What is Tradacoms?

Tradacoms is an EDI standard introduced in 1982 as a precursor to EDIFACT and subsequently maintained and extended by GS1 UK.

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TrueCommerce provides comprehensive trading solutions using the Tradacoms EDI format for leading UK retailers, including  Tesco, Asda, and Morrisons.

Introduced in 1982 as a precursor to EDIFACT, Tradacoms was maintained by GS1 UK and widely adopted across retail. While development ended in 1995 in favour of EDIFACT’s subsets like EANCOM subsets, the Tradacoms format remains in use – particularly in UK retail and sectors such as books, news, textiles, and insurance.

Tradacoms Message Structure

A Tradacoms message follows a clear structure:

  • Header (ORDHDR): Purchase order header information
  • Main message (ORDERS): Core order data
  • Footer (ORDTLR): Closing message section

Messages are separated using MHD (Start of Message) and MTR (End of Message) tags. The standard defines around 25 transactions, plus additional message sets for industry-specific needs.

Tradacoms Messages and Specifications

The standard supports a variety of messages, grouped into customer-facing and supplier-facing transactions.

Customer-Facing Messages (Supplier to Customer)

  • Price Information (PRIHDR)
  • Acknowledgement (ACKHDR)
  • Delivery Note (DELHDR)
  • Invoice (INVFIL) 

Supplier-Facing Messages (Customer to Supplier)

  • Purchase Order (ORDHDR)
  • Delivery Confirmation (DLCHDR)
  • Credit Note (CREHDR)
  • Statement and Remittance (SRMHDR)
  • Stock Snapshot (SNPSTS)

These messages are the backbone of EDI Tradacoms and often require careful Tradacoms mapping to ensure seamless communication.

The EDI Tradacoms standard is primarily used in UK domestic trade, including:

  • Retail (Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, and others)
  • Book and news distribution
  • Textiles

If your business trades in these industries, Tradacoms messages are likely required. 

TrueCommerce ensures fast, smooth onboarding with a managed service that removes the complexity of handling Tradacoms ports, mappings, and code lists.

  • Tradacoms: UK domestic focus, especially in retail, with messages like ORDERS, INVOIC, and DELHDR.
  • EDIFACT: Later international standard designed for consistency across Europe and multiple industries.

With TrueCommerce, you don’t have to choose – our platform supports both Tradacoms EDI format and modern standards such as EDIFACT, GS1 XML, and ANSI X12.

TrueCommerce delivers millions of EDI messages every year across a wide range of formats and industries.

Our cloud-managed platform makes implementing Tradacoms integration fast and simple by:

  • Supporting all Tradacoms segment groups and code lists
  • Managing infrastructure, updates, and compliance requirements
  • Offering scalable connections to UK retailers and beyond
  • Providing seamless ERP integration and global reach

Whether you need to meet a retailer’s Tradacoms EDI requirements or integrate invoices and orders into your ERP system, TrueCommerce makes it effortless.

Contact us for a free demo and see how our Tradacoms solutions can help your business. Are you new to EDI? Read our Beginner’s Guide to EDI.