A Product Data message is a communication between parties containing master data, to identify and describe products available for supply or for information purposes. This information which changes infrequently does not include commercial terms and conditions but technical and functional product descriptions.

The message identifies a product or products using codes, descriptive, and other information.

The information received in a Product Data message enables the buyer to select goods according to his needs.

The following information regarding a product or products may be included in the message;

When required, it is recommended to send free text information in structured formats.

The Product Data message can also be used by suppliers to feed a central catalogue of products, making the information available to all interested parties. In addition, interested parties may be provided with information from a central catalogue or database of products by means of the Product Data message.

The Product Data message is a status zero EDIFACT message and therefore will not appear in any EDIFACT directory. The message is currently being developed within the EDIFACT process.

This subset is based on the content of the message available in March 1997 and contains the additional new segments, Hierarchy information (HYN), and Technical rules (TRU), which are not included in the EDIFACT D.96A directory. All other segments used in this message are taken from the D.96A segments directory.