What Is an EDI 754 (Routing Instructions)?

An EDI 754 is the X12 Routing Instructions transaction set, the electronic message that tells a supplier how one specific shipment is to be routed.

X12's purpose statement sets out three points:

• Receiver: a supplier.
• Scope: a specific shipment, not a standing set of rules.
• Trigger: it can be used also to respond to a 753 Request for Routing Instructions. X12 describes answering a 753 as an additional use of the 754, not its only one.

X12 lists both the 753 and the 754 among the transaction sets of its Supply Chain subcommittee (X12M), not its Transportation subcommittee (X12I).

The 754 fits what GS1 US describes as dynamic routing: the process whereby the routing requirements are determined on a per-shipment basis, with the routing information or response normally provided electronically. A static routing guide instead contains routing instructions which remain constant for a specific period of time.

X12's purpose statement does not list the 754's fields. GS1 US's routing guide template shows what a routing instruction is made of. Its Routing Information section specifies the method or action by which the shipment will be moved:

• Carrier: the official company name of the carrier, or instructions on how to obtain the routing instructions.
• SCAC: the four-letter alpha code that uniquely identifies a carrier. It must be populated when the carrier field contains the name of a carrier.
• Service level: as defined by the carrier, for example air, ground or three-day service.
• Contact: the carrier's phone number when a carrier is named.
• Priority: the order of selection of preferred carriers, where "1" indicates first preference.

In that template, a "Y" in the DR (Dynamic Routing) field indicates that routing instructions will be received outside of the static routing guide, for example by EDI. When that answer comes by EDI, the X12 754 is the transaction set used to communicate routing instructions to a supplier for a specific shipment.

A supplier has two shipments ready for the same customer: one of 216 pounds and one of 540 pounds. In this example the customer's routing guide uses the GS1 US sample scenario in which shipments that weigh more than 150 pounds are dynamically routed using an outside logistics provider, so both need instructions.

• Requests: the supplier sends one 753 per shipment, 2 in all.
• Answers: a 754 comes back for each specific shipment, 2 in all.
• Total: 2 + 2 = 4 transaction sets, and each shipment leaves under the routing instructions in its own 754.

When the 754 arrives and the shipment leaves, an integration can record it on Shopify through the GraphQL Admin API. The fulfillmentCreate mutation creates a fulfillment for one or more fulfillment orders, and Shopify says to use it to mark items as fulfilled when they're ready to ship.

• Carrier: the tracking input takes the name of the tracking company.
• Number: it takes the tracking number of the fulfillment.
• Links: if you specify a tracking company name from Shopify's list, Shopify will automatically build tracking URLs for all provided tracking numbers.
• Hold release: if the integration put the fulfillment order on hold while waiting for routing, the fulfillmentOrderReleaseHold mutation releases the fulfillment hold on a fulfillment order.

Uncap's guide to Shopify EDI integration notes that "Enterprise buyers require EDI because it removes the manual handling risk that creates chargebacks, payment delays, and routing errors."

• EDI 753 (Request for Routing Instructions)
• Routing guide
• SCAC code
• EDI 856 (advance ship notice)
• LTL freight (less-than-truckload)
• Bill of lading

• X12 Transaction Sets
• GS1 US: Guidelines for the Routing Guide
• Shopify Dev Docs: fulfillmentCreate