EDI documents
EDI 753 Request for Routing Instructions
The EDI 753 is how a supplier tells a buyer that collect freight is ready: which purchase orders, how many pallets or cartons, what weight and volume, from which dock and from what date. The buyer books the carrier and answers with a 754. This page covers the segments, a sample for two purchase orders with the sums worked out, the envelope, and the rules the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and Amazon publish.
Updated
What is an EDI 753?
The EDI 753 is the X12 Request for Routing Instructions, functional group RF. A supplier sends it to a buyer to request routing instructions for merchandise "that is ready to be shipped": ship-from, ship-to, a ready date, and per purchase order the number of handling units, the weight and the volume. It exists for collect freight, where the buyer chooses and pays the carrier and the supplier only loads the truck.
The answer is the EDI 754 routing instructions: carrier, pickup date and the reference the shipment has to carry. The 753 and 754 first appear in X12 release 004030; retail guides use 004030 or 005010. There is no established EDIFACT counterpart.
Where the 753 sits in the order flow
| Step | Document | Direction | What the 753 takes from it or gives to it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 850 purchase order | Buyer to supplier | PO number, ship-to location, freight terms |
| 2 | 855 acknowledgment | Supplier to buyer | The confirmed quantity, which is what gets packed |
| 3 | 753 routing request | Supplier to buyer | Ready date, handling units, weight and volume per PO |
| 4 | 204 load tender | Buyer to carrier | The buyer books the load it planned from the 753s |
| 5 | 754 routing instructions | Buyer to supplier | Carrier SCAC, pickup date, load reference |
| 6 | 856 ship notice | Supplier to buyer | Same SCAC in TD5 and the routing reference |
In the EDI document map the 753 and 754 sit between the order documents and the transport documents. The buyer collects 753s from many suppliers and builds loads from them, so a wrong weight or a late request affects a truck that also carries other suppliers' freight.
The segments of a 753
| Segment | Name | What it carries | What goes wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| BGN | Beginning Segment | BGN01 purpose: 00 original, 01 cancellation; BGN02 request reference; BGN03 date, BGN04 time | A correction sent as 00, so the buyer sees two requests for one PO |
| N1 (heading) | Party Identification | SF ship from, with the vendor number the buyer assigned (qualifier 92) | A vendor number that differs from the one on the PO |
| N1 (detail) | Party Identification | ST ship to, the buyer's location code; the ship-to loop repeats up to 9,999 times | A location taken from the address, not the code on the PO |
| L11 | Business Instructions and Reference Number | The supplier's routing request control number | A number reused for a later request |
| G62 | Date/Time | RS ready to ship, with I earliest and K latest requested pickup time | A ready date before the goods are packed |
| USI | Unitized Shipment Information | Number of pallets, packaging code, stackable Y or N | Stackable pallets declared N, so the buyer plans floor space the load does not need |
| OID | Order Information Detail | OID01 seller's order, OID02 PO (up to 22 characters), packaging, quantity, weight, volume | Weight as a total where the buyer expects an average, or the reverse |
| CMC | Commodity Classification | Freight commodity code and class (005010) | A code that differs from the one on the PO |
A sample 753, with delimiters
Northfield Supply has two collect purchase orders from Harbor Retail for DC 07 ready on Wednesday 14 October 2026: PO 4500018302 with 6 pallets and PO 4500018315 with 2 pallets. It sends one request on Monday 12 October, in X12 005010 as the Exchange uses.
ST*753*0001*005010~
BGN*00*NF0412*20261012*0930~
N1*SF*NORTHFIELD SUPPLY*92*0412~
LX*1~
N1*ST*HARBOR RETAIL DC 07*92*0007~
L11*0412001*RRC~
G62*RS*20261014*I*0800~
G62*RS*20261014*K*1600~
USI*8*PLT*N~
OID*SO-88131*4500018302**PLT*6*L*4320*E*384~
OID*SO-88140*4500018315**PLT*2*L*900*E*120~
SE*12*0001~
Read it field by field. The pallets can be picked up from 08:00 to 16:00 on 14 October, a window of 8 hours. USI says 8 pallets, not stackable. PO 4500018302 is 6 pallets of 4,320 lb and 384 cubic feet; PO 4500018315 is 2 pallets of 900 lb and 120 cubic feet. Together that is 6 plus 2 is 8 pallets, 4,320 plus 900 is 5,220 lb and 384 plus 120 is 504 cubic feet, which is what the buyer plans the truck with. Each OID04 and OID05 pair says PLT and the count; the third element stays empty because there is no consignee reference. There are 12 segments from ST to SE, so SE01 is 12.
Under the Exchange's guide the same two OIDs read PLT*6*L*720*E*64 and PLT*2*L*450*E*60, because its transportation system multiplies the count by the weight and volume. The averages check out against the totals: 6 times 720 is 4,320 and 2 times 450 is 900.
The envelope around it
ISA*00* *00* *ZZ*NORTHFIELD *01*123456789 *261012*0930*U*00501*000000466*0*P*>~
GS*RF*NORTHFIELD*123456789*20261012*0930*466*X*005010~
ST*753*0001*005010~
SE*12*0001~
GE*1*466~
IEA*1*000000466~
GS01 is RF, the functional group of the 753. In 005010 ISA12 is 00501 and ST03 can name the implementation convention; when it is present it takes precedence over GS08. The control numbers follow the rules on every X12 file: ISA13 equals IEA02, GS06 equals GE02, ST02 equals SE02, and SE01 is the real count of 12. A request that fails these checks is rejected before the buyer reads a single pallet count.
Who requires it, and how they differ
Two buyers publish the step, in different forms. Both checked on 3 October 2026.
| Rule | The Exchange (Army and Air Force Exchange Service), 753 5010, August 2019 | Amazon Vendor Central, SubmitShipments |
|---|---|---|
| Format | X12 753 in 005010, and an older 004030 version | JSON through the Selling Partner API; X12 guides behind the Vendor Central login |
| Who sends it | Suppliers whose freight the Exchange books in its transportation system; it publishes a separate 850 for FOB origin vendors | Collect (WePay) vendors in North American and EU stores, standard pallets only |
| Supplier ID | N104 an eight-digit vendor code that matches the PO | sellingParty.partyId, the vendor code |
| PO | OID02 a ten-digit PO; release each PO only once | Confirmed purchase orders only; an unconfirmed PO fails the request |
| Quantities | OID05 count of cartons, pieces or pallets; OID07 and OID09 averages per unit | Carton count, stackable and non-stackable pallets, total weight and volume |
| Dates | G62 RS ready to ship, with earliest and latest pickup time | requestedPickUp at least two business days after the request |
| Updates | Keep OID01 of the original 753 | Same vendorShipmentIdentifier; requestedPickUp can change only after a carrier is assigned |
The Exchange's guides are public on its supplier pages: 753 Request for Routing Instructions, 5010. Amazon's step is described in its developer documentation under Submit or update a shipment request. Kroger's published guide list and Walmart's public drop-ship set contain no 753.
What goes wrong with routing requests
- Totals read as averages. The standard treats the OID weight as the weight of the order; in the 204, item weights have to add up to it. The Exchange multiplies OID07 by the count instead, so 4,320 lb sent for a 6-pallet PO becomes 6 times 4,320, which is 25,920 lb. The truck gets planned for freight that does not exist.
- Requests sent too early or too late. A ready date before packing is finished means a carrier at the dock with nothing to load. At Amazon the requested pickup has to be at least two business days out, so a request sent on Friday afternoon for Monday fails.
- One PO released twice. A second original 753 for a PO that was already requested creates a second pickup. Corrections go out as an update with the original reference.
- Weights from the item master. The 753 needs the packed weight, including pallets and packaging. Item weight times quantity is lower, and the difference shows up in the carrier's freight invoice.
- No answer tracked. The 753 starts a clock that ends at the 754. A request without a routing answer needs a follow-up before the ready date, not on it.
Handling the 753 in the ERP
The 753 comes from the delivery or pick ticket once packing is done: PO number, number of pallets or cartons, packed weight and volume. Most ERPs store the order and the item weights but not the packed result; that comes from the warehouse system, a shipping tool or a 3PL. The integration groups the ready deliveries per ship-from and destination, applies the buyer's rules for totals or averages, and keeps the request reference so the 754 can be matched to the deliveries it routes.
We build the 753 into an EDI integration together with the 754 and the 856: requests generated from packed deliveries, weights and volumes in the unit and form each buyer expects, unanswered requests raised in the dashboard before the ready date, and the routing answer written back to the delivery. Tell us which buyers route your freight.
Frequently asked questions
When do you send an EDI 753?
When the buyer pays and books the freight (collect, FOB origin) and the goods for one or more purchase orders are packed and ready. The 753 states the ready date and what has to be picked up; the buyer answers with a 754 naming the carrier and the pickup. A supplier that ships prepaid with its own carrier does not send a 753.
Is the 753 the same as the ASN?
No. The 753 goes out before the carrier is known and describes freight that is ready: handling units, weight and volume per PO. The 856 goes out when the truck leaves and describes the contents carton by carton, with the carrier the 754 assigned.
What does Amazon use instead of an EDI 753?
Amazon's public developer documentation describes the same step as a shipment request: SubmitShipments for collect (WePay) vendors, with the confirmed purchase orders, carton and pallet counts, weight, volume and a requested pickup at least two business days ahead. Amazon's X12 guides sit in Vendor Central behind a login, so the exact 753 layout for an Amazon account comes from there.
Can one 753 cover several purchase orders?
Yes. One 753 holds up to 9,999 ship-to loops, and each carries one OID loop per purchase order with its own quantities. The Exchange adds a rule: release each PO only once, and when updating a request keep the OID01 number of the original 753.
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