X12 transaction guide · Planning

EDI 852 Product Activity Data

The X12 document a retailer sends to share point-of-sale and inventory data with suppliers by item and location.

Sent by: Retailer or distributor
Received by: Supplier or brand
Standard: ANSI ASC X12
EDIFACT equivalent: SLSRPT

What is an EDI 852?

The EDI 852 Product Activity Data is the ANSI X12 transaction set retailers and distributors use to share sales and inventory activity with suppliers. It reports quantities sold, on hand, on order and received for each item, often by store or distribution center and for a defined reporting period.

Suppliers use 852 data to understand sell-through, plan replenishment and production, manage promotions and support vendor-managed inventory programs. Because 852 files can be large and detailed, the value comes from loading them into analytics or planning systems rather than reading them manually.

How to read this diagram: the top row shows who sends the 852, to whom, and which documents usually come before and after it. The lower part shows what X12 release 004010 itself requires: the envelopes around the 852 and the segments and loops the standard marks as required, area by area. Optional loops are listed by the segment that starts them rather than drawn in full. This is the standard's minimum, not a trading partner's requirement: each partner's implementation guide usually makes some optional loops mandatory, restricts the codes and may use a different release.

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When it is used

Weekly sales and inventory reporting by store
Vendor-managed inventory and replenishment planning
Measuring promotion performance and sell-through

Where it fits in the document flow

This document 852 Product Activity Data

Usually followed by 850 Purchase Order

Structure

Key segments in the 852

The segments most implementations use, described in plain language. The last column shows what X12 release 004010 itself requires: "Required" marks a segment the standard requires in every 852; "Optional, common" marks a segment the standard leaves optional, or that sits in an optional loop, but that implementations often use. This is the standard's requirement, not your trading partner's: each partner's implementation guide names the release it uses, makes some optional segments mandatory and restricts the values, and requirements can differ between releases. The requirement status comes from one published X12 reference listing and has not been checked against a second source.

Segment	Name	What it carries	In X12 004010
XQ	Reporting Date/Action	Report type and the start and end dates of the reporting period.	Required
N9	Reference Identification	References such as the supplier's vendor number.	Optional, common
LIN	Item Identification	Product identifiers such as UPC. Each LIN starts the detail for one item.	Optional, common
ZA	Product Activity Reporting	Activity type, such as quantity sold or on hand, with quantity and unit of measure.	Optional, common
SDQ	Destination Quantity	Quantities by store or location.	Optional, common

Example

Sample EDI 852

A weekly report for vendor 5555 showing 42 units of one item sold (QS) and 118 units available for shipment or sale (QA) for the reporting period.

Illustrative data only, not tied to one X12 release or trading partner. The interchange (ISA/IEA) and functional group (GS/GE) envelopes are omitted for readability.

ST*852*0001~
XQ*H*20261012*20261018~
N9*IA*5555~
LIN**UP*012345678905~
ZA*QS*42*EA~
ZA*QA*118*EA~
SE*7*0001~

The sample is the same one shown above, with a note beside each segment the first time it appears. Segment IDs are highlighted at the start of each line; the fields after them are separated by asterisks, and each segment ends with a tilde.

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