DUNS-PLUS-4
DUNS+4. The 9-digit DUNS extended with a 4-digit suffix to identify an internal operational unit of a company.
Definition
The DUNS+4 is a 13-digit identifier format: the standard 9-digit DUNS Number issued by Dun & Bradstreet, followed by a 4-digit suffix defined by the company to distinguish its own divisions, branches, departments or accounts. The 4 digits are not validated by D&B and remain the responsibility of the issuing company.
Origin
DUNS+4 was standardised in X12 guides to address the need for identification granularity in Transaction Sets 850, 856, 810 and 820: a large company might hold a single DUNS at corporate level but need to finely identify its warehouses, billing points or cost centres. The format is today reused by certain HIPAA profiles and by major North-American logistics providers.
Example in context
ISA*00* *00* *01*123456789 *01*987654321:0042*...Here, the sender identifier in the ISA combines a DUNS (987654321) and a DUNS+4 suffix (0042) separated by :. The 0042 suffix lets the sender point to its north-east warehouse, distinct from the other warehouses sharing the corporate DUNS.