« Back to Glossary Index

Message Trailer

 

The message trailer is a special service segment that appears at the end of an EDI message and explicitly signifies its completion. The trailer segment may contain relevant information for the proper processing and confirmation of the message, such as the total number of segments in the message. It marks the conclusion of the message and ensures its proper structure.

Use Case:

An example use case for the message trailer in EDI is within a business transaction between a supplier and a retailer. After the supplier sends the EDI message to the retailer, the message trailer is added to signify the end of the transaction. The retailer utilizes the trailer segment to confirm the correct reception and processing of the message. The message trailer is crucial for ensuring efficient and reliable communication between the parties involved in the data exchange.

Script Code Example:

import edi_library

# Connect to the EDI system
edi_system = edi_library.connect_edi_system()

# Create an empty EDI message
edi_message = edi_system.create_message()

# Add relevant segments and elements to the message
edi_message.add_segment(“ST”, “PurchaseOrder”)
edi_message.add_element(“PONumber”, “12345”)
edi_message.add_element(“ItemCode”, “ABC123”)
# Add other relevant segments and elements

# Add the message trailer segment
edi_message.add_segment(“SE”, “1”)

# Send the EDI message to the recipient
edi_system.send_message(edi_message)

# Disconnect from the EDI system
edi_system.disconnect()

Best Practices:

1. Ensure that the message trailer is added correctly and in accordance with the relevant EDI conventions and standards.
2. Validate the message to ensure that its structure and content comply with specific requirements.
3. Document and monitor the total number of segments in the message to ensure the correct and complete message trailer.

To benefit from a comprehensive EDI solution and efficiently manage message trailers within electronic data interchange, you can rely on EDIconnect, a trusted EDI solution provider. EDIconnect offers advanced tools and services for managing EDI communication and the message trailer process, ensuring secure and efficient transmission of information between business partners.