Orders change after they're placed. A buyer trims quantities when a promotion underperforms, pushes a delivery date, swaps a ship-to DC, or cancels three lines of a forty-line PO. The EDI 860 Purchase Order Change Request is how that change arrives in machine-readable form — and how you avoid fulfilling an order that no longer exists in the version your customer expects.
An amendment, not a new order
The most important thing about the 860 is what it is not: a new purchase order. Its header BCH segment references the original PO number and date from the 850, and its detail section carries POC segments — one per changed line — with a change code stating what kind of modification this is: quantity increase, quantity decrease, price change, delete, add, or reschedule. Dates ride in DTM, and unchanged lines typically don't appear at all.
That structure demands discipline on your side. The change must be applied to the existing sales order in your ERP, against the correct revision. The classic integration failure is treating the 860 like an 850 and creating a duplicate order — the warehouse then picks both, the buyer receives double, and the cleanup involves returns, credits, and an unhappy replenishment analyst.
The change window problem
An 860 is only useful if it beats your fulfillment process. If the change arrives Tuesday and the order ships Wednesday, you have a day to catch it; if your EDI inbox is checked manually, you may not see it until the freight is gone. Buyers know this, which is why change requests cluster in the window between order placement and ship date — and why the document rewards automation more than almost any other. Processing it same-day is the difference between a smooth revision and a shipment that arrives wrong.
Not every partner uses the document identically, either. Some transmit a full replacement of the order; others send only the deltas. The partner's implementation guide spells out which convention applies, and your integration has to honor it — applying a delta as a replacement wipes out lines the buyer never touched.
Once applied, most trading relationships expect a response: the 865 PO Change Acknowledgment confirms line by line whether you accept the revision, reject it, or counter with what you can actually do. Where the buyer has cut quantities below what you've already staged, or moved a date you can't meet, the 865 is your formal channel to say so before the dispute exists.
Downstream documents inherit the change
Everything after the 860 must reflect the revised order, not the original. The 856 ship notice has to mirror the changed quantities; the invoice has to bill the changed price; references the buyer added in the change must round-trip. Retail deduction systems compare documents to each other, so an ASN built from the original PO against a changed order is a mismatch you'll pay for — even though every individual document was internally correct.
This is why EDISQ applies 860s as updates to the existing order in your ERP rather than staging them for review by default: the revision lands, the order version increments, and every downstream document is generated from the post-change state. Where you'd rather approve changes before they apply — common for price changes — the workflow can hold them for a click instead.
Volume, cost, and why changes shouldn't be expensive
Change requests are bursty. A stable partner might send a handful a month; a promotional season can multiply that overnight. On EDISQ's per-document pricing that burst stays cheap: after your 25 free documents each month, an 860 starts at $0.50 and the rate falls with volume down to $0.30 per document at the top tier, charged marginally per tier. Because there are no per-partner fees and no monthly base, a season of heavy revisions costs you the documents and nothing else — connectivity over AS2, SFTP, or a VAN is already in the price.
For the full picture of where the 860 sits between order and shipment, the transaction glossary maps the whole chain — and each partner page in our directory notes whether that buyer trades change requests at all.
FAQ
What is the difference between an 850 and an 860?
The 850 creates an order; the 860 modifies one that already exists. The 860 references the original PO number and carries only the changes — new quantities, dates, added or deleted lines.
Do I have to respond to an 860?
Many buyers expect an 865 PO Change Acknowledgment confirming you accepted, rejected, or countered the change. Check each partner's requirements — silence is usually read as acceptance, which is risky.
What happens if I miss an 860?
You fulfill the original order while the buyer expects the revised one. The ship notice and invoice then mismatch on quantity or date, which surfaces as short receipts, refused freight, or deductions.
What does an 860 cost to process?
It is one document on EDISQ's meter — first 25 documents monthly are free, then from $0.50 each, decreasing with volume. No monthly or per-partner fees.