What is the EDI 852 Product Activity Data? 
The EDI 852, or Product Activity Data, is a transaction set used to transmit inventory and product sales to their suppliers to the supplier by location (e.g., distribution centers, warehouses, or retail locations). Information from the Product Activity Data (852) business message is most often used as input to a vendor's forecasting system, and the Product Activity Data (852) business message is sent on a regular (scheduled) basis for input to a vendor's sales and inventory management system. This data helps trading partners plan replenishment, forecast demand, and monitor product movement across retail and distribution networks.
How does PartnerLinQ use the EDI 852?
PartnerLinQ uses the EDI 852 to transmit inventory and sales data to suppliers by location, typically scheduled at the end of a sales cycle (e.g., weekly) and transmitted using AS2 to keep VAN costs in check, PartnerLinQ leverages the 852 for purposes such as vendor managed inventory (VMI), Continuous Replenishment (CRP), Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR), processes that enhance supply chain efficiency by reducing manual interventions and improving forecast accuracy.
What responses to the EDI 852 are expected/sent?
The
EDI 852 is not a response transaction but works in conjunction with purchase orders (850), ship notices (856), and invoices (810). Functional Acknowledgments (997) confirm its receipt. In some industries, the 852 can also drive replenishment signals that indirectly trigger purchase orders.
What does the EDI 852 Product Activity Data support?
The EDI 852 supports inventory visibility, demand forecasting, and replenishment workflows. It enhances collaboration across retailers, distributors, and suppliers, particularly in grocery, mass merchandise, beverage, and lottery sectors.
What are the Key Features of the EDI 852 Product Activity Data?
The Product Activity Data (852) business message is used extensively in the grocery, mass merchandise, and drug retail industry sectors, retail grocery, food and beverage, convenience store operations, even lottery management.. It is included in both the UCS and VICS EDI architectures, and a separate implementation guideline (VICS Product Activity Data - Scan Based Trading (852SB) has been developed in parallel for the retail industry to handle a scan-based trading reporting/replenishment scenario.
The design of the Product Activity Data (852) business message means it can and has been useful in a number of specialized scenarios including the reconciliation of sales records, inventories and in sales forecasting solutions.
The Product Activity Data (852) business message serves as a data carrier for various types of product activity data, which means that the buyer can report Product Activity Data to the seller by using this transaction document.
Data Reporting by way of the Product Activity Data (852) business document can include:
- Additional or exceptional demand over and above scheduled replenishment.
- Out-of-stock quantities, e.g., lost sales, rain checks, or shortfalls
- Movement of inventory from the warehouse to the final sales locations
- Communicates sales, on-order, received, and adjusted quantities
- On-order quantities as reflected in the buyer's systems
- Quantities received as reflected in the buyer's systems
- Supports seller-managed replenishment models
- Enables forecasting and exception management
- Out-of-stock conditions and lost sales
- Adjustments to inventory
- Sales and sales orders
What is the Purpose of the EDI 852?
The purpose of the EDI 852 is to transmit detailed product activity data, enabling suppliers to align replenishment strategies with actual sales and inventory activity across multiple locations.
What Information is Included in the Product Activity Data (852) business message?
The 852 typically includes inventory data and inventory data only for the locations that had sales activity; in other words, if a particular store did not experience a (retail) sale, then inventory would not have changed, thus would not be included in or sent with the 852.
The 852 typically includes:
- Sales and sales orders
- Movement of inventory from warehouses to sales locations
- Out-of-stock quantities
- On-order and received quantities
- Adjustments to inventory.
What are the Essential Components of the EDI 852 Product Activity Data?
| Segment | Description |
|---|---|
| ST | Transaction Set Header |
| XQ | Reporting Date/Action |
| XPO | Preassigned Purchase Order Numbers |
| N9 | Reference Identification |
| PER | Administrative Communications Contact |
| N1–N4 | Location and party identification |
| LIN | Item Identification |
| ZA | Product Activity Reporting |
| SDQ | Destination Quantity |
| CTT | Transaction Totals |
| SE | Transaction Set Trailer |
What are the Common Segments Included in the EDI 852 Product Activity Data?
| Segment | Description |
|---|---|
| ST | Transaction Set Header |
| XQ | Reporting Date/Action |
| XPO | Preassigned PO Numbers |
| N9 | Reference Identification |
| N1 – N4 | Location details |
| LIN | Item Identification |
| ZA | Product Activity Reporting |
| SDQ | Destination Quantity |
| CTT | Totals |
| SE | Trailer |
What Status Codes are used with the EDI 852 Product Activity Data?
The EDI 852 does not use status codes but does convey activity codes within ZA and SDQ segments which are tied to quantities and reporting locations. These segments indicate sales, adjustments, receipts, and demand.
What Reason Codes are used with the EDI 852 Product Activity Data?
Reason codes in the EDI 852 Product Activity Data message are used to indicate exceptions such as lost sales, adjustments, even unusual demand spikes. These codes allow suppliers to interpret inventory variances and plan accordingly.
What Use Cases does the EDI 852 Product Activity Data support?
- Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI)
- Seller-managed replenishment
- Continuous Replenishment (CRP)
- Consignment Inventory
- Forecasting input for suppliers
- Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR)
- Co-Managed Inventory (CMI)
- Vendor Replenishment Program
- Lottery ticket sales and reconciliation
- Alcohol beverage bailment states
What are the Benefits of the Product Activity Data (852) business message?
The Product Activity Data (852) business message offers many benefits to buyers and sellers:
- It helps to streamline and improve inventory management operations
- It reports inventory movement for data analysis
- Provides transparency into product movement
- Enhances supplier-retailer collaboration
- It aids in forecasting future demand.
- Reduces inventory handling costs
- Improves demand forecasting
How efficient is the Product Activity Data (852)?
Reports 
daily/weekly movements of material in/out of consigned stock, enabling suppliers to track usage and replenish accurately, speeds up inventory tracking and replenishment planning.
How Compliant is the Product Activity Data (852)?
The Product Activity Data (852) supports UCS, VICS, and industry-specific guidelines such as scan-based trading.
What is the Format of the Product Activity Data (852)?
The Product Activity Data (852) follows ASC X12 EDI 4010 format with and generally meets requirements for partners involved in Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) and Continuous Replenishment (CRP)programs.
How Accurate is the Product Activity Data (852) message?
The Product Activity Data (852) ensures standardized product activity reporting across locations and industries, normalizing data exchange for consistent reporting.
What are the Limitations of the Product Activity Data (852) message? 
Large file sizes and frequent exchanges can be challenging when using the Product Activity Data (852) requiring tools like AS2 in avoiding VAN costs.
Are Guidelines & Sample Files for the Product Activity Data (852) available?
Yes. PartnerLinQ provides sample EDI 852 Product Activity Data Transaction and implementation guides through its Support and Guideline Management Team.
Sample EDI 852 implementation guides illustrate both inbound and outbound flows, segment layouts, and valid data examples and support testing and partner onboarding. Customized specification documents for use in on boarding and technical development are available upon request.
PartnerLinQ provides:
- EDI 852 Product Activity Data transaction implementation guide
- Sample payloads
- Qualification and testing maps
- Error handling and best-practice notes
What are the Basic Questions for EDI Integration with the Product Activity Data (852)?
- Are there Samples and Specs available?
- What is the general direction of the transaction?
- Are they Inbound to the client or outbound from the client to another party?
- Are there industry-specific adaptations (e.g., lottery, alcohol)?
- What response to the transaction is expected or sent?
- What response transaction is expected?
- Are there samples and specs of the response transaction available?
- Are there other interested parties?
- What transactions might these interested parties be a party to?
- How are exceptions handled?
- How are changes to the Product Activity Data (852) business message transaction today?
- Is automation or manual triggering in use?
- Are responses and changes automatically triggered? (an internal systems trigger)
- Do Product Activity Data (852) business message transactions require human intervention?
What Business Level Workflow does the Product Activity Data (852) business message support?
1. Retailer or distributor gathers product activity data.
2. EDI 852 is generated with sales, inventory, and adjustments.
3. Data is transmitted to supplier via AS2.
4. Supplier ingests 852 into forecasting and replenishment systems.
5. Supplier may trigger replenishment or forecast adjustments based on data.
What are the Best Practices for using the Product Activity Data (852) business message?
- Transmit 852 data on a consistent schedule (e.g., weekly)
- Use AS2 to reduce costs for large file transmissions
- Ensure clear mapping of location and item identifiers
- Incorporate exception handling for lost sales and adjustments
What Transactions are associated with the Product Activity Data (852) business message?
| Transaction | Role |
|---|---|
| 855 | Purchase Order Acknowledgment |
| 860 | Purchase Order Change |
| 856 | Advance Ship Notice |
| 810 | Invoice |
| 997 | Functional Acknowledgment |
| 832 | Price/Sales Catalog |
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