EDI documents
EDI 754 Routing Instructions
The EDI 754 is the buyer's answer to a routing request: which carrier picks up, when, for which purchase orders, and under which load reference. This page covers the BGN, BLR, OID and G62 segments, a sample that answers a two-PO request with the times worked out, the envelope, what the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and Amazon require, and where the reference has to show up again.
Updated
What is an EDI 754?
The EDI 754 is the X12 Routing Instructions transaction set, functional group RG. X12 defines it as the set "used to communicate routing instructions to a supplier for a specific shipment", which "can be used also to respond to" a 753. It names the carrier by SCAC, the pickup date and time, the purchase orders on the shipment and the reference the buyer uses for the load.
It belongs to collect freight. The buyer pays the carrier and plans the trucks, so the supplier cannot pick a carrier itself; it waits for the 754 and loads what the 754 says. The 753 and 754 first appear in X12 release 004030 and have no established EDIFACT counterpart.
Where the 754 sits in the order and transport flow
| Step | Document | Direction | What the 754 takes from it or passes on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 753 routing request | Supplier to buyer | Request control number, POs, pallets, weight, ready date |
| 2 | 204 load tender | Buyer to carrier | The load the buyer built; its shipment ID becomes the 754 reference |
| 3 | 990 response | Carrier to buyer | The carrier accepted, so the buyer can route |
| 4 | 754 routing instructions | Buyer to supplier | Carrier, pickup date, load reference, POs |
| 5 | 856 ship notice | Supplier to buyer | The routed SCAC in TD5; the reference as the buyer's guide requires |
| 6 | 214 shipment status | Carrier to buyer | Statuses under the load's shipment ID |
The EDI document map places the 754 with the 753 between the order and the transport documents. The link between the 204 and the 754 is explicit in the Exchange's guide: BGN02 of the 754 "matches the Shipment ID Number (B204) from the 204 tender". The supplier never sees the 204, but it receives its key.
The segments of a 754
| Segment | Name | What it carries | What goes wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| BGN | Beginning Segment | BGN01 00 original or 01 cancellation; BGN02 the load reference; BGN07 RJ, response to a request | A cancellation that is not tied back to the deliveries it routed |
| PER | Administrative Communications Contact | The buyer's routing contact, such as an e-mail address | Questions sent to sales instead of the transport desk |
| N1, N3, N4 (heading) | Ship-from party and address | SF with the buyer-assigned vendor number | A ship-from that differs from the 753, so the pickup goes to the wrong dock |
| LX | Transaction Set Line Number | Opens one routed shipment, up to 9,999 per 754 | Several shipments read as one |
| L11 | Business Instructions and Reference Number | RRC, the routing request control number from the 753 | A missing RRC, so the 754 matches no request |
| BLR | Transportation Carrier Identification | BLR01 the SCAC of the routed carrier | A SCAC the shipping system does not know |
| OID | Order Information Detail | PO, packaging, quantity, weight and volume as routed | A PO left out, so its freight stays on the dock |
| G62 | Date/Time | 10 requested pickup date with U scheduled pickup time; 54 deliver no later than | A pickup time read in the wrong time zone |
| MSI | Multi-stop Shipment Information | MSI01 Y or N, MSI02 the stop sequence number | A multi-stop pickup loaded in the wrong order |
| QTY | Quantity Information | T5, total number of units | A total that differs from the sum of the OIDs |
| N1, N3, N4 (detail) | Ship-to party and address | ST, the destination of this shipment | Freight for two destinations loaded under one reference |
A sample 754, with delimiters
Harbor Retail answers the 753 sample: 6 pallets for PO 4500018302 and 2 pallets for PO 4500018315, ready at Northfield Supply in Aurora on 14 October 2026. It has tendered load HR7741520 to carrier ABCD, the carrier that also moved PO 4500018236 on our other document pages.
ST*754*0001*005010~
BGN*00*HR7741520*20261013*1410***RJ~
PER*AA*TRANSPORT DESK*EM*ROUTING@EXAMPLE.COM~
N1*SF*NORTHFIELD SUPPLY*92*0412~
N3*400 COMMERCE DRIVE~
N4*AURORA*IL*60504*US~
LX*1~
L11*0412001*RRC~
BLR*ABCD~
OID*SO-88131*4500018302**PLT*6*L*4320*E*384~
OID*SO-88140*4500018315**PLT*2*L*900*E*120~
G62*10*20261014*U*1300~
G62*54*20261016~
MSI*N~
QTY*T5*8~
N1*ST*HARBOR RETAIL DC 07*92*0007~
N3*1200 DOCK STREET~
N4*COLUMBUS*OH*43215*US~
SE*19*0001~
Read it field by field. BGN02 is the load reference HR7741520, BGN03 and BGN04 the date and time of the instruction, and BGN07 RJ marks it as a response; BGN05 and BGN06 stay empty, so three asterisks run from the time to RJ. L11 RRC returns 0412001 from the 753, which ties the answer to the request. BLR01 names carrier ABCD. G62 sets the pickup at 13:00 on 14 October and the latest delivery on 16 October. QTY T5 is 8 because the OIDs hold 6 plus 2 pallets, and their weights add up to 4,320 plus 900, which is 5,220 lb. MSI N says the carrier makes no other pickup on this load. There are 19 segments from ST to SE, so SE01 is 19.
The instruction went out at 14:10 on 13 October for a pickup at 13:00 the next day, which leaves 22 hours 50 minutes to stage 8 pallets and print the bill of lading. The pickup was requested between 08:00 and 16:00, so 13:00 is inside the window. Aurora is on Central time; a buyer on Eastern time that sends 13:00 meaning its own clock means 12:00 at the dock.
The envelope around it
ISA*00* *00* *01*123456789 *ZZ*NORTHFIELD *261013*1410*U*00501*000001304*0*P*>~
GS*RG*123456789*NORTHFIELD*20261013*1410*1304*X*005010~
ST*754*0001*005010~
SE*19*0001~
GE*1*1304~
IEA*1*000001304~
The buyer is the sender. GS01 is RG. ISA12 is 00501 for X12 005010. The control numbers are the buyer's sequence: ISA13 equals IEA02, GS06 equals GE02, ST02 equals SE02, and SE01 is the real count of 19. The supplier answers the group with a 997, which confirms that the file parsed, not that the pickup can be made.
Who requires it, and how they differ
| Rule | The Exchange (Army and Air Force Exchange Service), 754 5010, February 2018 | Amazon Vendor Central, GetShipmentDetails |
|---|---|---|
| Format | X12 754 in 005010, and an older 004030 version | JSON through the Selling Partner API; X12 guides behind the Vendor Central login |
| Load reference | BGN02 equals B204 of the Exchange's 204 to the carrier | Amazon Reference Number, generated when the routing request is submitted |
| Carrier | BLR01, a four-character SCAC | Carrier name, SCAC and PRO number in the carrier details |
| Timing | G62 10 with U scheduled pickup time; 54 deliver no later than | Carrier assigned on the day of pickup or the day before; not shown before that |
| Contact and parties | PER with an e-mail address; ship-from with the eight-digit vendor code | Ship-from by warehouse ID |
| Use downstream | 856 with the SCAC in TD5 and both REF BM and REF CN | amazonReferenceNumber mandatory in the shipment confirmation for collect shipments; ASN within 30 minutes of departure or at least 6 hours before the delivery appointment, whichever is sooner |
The Exchange's guide is public on its supplier pages: 754 Routing Instructions, 5010. Amazon describes the routing answer under Retrieve shipment details. Kroger's published guide list and Walmart's public drop-ship set contain no 754. All checked on 3 October 2026.
What goes wrong with routing instructions
- The routed carrier never reaches the shipping system. The 754 arrives, someone reads it, and the warehouse books its usual carrier. The 856 then carries a SCAC the buyer did not route, and the load the buyer tendered leaves empty.
- No match to the request. A 754 without the RRC from the 753, or with POs grouped differently from the request, has to be matched by PO number. A PO that sits on two requests gets routed twice.
- Changes and cancellations. A new 754 for the same load, or BGN01 01, has to update or cancel the pickup that was planned. Treated as a new instruction, it gives the dock two pickups for one set of pallets.
- The reference does not travel. The load reference has to reach the bill of lading and the 856 in the form the buyer's guide asks for. Amazon makes it mandatory in the shipment confirmation for collect freight.
- Time zones. G62 carries no time code in the Exchange's guide. The pickup time is the shipper's local time only by agreement.
Handling the 754 in the ERP
The 754 updates the deliveries it routes: carrier, pickup date and time, load reference, per PO. In most ERPs these land on the delivery or shipment record as carrier, planned ship date and an external reference field, and the warehouse system or shipping tool reads them to print the bill of lading. The 856 for the shipment is built from the same record, so the SCAC and reference the buyer expects come out without retyping.
We build the 754 into an EDI integration together with the 753 and the 856: routing answers matched to requests and deliveries, the carrier and pickup written to your shipping system, changes and cancellations applied to the planned pickup, and requests without an answer raised in the dashboard before the ready date. Tell us which buyers route your freight.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an EDI 753 and a 754?
The 753 is the supplier's request: freight is ready, here are the purchase orders, pallets, weight and volume. The 754 is the buyer's instruction: this carrier picks up on this date under this reference. X12 also allows a 754 without a 753, for routing instructions the buyer sends on its own.
What happens if the supplier ships with another carrier than the 754 names?
The shipment no longer matches the load the buyer booked. The buyer's carrier arrives to an empty dock, and the 856 carries a SCAC the buyer did not route. What retailers publish about compliance rules is collected under EDI compliance.
Where does the routing reference go after the 754?
Into the documents that follow, as the buyer's guide prescribes. Amazon makes its Amazon Reference Number mandatory in the shipment confirmation for collect shipments. The Exchange requires the routed carrier's SCAC in TD5 and both a bill of lading and a carrier reference number in REF of the 856.
How late can routing instructions arrive?
The standard sets no time. In Amazon's process the carrier is assigned on the day of the scheduled pickup or the day before, and the shipment details only show it after that. A supplier that waits for the carrier before staging the freight has less than a day.
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