EDIFACT in Belgium — automotive

Seven major automotive industrial sites in Belgium exchange ~120 million EDIFACT/VDA messages per year with their suppliers via the ENX network and the OFTP2 protocol. The January 2026 PEPPOL-BIS 3.0 fiscal mandate does not touch this supply chain layer — it is added on top of the commercial invoice.

Belgian industrial sites

VDA + Galia + Odette standards

Belgian automotive primarily uses the VDA standards (Verband der Automobilindustrie, German automotive federation) historically deployed through DE-BE flows:

• VDA 4905 (DELINS): delivery schedule over 4-6 month horizon. Issued weekly by OEMs to suppliers.
• VDA 4906 (DELJIT): JIT/JIS call for delivery within 2-4 hours. Issued 8-12 times per day depending on production mix.
• VDA 4913 (INVOIC): monthly or weekly invoice. Auto-extended format with metadata on VIN-tracked parts.
• VDA 4915 (DESADV): shipment notice with production lot and VIN if traced.
• Galia (France): equivalent subset for Stellantis, Renault, Forvia. Used by Volvo Gent for Renault collaboration.
• Odette (EU): pan-European library, basis of VDA and Galia. Maintained by Odette International (Paris).
• UN/EDIFACT D.96A and D.01B: global reference format. Serves as base for VDAs — they are EDIFACT subsets.

Daily messages

Anatomy of an Audi Brussels DELFOR

Below is a typical Audi Brussels DELFOR (VDA 4905 / EANCOM EAN013) to a supplier (e.g. Continental for headlights). Schedule over 2 sliding weeks:

UNB+UNOC:3+5410000023456:14+5430000098765:14+260519:0830+AUDI001234'
UNH+1+DELFOR:D:01B:UN:EAN013'
BGM+241+AUDI-2026-FOR-001234+9'
DTM+137:20260519:102'
DTM+157:20260519:102'
NAD+BY+5410000023456::92'
NAD+SU+5430000098765::92'
NAD+DP+5410000023460::92'
RFF+CT:AUDI-LTA-2024-7711'
LIN+1++4A0945095J:VP'
PIA+1+CONTI-LIGHT-MX01:SA'
QTY+1:1500:PCE'
QTY+3:2400:PCE'
SCC+1'
DTM+10:202605W22:807'
QTY+1:600:PCE'
DTM+10:202605W23:807'
QTY+1:900:PCE'
LIN+2++4A0907357B:VP'
PIA+1+CONTI-ECU-MX02:SA'
QTY+1:1500:PCE'
SCC+1'
DTM+10:202605W22:807'
QTY+1:1500:PCE'
UNS+S'
CNT+2:2'
UNT+22+1'
UNZ+1+AUDI001234'

• UNB — Interchange Audi Brussels (GLN 5410000023456) → Continental Aachen (5430000098765).
• BGM 241 — Type 241 = Delivery schedule. Action 9 = original.
• RFF CT — Long Term Agreement AUDI-LTA-2024-7711 (annual framework contract).
• LIN/PIA — Audi part reference 4A0945095J (Q8 e-tron rear LED light); supplier cross-ref CONTI-LIGHT-MX01.
• QTY 1 / QTY 3 — Firmly required quantity (1500) and planned (2400).
• SCC 1 + DTM 10 (ISO week 22, 23) — Schedule Conditions: 600 pieces delivered in week 22, 900 in week 23.

OFTP2 over ENX

All BE-DE and BE-FR automotive flows transit through the ENX (European Network Exchange), managed by ENX Association (Frankfurt-based, members: VDA, Galia, Odette, VW, BMW, Mercedes, Stellantis, Volvo). Characteristics:

• OFTP2 (Odette File Transfer Protocol 2) per RFC 5024 — standardised protocol, port 6619 (TCP/SSL/TLS).
• Encryption: AES-256 or 3DES (3DES deprecated since 2020). RSA-SHA256 signature.
• Authentication: X.509 certificate issued by the central ENX CA.
• Delivery guarantee: automatic Non-Repudiation Receipt (NRR), 7-year audit trail.
• No AS2: unlike retail, automotive retains OFTP2 as the exclusive protocol over ENX (VDA/Galia/Odette compatibility).
• Coexistence with PEPPOL: none. PEPPOL is not used in Belgian automotive. The 2026 mandate will therefore require a fiscal switch via an external PEPPOL AP (on top of the ENX flow).

Volumes and market share

• Total estimated volume: 120 million EDIFACT/VDA messages per year in Belgian automotive (2024).
• Top message: DELJIT JIT (~35%, several calls per day), DELFOR (~25%), DESADV (~20%).
• Top site by volume: Volvo Cars Gent (~30M, largest Belgian automotive site), Audi Brussels (~25M until 2027), Van Hool (~15M, under restructuring).
• JIT latency: <2 hours between OEM DELJIT issuance and physical delivery on assembly line.
• EDI penetration: 100% at Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 3 (small suppliers) can go through their Tier 1 with relayed EDI.

Coexistence with the 2026 mandate

As in retail, automotive keeps EDIFACT/VDA for supply chain and adds PEPPOL-BIS 3.0 for the fiscal invoice:

• VDA 4913 INVOIC remains in use internally for auto-extension (auto-billing supplier → OEM).
• PEPPOL duplicate: every VDA 4913 invoice issued to a Belgian recipient will also be emitted in PEPPOL-BIS 3.0 UBL via the OEM's AP (Audi Brussels via Cegeka, Volvo Gent via Pagero, Punch Powertrain via Belfius).
• No impact on DELFOR/DELJIT: these messages carry no fiscal value, they remain purely EDIFACT/VDA over OFTP2/ENX.
• Cross-border DE-BE and BE-FR: only BE-BE INVOIC switches to PEPPOL. DE-BE and BE-FR INVOIC remain VDA 4913 until ViDA 2030 entry into force.

Cross-links

• Belgium hub — full e-invoicing mandate
• Royal Decree of 20 March 2025
• PEPPOL-BIS 3.0 Belgium
• EDIFACT retail Belgium
• CODA and financial EDI
• EDIFACT automotive Germany — VDA
• Galia — French automotive standards
• Odette International — EU standards
• ENX Association — automotive network