which type of ISA ID you are using. For example, the 01 (in X12) or 1 (in EDIFACT) qualifier indicates that the Interchange ID is a DUNS number, meaning it is an identifier found in Dun & Bradstreet’s master Data Universal Numbering System.

Where can I find my Interchange ID and Qualifier Information in Orderful?

Your Interchange ID and Qualifier information can be found in your EDI Accounts settings page. When you first join Orderful, we create your Interchange ID and Qualifier for you.