The grocery channel's purchase order change transaction - used by retailers and distributors to modify an existing 875 PO with updated quantities, revised delivery windows, or adjusted promotional pricing and allowances.
The EDI 876 Grocery Products Purchase Order Change is the grocery channel equivalent of the general-purpose EDI 860 Purchase Order Change Request. It allows a grocery retailer or distributor to modify a previously issued 875 PO without canceling and re-issuing the entire order. Like the 875 it modifies, the 876 carries full support for the promotional pricing structures, deal codes, and allowance qualifiers that define grocery trading.
Changes communicated via 876 can range from a simple quantity adjustment on one line to a wholesale revision of the delivery window, the applicable deal number, or the allowance amounts on multiple lines. The 876's BCT (Beginning Segment for Purchase Order Change) carries the original PO number from the 875, a change sequence number, and a purpose code that tells the supplier exactly what kind of change is being made - whether it is an add, a delete, a quantity change, or a price correction.
Grocery buyers issue 876s fairly frequently compared to general retail buyers, because promotional windows shift, store distribution changes mid-promotion, and demand signals from scan data often cause buyers to revise quantities after the original PO is placed. Suppliers receiving a 876 must match it to the open 875 in their order management system, apply the changes to the affected lines, and update their fulfillment plan accordingly - including re-evaluating whether the revised order still meets minimum order quantities or deal volume thresholds tied to the promotional allowances.
The 876 is used exclusively in the grocery and consumer packaged goods channel, alongside the 875 it modifies.
Chain grocery buyers issue 876s when promotional volumes need adjustment after the original 875 is placed. A common scenario: a feature ad is expanded from 800 stores to 1,200 stores mid-cycle, requiring a 876 to increase quantities across all affected line items while preserving the original deal number and allowance terms.
Suppliers receive 876s and must process them against open 875s in their OMS or ERP. A 876 that reduces a quantity below the deal's minimum buy threshold can invalidate the promotional allowance, creating a situation where the supplier needs to communicate back to the buyer before fulfilling - either accepting the lower quantity at a different cost or negotiating to keep the original volume.
UNFI, KeHE, and regional distributors use 876 when order conditions change between placement and fulfillment. Distributor 876s often reflect changes cascaded from member retailer sell-through data - the distributor adjusts its warehouse replenishment order based on how fast stores are moving the promotional item.
Direct store delivery suppliers frequently encounter 876s for route-level quantity adjustments. A chain may issue a 875 for a weekly DSD delivery and then send a 876 the day before the route to reflect last-minute store-level changes. DSD operations must have the ability to accept and act on same-day 876 changes without disrupting route execution.
Natural channel buyers at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and similar retailers use 876 to adjust orders around seasonal availability, new item phasing, and promotional calendar changes. Natural channel 876s may also carry updated organic certification qualifiers or country-of-origin changes when sourcing conditions shift mid-order.
Cooperative buying groups issue 876s when member participation in a promotional program changes after the group order is placed. Adding or removing member stores from a deal requires quantity adjustments across all affected SKUs, which is communicated to each participating supplier via 876.
The 876 mirrors the 875 structure but adds change-specific segments to identify what is being modified and how.
Opens the 876. BCT01 = purpose code: identifies the type of change (00 = original, 01 = cancellation, 04 = change, 05 = replace). BCT02 = purchase order type code (same as the originating 875). BCT03 = the original PO number from the 875 - this is the key linkage field. BCT04 = release number (for blanket PO releases). BCT05 = change sequence number, incrementing with each 876 against the same 875 to establish processing order. BCT06 = change date. BCT07 = the contract or deal number carried over from the original 875.
Updated contact and date information reflecting the change. G62 is particularly important in a 876 - it carries revised delivery dates (010), updated promotional event start (196) and end (197) dates if the promotional window has shifted, and the change request date (004). If a 876 is extending a delivery window, the updated G62 dates must align with the buyer's promotional planning system or the change may be rejected at receiving.
The 876 uses POC (Purchase Order Change) segments rather than PO1 to communicate line-level changes. POC01 = original line number from the 875. POC02 = change reason code: QD = quantity decrease, QI = quantity increase, PR = price change, DI = delete item, AI = add item. POC03 = quantity changed (the new quantity, not the delta). POC04 = UOM. POC05 = revised unit price when a price correction is being made. Product qualifiers in POC must match the original 875 identifiers exactly.
When a 876 includes a pricing correction, G72 segments at the header or line level carry the revised allowance terms. If the original 875 had an incorrect off-invoice allowance, the 876's G72 carries the corrected amount with the same allowance code. Both parties must reconcile the corrected allowance against any already-committed fulfillment activity - if product has already shipped under the original allowance terms, an 880 or 812 adjustment document will be needed.
Carries cross-reference information linking the 876 back to the original 875 and to other related documents. N901 = reference identifier qualifier. Common qualifiers in grocery 876s: PD (promotion deal number), CT (contract number), ZZ (mutually defined - used for buyer internal reference numbers like event codes or category management IDs). N9 in the 876 must echo the same deal and contract identifiers from the original 875 to ensure correct matching in the supplier's system.
Closes the 876 with the total number of line items changed (CTT01). Note that CTT01 in a 876 reflects only the number of POC loops - lines being changed - not the total lines on the original 875. Suppliers must not confuse a low CTT01 on a 876 with a small order; a 876 with CTT01 = 2 means two lines of the original order are being modified, not that the entire order has only two lines.
The 876 is always tied to an original 875 and feeds into the downstream fulfillment document chain.
The original PO that the 876 modifies. The 876's BCT03 must reference the 875's PO number exactly. Suppliers must match each 876 to its corresponding open 875 before processing - applying a 876 to the wrong PO is a common source of fulfillment errors in high-volume grocery trading.
The supplier's advance shipment notice must reflect the quantities from the most recent 876, not the original 875, if the 876 was received before shipment. If a 876 arrives after the 856 has already been transmitted, the supplier may need to issue a corrected 856 or communicate the variance to the buyer's DC before the truck arrives.
The 880 invoice must reflect the final agreed quantities and allowances - accounting for all 876 changes received before shipment. An 880 that invoices original 875 quantities when a 876 reduced the order will generate deductions on the 820 remittance that are difficult to dispute after the fact.
If a 876 price correction arrives after an 880 invoice has already been submitted, the retailer will issue an 812 to adjust the previously billed amount. Proactive communication of 876 changes before invoicing is always preferable to reconciling 812 adjustments after payment.
Managing grocery PO changes in real time - matching 876s to open 875s, updating fulfillment plans, and keeping allowance data in sync - is one of the most operationally demanding parts of CPG trading. Better EDI handles 876 mapping, change processing logic, and trading partner certification so your team stays ahead of the changes instead of reacting to deductions.
Talk to an EDI Expert