EDI Requirements Compared: Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Kroger, and Costco

Getting approved as a vendor is the easy part. Then your new retail partner sends you an EDI implementation guide, and the project starts.

What most suppliers don’t realize until they’re in it: every retailer has different requirements. Not different in minor ways. Different in transaction versions, envelope formats, mandatory segment structures, label standards, and certification timelines. What works for Walmart doesn’t automatically work for Target. The map you built for Home Depot won’t pass Kroger’s test suite unchanged.

Here’s a retailer-by-retailer breakdown of what you’re actually signing up for.

Walmart

EDI version: X12 4010 (DSV / Dropship Vendors still largely on 4010; some supplier types on 5010)

Core transaction sets:

• 850 — Purchase Order (inbound)
• 855 — Purchase Order Acknowledgment
• 856 — Ship Notice / ASN
• 810 — Invoice
• 997 — Functional Acknowledgment

Connection method: VAN or AS2. Most small suppliers start on a VAN and migrate to AS2 when volume justifies the setup overhead.

Certification process: Retail Link portal, Walmart EDI team sign-off. Budget 3–6 weeks for the full cycle — from registering in Retail Link to getting certification approval.

The trap: The 856 is where suppliers get burned. Walmart’s ASN requirements are strict on loop hierarchy, carton-level detail, and SSCC-18 label correlation. One bad 856 triggers a chargeback. The chargeback program is active and the amounts are not trivial.

If you’re using SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce, DiCentral, or another managed platform for Walmart, check whether your 856 is being validated against Walmart’s current spec or an older version. Retailers update their specs; some platforms lag behind.

Target

EDI version: X12 5010 (Target moved to 5010 several years ago; 4010 connections are being phased out)

Core transaction sets:

• 850 — Purchase Order
• 856 — Ship Notice / ASN
• 810 — Invoice
• 997 — Functional Acknowledgment
• 855 — PO Acknowledgment (required for some supplier types)

Connection method: AS2 is strongly preferred. Target’s infrastructure is oriented toward AS2 and the certification process reflects that.

Certification process: Target’s supplier portal handles testing. Budget 4–6 weeks. Target’s EDI team is responsive but the test window has specific requirements on transaction timing and sequence.

The trap: SSCC-18 label requirements. Target requires GS1-compliant SSCC-18 labels correlated with your 856 at the carton level. If your label printer setup doesn’t support GS1-128 with the correct application identifier structure, that’s a separate project before you even start EDI testing. Sort this out before you schedule your certification window — it’s a common reason suppliers miss their go-live date by weeks.

Target also uses specific qualifiers on their 856 that differ from Walmart. Your Walmart map is a starting point, not a finished product.

Home Depot

EDI version: X12 4010 (primary); some document types use 5010 standards

Core transaction sets:

• 850 — Purchase Order
• 856 — Ship Notice / ASN
• 810 — Invoice
• 997 — Functional Acknowledgment
• 855 — PO Acknowledgment

Connection method: AS2 or VAN. Home Depot has a preferred VAN list.

Certification process: The Home Depot Supplier Center handles onboarding. Testing is document-by-document — you pass the 850 inbound first, then certify 856 outbound, then 810. Plan 4–8 weeks total depending on your supplier category.

The trap: Home Depot’s 856 has specific requirements around the TD1 and TD3 segments for transportation data. These segments are often optional in X12 but Home Depot treats them as functionally required — your transactions will pass the technical validation and still trigger operational issues downstream if they’re missing or malformed. Read the spec notes carefully, not just the M/O indicators.

Home Depot also has compliance requirements around their routing guide that intersect with EDI. Your ASN needs to reflect what’s on the shipment accurately, and their compliance team checks.

Kroger

EDI version: X12 4010 and 5010 depending on supplier type and integration path

Core transaction sets:

• 850 — Purchase Order
• 856 — Ship Notice / ASN
• 810 — Invoice
• 997 — Functional Acknowledgment
• 860 — PO Change (some supplier types)

Connection method: Kroger has a strong preference for AS2. If you’re setting up SFTP-only, expect pushback from their EDI team during certification.

Certification process: Kroger’s onboarding timeline varies by product category and supplier tier. Budget 3–5 weeks for a standard onboarding. The Kroger EDI team is thorough on test validation — they’ll reject transactions with element-level errors that some other retailers would pass through.

The trap: Kroger’s GS (Functional Group) ID requirements are specific. The GS02 Application Sender’s Code and GS03 Application Receiver’s Code values must match exactly what Kroger’s system expects, and those values are not always intuitive from the implementation guide alone. Confirm with the EDI team before you start building.

Kroger operates a family of banners — Kroger, Fry’s, Smith’s, King Soopers, Ralphs, Harris Teeter, and others. Depending on your supplier agreement, you may be onboarding to one banner or several. Banner-specific requirements are rare but exist; confirm early.

Costco

EDI version: X12 4010

Core transaction sets:

• 850 — Purchase Order
• 856 — Ship Notice / ASN
• 810 — Invoice
• 997 — Functional Acknowledgment
• 855 — PO Acknowledgment

Connection method: VAN (Costco uses a specific preferred VAN — confirm this with their EDI team; direct AS2 is not always available for small suppliers)

Certification process: Costco’s EDI certification is handled through their supplier relations team. The timeline is typically 4–6 weeks. Costco’s documentation is detailed but the support team is responsive and will answer specific questions about their spec.

The trap: Costco’s item-level requirements in the 856 are specific. Each item needs to be represented at the correct loop level with their internal item number in the right element position. Suppliers often get the product identification loop wrong on the first pass — test with a simple 1-item PO before you try to certify a complex one.

Costco is also strict on their 810 invoice format. The invoice must correlate exactly to the PO and ASN, and their finance system will hold payment on discrepancies. Get the 810 right before go-live, not after.

What They All Have in Common

Despite the differences, every major retailer — Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Kroger, Costco, Sam’s Club, Lowe’s, Best Buy, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, CVS, Walgreens, Meijer, Albertsons, Publix — requires the same core four:

• 850 inbound (you receive their PO)
• 856 outbound (you send ship confirmation)
• 810 outbound (you send invoice)
• 997 acknowledgment (both sides confirm receipt)

If you can build a solid 856, you can work with any retailer. The 856 is the hardest document to get right because it carries the most operational data and has the most retailer-specific requirements.

The Cost of DIY vs. Managed

DIY through a platform like EDIBridge: You build your own maps, manage your own certification, own your own connections. Good option if you’re technical, you have the time, and you want to understand your EDI setup from the inside out. Platforms like EDIBridge give you full visibility — you see every map, every field, every transaction log.

Self-service through a legacy managed platform (SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce, 1 EDI Source, DiCentral): They build it and host it, but your maps are locked inside their platform. You can’t see them, you can’t export them. Plan $400–$1,500/month depending on trading partner count, plus per-transaction fees and per-partner setup fees.

TebcoForge fully managed: Flat monthly fee, no per-transaction costs, maps visible in EDIBridge. We handle spec changes, compliance updates, and new certifications. Starting at $199/month for a single trading partner. One-time setup fee covers build, testing, and go-live.

The Certification Reality

None of these retailers will let you skip the certification window. There’s no shortcut to going live. The question is whether you spend the certification window learning EDI or getting certified.

Suppliers who come in having already tried to build their own setup and got stuck typically take longer to certify than suppliers who handed it to someone experienced from day one. The certification window isn’t the time for trial and error — it’s a scheduled event with your trading partner, and missing the window means rescheduling from scratch.

If you’re onboarding to a new retailer and want to understand what’s in the implementation guide they sent, read Got Your Retailer’s EDI Implementation Guide? Here’s Exactly What Happens Next.

If you’re evaluating managed EDI providers, contact TebcoForge with your retailer list and transaction types. We’ll give you a straight answer on timeline and cost.