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Spotlight PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 The EU e-invoicing mandate is here — France Sept 2026, Belgium Jan 2026, Germany 2025.

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Foundations

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Standards

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Flagship messages

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Tools

X12 840 — Request for Quotation

The 840 transmits a Request for Quotation (RFQ) — items, quantities, lead times, terms — from a buyer to its suppliers to collect commercial quotes.

Purpose

The 840 documents an RFQ: requested items (with specs), quantities, ship-to, delivery terms, response deadline. It precedes the formal procurement process, before issuing a PO 850. It supports sourcing for non-catalog items or bid events.

It triggers a 843 (Response to RFQ) reply from suppliers. Acknowledged by 997. Typically pairs with a 832 (catalog) for recurring items and with a 836 in government context.

Envelope structure

The 840 travels within the three X12 envelope levels (ISA/IEA, GS/GE with functional group RQ, and ST/SE). Didactic example in release 004010:

x12 example-840.x12 
ISA*00*          *00*          *ZZ*BUYER         *ZZ*SUPPLIER      *260515*1400*U*00401*000000840*0*P*>~
GS*RQ*BUYER*SUPPLIER*20260515*1400*1*X*004010~
ST*840*0001~
BQT*00*RFQ-2026-7711*20260515~
N1*BY*ACME MFG CO*92*BY-001~
N1*ST*ACME WAREHOUSE 42*92*0042~
DTM*002*20260615~
DTM*036*20260530~
PO1*1*100*EA*0.00**UP*012345678905~
PID*F****INDUSTRIAL-GRADE-BEARING-25MM~
SE*10*0001~
GE*1*1~
IEA*1*000000840~

Common segments

  • Header — ST, BQT (Beginning Segment for Request for Quotation).
  • Buyer / Ship-To — N1*BY, N1*ST.
  • Dates — DTM*002 (required delivery), DTM*036 (response deadline).
  • Items — PO1 (with UPC or part number), PID (description).
  • Summary — SE.

Common pitfalls

  • Ambiguous specs: an RFQ without precise tolerances generates incomparable quotes; always include full specs (materials, finishes, tolerances).
  • Term confusion (FOB/CIF): forgetting Incoterms produces quotes that look comparable but carry different costs.
  • RFQ vs RFP: RFQ = price on defined specs, RFP = solution proposal; a 840 for what should be an RFP gets under-engineered responses.

Documentation

The code 840 and the name Request for Quotation are public and listed on x12.org/products/transaction-sets. The complete structure of loops, qualifiers and code lists is distributed by DISA via the proprietary Implementation Guides (TR3). ediverse.io covers only public concepts, the envelope and didactic examples.