MIG

Message Implementation Guideline. The contractual document that pins down implementation rules for an EDIFACT or X12 message between partners.

Definition

A MIG (Message Implementation Guideline) is a specification document that restricts a standard EDI message (EDIFACT, X12, UBL) to actual usage between two or more trading partners. The MIG states, for each segment: its status (mandatory / optional / not used), allowed values, applied business rules, concrete examples, validation thresholds.

Origin

The MIG concept emerged naturally in the 1990s with the generalisation of EDIFACT and X12. GS1 publishes MIGs for EANCOM, ASC X12 for Transaction Sets, OpenPEPPOL for UBL BIS profiles. A MIG is typically published as HTML or PDF, sometimes accompanied by a MIG-XML file readable by an automated mapping or validation tool.

Example in context

A MIG ORDERS D.96A EANCOM 2002 for French retail typically states that: the BGM segment is mandatory with qualifier 220 (Order); the NAD+BY segment is mandatory and must carry a 13-digit GLN with qualifier 9; the LIN segment must carry a GTIN-13; the DTM+137 (Document/message date/time) segment is mandatory and formatted as YYYYMMDD. Deviations from the MIG lead to pre-validation rejection.

Related terms

• TR3 — the X12 counterpart of the MIG in the HIPAA ecosystem.
• GS1 EANCOM — family of EDIFACT MIGs for retail.
• Trading partner — party bound by a MIG.