Retail EDIFACT — Kaufland, Lidl, Billa, Metro

In Bulgarian grocery retail, orders, dispatch advices and invoices are exchanged by EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) in the EANCOM 2002 S4 format, the retail "dialect" of UN/EDIFACT standardised by GS1. The large chains — Lidl, Kaufland, Billa, Fantastico, Metro, T-Market — impose this language on their suppliers by contract. It is not a law: it is a commercial requirement, a condition of being listed.

History — discounters arrive, a duopoly forms

EDI arrived in Bulgaria with the international chains in the 1990s-2000s: Metro Cash & Carry and Billa (the Austrian Rewe group) rolled out the first modern networks and imposed EANCOM on their suppliers. The Schwarz group (Kaufland, then Lidl) accelerated the move from 2004-2006, making ORDERS / DESADV / INVOIC standard.

The market then densified with local players (Fantastico, Bulgarian-owned) and regional ones (T-Market, of Lithuania's Maxima Grupė). In 2024, Lidl България overtook Kaufland and became the country's leading retailer by turnover. For a Bulgarian supplier, being able to send EDIFACT has become a condition of access to the large chains' shelves.

1990s-2000s | Market opening. Metro Cash & Carry and Billa (Rewe group)
            | roll out the first modern networks and impose EDI on their
            | suppliers.
            |
2004-2006   | Kaufland and Lidl (Schwarz group) arrive. Mass deployment of
            | EANCOM EDI via regional VANs.
            |
2010s       | Rise of local chains (Fantastico, Bulgarian-owned) and
            | T-Market (Maxima Grupė, Lithuania). ORDERS / DESADV / INVOIC
            | become standard.
            |
2024        | Lidl България overtakes Kaufland and becomes the country's no.1
            | retailer by turnover.
            |
2026        | EDIFACT remains the de facto retail B2B standard. Euro adoption
            | forces the switch of INVOIC amounts to EUR.

Governance — GS1 Bulgaria + VANs

GS1 Bulgaria (gs1bg.org), the national GS1 member organisation, manages the allocation of GS1 prefixes, GTIN (Global Trade Item Number — article barcode) and GLN (Global Location Number — party or location identifier) codes. These identifiers are what make EANCOM interoperable across all partners.

Transport runs through VANs (Value Added Networks) and EDI providers that convert suppliers' ERP flows into the EANCOM each chain expects (mapping, AS2/OFTP2/SFTP, CONTRL acknowledgements). Each chain publishes its own implementation guide ("EDI guideline") specifying the mandatory segments.

Technical schema — EANCOM 2002 S4

EANCOM is a strict subset of UN/EDIFACT (the D.01B directory being the most common in retail). A message is organised in segments (UNB envelope, UNH message header, BGM document type, NAD parties, LIN lines, etc.). Example of a Kaufland → supplier ORDERS order:

UNB+UNOC:3+8001234000009:14+8009876000003:14+260616:1015+BG00042'
UNH+1+ORDERS:D:01B:UN:EAN010'
BGM+220+POBG-2026-7741+9'
DTM+137:20260616:102'
DTM+2:20260620:102'
NAD+BY+8009876000003::9'      Kaufland България ЕООД (buyer GLN)
NAD+SU+8001234000009::9'      Доставчик ЕООД (supplier GLN)
CUX+2:EUR:9'
LIN+1++3800012345678:EN'      GTIN-13 article
QTY+21:480:PCE'
PRI+AAA:1.29:::1:PCE'
UNS+S'
CNT+2:1'
UNT+13+1'
UNZ+1+BG00042'

• UNB — interchange envelope: sender/receiver as GLN (qualifier 14), date, reference.
• BGM — document type and number (220 = order).
• NAD+BY / NAD+SU — Buyer and Supplier as GLN.
• LIN + QTY + PRI — article line (GTIN), quantity, unit price.
• CUX — currency: EUR since 2026 (previously BGN).

Players and market shares

Adoption — supplier onboarding

• A listing condition. The large chains require EDI at listing; a supplier without EANCOM capability goes through a web portal (web-EDI) or a provider.
• GTIN/GLN mandatory. Without valid GS1 codes the article is not recognised in LIN; the supplier must join GS1 Bulgaria.
• Chain-specific guidelines. Schwarz (Lidl/Kaufland), Rewe (Billa) and Metro publish distinct EANCOM specs — same messages, sometimes different segments and codes.
• 2026 EUR switch. INVOIC and PRI amounts move to EUR; PRICAT catalogues must be reconverted at the fixed rate.

Common pitfalls

• Wrong chain GLN. Each warehouse / delivery point has its GLN; routing an order to the wrong GLN causes a logistics rejection.
• Out-of-sync GTIN. A packaging change alters the GTIN; an INVOIC with a stale GTIN is rejected at order/receipt matching.
• Residual BGN currency. After 2026, a CUX/PRI still in BGN breaks the chain's amount check. Everything must be in EUR.
• Mixing EDIFACT directories. Blending D.96A and D.01B across partners breaks parsing; follow each chain's guideline.
• Forgetting the DESADV. Many chains require the dispatch advice (DESADV) before receipt; its absence blocks the INVOIC in three-way matching.

Cross-links

• Bulgaria hub — full view
• Industrial EDI — Aurubis, Lukoil, Solvay
• No B2B mandate
• ЕИК / EIK — 9-digit identifier
• Lev → Euro — 2026 monetary transition
• GS1 Bulgaria — GTIN / GLN / EANCOM
• UNECE — UN/EDIFACT