Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the computer-to-computer exchange of business information using a public standard. You have several different options when it comes to using EDI to submit your catalog file. In addition to commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) packages, there are also third parties and Value Added Networks (VANs) who can assist you. If you are interested in learning more about EDI, call our EDI help desk at 703-605-9444 or email edistat@gsa.gov.
EDI catalog submission process
Catalog data submitted to GSA via EDI transaction set 832 is first checked for EDI syntactical accuracy and then checked for data content. It is then provided to your GSA/VA CO for review and approval. Once approved, contractors are notified via e-mail and the catalog data is placed on GSA Advantage.
GSA will use the 824 transaction set to specify data content errors in your catalog file should your file be rejected. The 824 is sent to contractors electronically. Rejected catalogs must be resubmitted within 30 calendar days.
EDI 832 samples
Sample 832 Price/Sales Catalog transaction sets can be downloaded from the Vendor Support Center that are compliant with the Federal Implementation Convention (IC), using version 3050. The 832 samples should be given to your software provider and/or Value Added Network (VAN) so that they will be able to furnish a transaction in accordance with the Federal Implementation Conventions (FIC). Also included with the 832 samples is a table of expected data elements that will be edited prior to GSA/VA CO review of your catalog.
Other EDI samples
You may download samples of the 850 Purchase Order, the 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment, the 856 Ship Notice, 860 Purchase Order Change/Cancellation and 824 Application Advice. Additionally, the 997 Functional Acknowledgment should be used in all appropriate cases.
How to submit your 832 Electronic Catalog
There are three ways in which a contractor may send in their EDI data:
Contractors may use their Value Added Network/Value Added Service (VAN/VAS) provider and transmit their data through the Federal Infrastructure via the GEX (Government Electronic Exchange) at Ogden, Utah. The receiver IDs are as follows: the ISA07 is ZZ and the ISA08 is DMCOGDEN. The GS03 is 012966339 (the GSA/FAS identifier ).
Contractors can also SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) their data directly to GSA/FAS. Contact the EDI help desk (below) for the appropriate IP address, log-on ID, and password. .
A mailbox on the Sterling/IBM VAN system is also available for those contractors whose service providers have interconnects with Sterling/IBM. Please contact the EDI help desk at edistat@gsa.gov or 703-605-9444 for more information. The receiver ID is ZZ:GSAADV.
Contract modifications
All contract modifications and/or changes must be approved by your GSA/VA CO before submitting for inclusion in GSA Advantage. Please include your modification number with your submission.
Submitting changes
Changes can be sent by line item or as an entire catalog replacement. Files containing temporary price reductions will be immediately loaded without CO approval.
Terms and Conditions Price Lists
A FSS Terms and Conditions Price List is mandatory for every contract, and must be kept up-to-date in accordance with clause I-FSS-600. Terms and Conditions Price Lists submitted by contractors using EDI must be created in .pdf, .doc, .xls, or .htm format. Upload the document via SFTP (see above) to your established SFTP website. Your file name must include your contract number.
Text documents (T&C files) submitted by EDI contractors must be created in .pdf, .doc, .xls, or .htm format and uploaded to GSA via sftp to their established sftp mailbox or by using the VSC web site. Use the Text File Upload Tool if uploading via the VSC web site. The text filename must include your contract number and the name of the file. The filename may not contain spaces. Format the filename as follows: "GS-07F-1234A_filename.xxx", where xxx is one of the formats allowed above.
The document filename must also be placed in the REF segment using the "TN" qualifier in the REF01 and the actual filename in the REF03. The filenames must match between the reference in the 832 and the actual Terms and Conditions document.
Submitting photos
For EDI contractors, the photo filename must be included in the 832 catalog file submission using the REF segment (2/040) with the "51" qualifier in the REF01. In order to accommodate up to an 80 character filename, use REF02 (up to 30) and then the remaining in REF03 or preferably put all of it in REF03 (80). You may repeat the REF segment up to 4 times if you wish to submit more than one photo for an item.
In order to delete a photo from Advantage, simply exclude the REF segment from the 832 catalog submission. Using Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), EDI contractors will send their zipped photo files to their established SFTP mailbox using the naming structure 'contractnumber_photos.zip'. The .zip file will also contain an 'email.txt' file containing ONLY the email address of the person submitting the photo file. Any validation errors will be emailed back to the email address provided in the .txt file.
More information can be found in our EDI Photo Guidelines.
Common EDI problems to avoid:
- Please ensure that if the following symbols are used as delimiters in your EDI submissions, that you not include them within your data: *, ~, @
- Make sure to include at a minimum the following line item (LIN) detail information:
- MG: Manufacturer's part number
- ZZ: Manufacturer's name
- PD: Part number short description/Commodity name
- CH: Country of origin
- PI: Special Item Number (SIN)
- When stating the Federal Supply Schedule price (CTP segment with the D01 qualifier), please be sure to include a unit of issue (i.e. unit packaging).
- A name must be included with the PER that uses the AC qualifier (Administrator POC).
- Ensure FOB and lead time is provided at the contract level (this is a required field), and optional at the line item.
Common EDI Error Messages:
- 824_msg: "Selling Party Country Missing": A country code must be provided in the selling party address. You will need to provide the country code in the selling party address and resubmit.
- 824_msg: “Cannot submit transaction for expired contract”: A catalog can not be submitted for a contract past expiration date. The system will reject this transaction.
- 824_msg: “Special Item Number [sin] is unauthorized for Contract”: The system will not accept a catalog transaction containing SINs not awarded on your contract. All SINs listed at the contract and product level must be awarded to the contract or the transaction will be rejected. Remove any unawarded SINs and resubmit. To add a new SIN to your catalog, first complete an Add SIN modification to your contract.
Note: If your contract was recently awarded, wait one (1) day and then resubmit. - 824_msg: ”Zone Price is $0 or less for Mfg. Part #: [%pn]”: This is a new error message to let you know when the pricing is invalid for a zone.
- 824_msg: “Missing Lead Time and/or FOB information for the Contract": This is a new error message to let you know FOB and lead time are required at the contract level, and optional at the line item.
EDI help desk
For more information or for any questions regarding EDI, please call 703-605-9444 or via email at edistat@gsa.gov
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