IMD

Item Description. The EDIFACT segment that describes an item — colour, size, label — either via code list or in free text.

Definition

The IMD segment, defined in UN/EDIFACT D.96A, is used "to describe an item in either an industry or free format". Four elements:

1. 010 — 7077 Item description type, coded (an..3, C) — UNCL 7077: F free, B coded, E code + text.
2. 020 — 7081 Item characteristic, coded (an..3, C) — characteristic described (UNCL 7081): colour, size, material…
3. 030 — C273 (ITEM DESCRIPTION), conditional: 7009 code-list identifier, 1131/3055 code-list authority, up to two occurrences of 7008 (free description, an..35), 3453 language.
4. 040 — 7383 Surface/layer indicator, coded (an..3, C) — surface/layer indicator (UNCL 7383).

Origin

IMD is a long-standing EDIFACT product-line segment, present since the early directories. The GS1 EANCOM subset typically mandates a free (F) IMD for the human-readable commercial label and a coded IMD for industrial characteristics (clothing size, Pantone colour). ediverse.io archives the D.96A specification at trsdimd.htm.

Example in context

Free-form item description:

Reads as: F for free, then two 35-character fragments concatenated to describe the article to the end consumer.

Related terms

• LIN — segment that identifies the item later described by IMD.
• FTX — another free-text segment, not tied to an item.
• GTIN — the standardised product identifier carried by LIN.
• Qualifier — the concept behind codes 7077 and 7081.