0. INTRODUCTION
1. SCOPE
   1. Functional definition
   2. Field of application
   3. Principles
2. REFERENCES
3. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
   1. Standard terms and definitions
4. MESSAGE DEFINITION
   1. Segment clarification
      1. Header section
      2. Detail section
   2. Segment index (alphabetical sequence by tag)
   3. Message structure
      1. Segment table

This specification provides the definition of the Product inquiry message (PROINQ) to be used in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) between trading partners involved in administration, commerce and transport.

A message enabling the sender to inquire on a product or a group of products from a master product catalogue or file according to criteria defined in the message.

The Product inquiry message may be used for both national and international applications. It is based on universal practice related to administration, commerce and transport, and is not dependent on the type of business or industry.

The message usually relates to a manufacturer and/or a supplier of goods and a buyer, or their respective agents.

The buyer may specify in the message the attributes of a product or group of products for which additional information is required. This will allow a manufacturer and/or supplier to send the requester only information for those products the requester is specifically interested in rather than the entire product catalogue.

The Product inquiry message may request information in order to:

• select a specific group or family or products from a supplier entire product catalogue, e.g. a buyer requesting a supplier of medical equipment all product information related to sterilized products.
• select a product or group of products according to attributes or product characteristics as defined by the sender in the message, e.g. a retailer requesting a clothing manufacturer to send product information for all blue, white or stripped men's shirts, sizes medium to extra-large.
• determine the availability, lead-time and/or general commercial and/or sales conditions for a specific product.

The response to a product inquiry message will be either a Price/sales catalogue (PRICAT) or Product data message (PRODAT).

PROINQ shall not be used to request a code.

See UNTDID, Part 4, Chapter 2.3 UN/ECE UNSM - General Introduction, Section 1.

See UNTDID, Part 4, Chapter 2.3 UN/ECE UNSM - General Introduction, Section 2.

This section should be read in conjunction with the segment table which indicates mandatory, conditional and repeating requirements.

The following guidelines and principles apply to the whole message and are intended to facilitate the understanding and implementation of the message:

• All specified dates and/or times should be in the format 'ccyymmdd'/'hhmm' unless all parties involved in the transaction agree that there is a functional requirement for an alternative format.
• Periods should be specified as whole numbers representing the required period as indicated in the format qualifier (weeks, months, etc.).
• Where a choice of code or text is given only the code element should be used wherever possible.
• Conditional data that is not required in the message should not be included.
• Care must be taken that the segment qualifier in dependent segments do not conflict with the segment qualifier of the trigger segment of a group.

Information to be provided in the Header section:

0010 UNH, Message header

A service segment starting and uniquely identifying a message. The message type code for the Product inquiry message is PROINQ.

Note: Product inquiry messages conforming to this document must contain the following data in segment UNH, composite S009:

0020 BGM, Beginning of message

A segment by which the sender must uniquely identify the Product inquiry message by means of its number.

0030 DTM, Date/time/period

A segment specifying general dates and, when relevant, times related to the whole message. The Product Inquiry message preparation date must be specified using this segment.

0040 CUX, Currencies

A segment identifying the currency in which all product prices are expressed in the Product inquiry message.

0050 Segment Group 1: NAD-SG2

A group of segments identifying the parties with associated information relevant to the whole Product inquiry message.

0060 NAD, Name and address

A segment identifying names and addresses of the parties, in coded or clear form, and their functions relevant to the Product inquiry message. Identification of the requesting party and the party asked for information is mandatory for the Product inquiry message. It is recommended that where possible only the coded form of the party ID should be specified e.g. the sender and receiver of the report are known to each other, thus only the coded ID is required, but when a new address might have to be clearly specified, this should be done preferably in structured format.

0070 Segment Group 2: CTA-COM

A group of segments giving contact details of the specific person or department within the party identified in NAD segment.

0080 CTA, Contact information

A segment to identify a person or department, and their function, to whom communications should be directed.

0090 COM, Communication contact

A segment to identify a communications type and number for the contact specified in the CTA segment.

0100 Segment Group 3: RFF-DTM

A group of segments for giving references and where necessary, their dates, relating to the whole message e.g. contract number.

0110 RFF, Reference

A segment identifying the reference by its number and where appropriate a line number within the document.

0120 DTM, Date/time/period

A segment specifying the date and/or time related to the reference.

Information to be provided in the Detail section:

0130 Segment group 4: LIN-SG5-SG6 A group of segments identifying the product or attributes of the product for which information is required.

0140 LIN, Line item

A segment specifying the inquiry request line and if available, the identification of the product or service for which the inquiry is being made.

0150 Segment Group 5: CCI-CAV-MEA

A group of segments providing product characteristics and values or measurements associated with the characteristics. Repeating CCI segments provide additional characteristics e.g. colour, size, pattern (AND linkage). Repeating CCI segments provide a choice of characteristic values (OR linkage).

0160 CCI, Characteristic/class id

A segment to identify a product characteristic and/or the characteristic name and characteristic relevance for the business process.

0170 CAV, Characteristic value

A segment to specify product characteristic by value in either coded form or in free format.

0180 MEA, Measurements

A segment indicating characteristic values being physical measurements (including measurable quantities and percentages) related to specific product characteristic (e.g. voltage, percentage of material contained) and where relevant measurement ranges. The MEA segment is repeatable to allow the indication of a number of applicable measurable values, for example one electric appliance may be suitable for different voltages: 110V, 220V, 240V and 380V.

0190 Segment Group 6: IRQ-PIA-IMD-MEA-NAD-PGI-DTM-SG7

A group of segments specifying the type of requested information and optionally product identification(s), measurements, parties related to the product, dates and price ranges.

0200 IRQ, Information required

A segment specifying the type of information requested by the Product inquiry message, e.g. a price/sales catalogue, allowances and charges information, delivery lead times, etc.

0210 PIA, Additional product id

A segment providing either additional identification to the product specified in the LIN segment or providing a substitute product identification.

0220 IMD, Item description

A segment for describing the product or service inquired. This segment should be used for products that cannot be fully identified by an article number.

0230 MEA, Measurements

A segment specifying the physical measurements for a product.

0240 NAD, Name and address

A segment identifying the name and address of a party related to the product for which an inquiry is being made, e.g. supplier, ultimate customer, etc.

0250 PGI, Product group information

A segment specifying product or price group information requested for the current product.

0260 DTM, Date/time/period

A segment identifying relevant dates or periods for a product, e.g. availability date, lead time, delivery date, etc.

0270 Segment Group 7: PRI-RNG

A group of segments providing pricing information and price ranges for the product identified in the detail section.

0280 PRI, Price details

A segment to specify the price type and amount, e.g. proposed purchase price, suggested retail price, etc.

0290 RNG, Range details

A segment providing range information related to prices, e.g. price range between 1000 - 1500 BEF.

0300 UNT, Message trailer

A service segment ending a message, giving the total number of segments in the message (including the UNH & UNT) and the control reference number of the message.