Why a 1982 standard still needs a reference in 2026

TRADACOMS was published by the Article Number Association in 1982 and frozen in 1995, when the industry's attention moved to EDIFACT. Yet a very large share of UK retail EDI still runs on it today. If you supply UK grocers and high-street retailers, there's a good chance your orders arrive as ORDHDR files and your invoices leave as INVFIL.

The problem: the specification lives in decades-old Word documents and PDFs that aren't published on the web. Developers implementing a TRADACOMS integration end up searching for segment names and finding nothing, or paying for information that ought to be a lookup away.

Worth noting: TRADACOMS® is a standard of GS1 UK (formerly the ANA). Our reference publishes the message structure as reference data with our own descriptions. It is an independent resource, not affiliated with or endorsed by GS1 UK.

What's in the reference

We've built and checked our TRADACOMS implementations for years. We turned that work into a complete, structured reference:

  • 78 messages across 25 documents, from Orders and Invoices to Delivery Notifications, Credit Notes, Uplifts and Stock Snapshots
  • Every segment and data element, with mandatory/conditional flags, fixed/variable indicators and field formats, exactly as the standard defines them
  • All 57 standard code lists: 1,270 code values, including VAT rate categories, order codes, credit reasons and measure indicators
  • Search: type a message code (ORDERS), a segment (ILD), a data element (OQTY) or a topic (VAT) and jump straight to it

How it's organised

TRADACOMS structures each business document as a file of messages: a header, one or more detail messages, and a trailer, wrapped in an STX/END envelope. The reference follows that shape: start at a document (say, the Order file), drill into its messages (ORDHDR → ORDERS → ORDTLR), then into each segment's full data element table.

Segments also get their own pages. Some, like DNA (Data Narrative), vary by message; each variant is shown with the messages that use it, so you can see at a glance whether the definition you're implementing matches the context you're in.

Practical tip: Bookmark the message you're implementing: every segment on the page is anchor-linked, so you can share a URL that lands a colleague directly on the segment in question.

Who it's for

Anyone implementing, debugging or maintaining a TRADACOMS integration: in-house developers mapping an ERP export, integration teams at 3PLs, consultants translating retailer MIGs, and suppliers trying to understand what a retailer's spec is actually asking for. It's free, there's no sign-up, and we intend to keep it that way.

Browse the TRADACOMS reference →

Rather not hand-build TRADACOMS at all?

Supply Lens connects your ERP, storefront or accounting system to any TRADACOMS or EDIFACT trading partner: orders in, invoices out, fully managed.

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