What is an EDI 856?

What is an EDI 856?

An EDI 856 is commonly known as an Advance Shipment Notice or ASN. It is used to transmit shipping information for an order electronically with trading partners. An EDI 856 is sent after an order has been picked, packed, and shipped. It usually includes the following:

• Tracking Numbers
• Items and Quantities
• Carrier Information

EDI 856 Format

EDI 856s enable businesses to streamline the supply chain by eliminating the need to manually data enter information into different systems such as shopping carts or ERPs(Enterprise Resource Planning). The automation also keeps the cost of business down as a whole because it frees up resources and reduces human error.

How do I send/receive an EDI 856?

It is quite simple for a system to send/receive EDI 856s. For the most part, the transmitting is done through the Internet or Value Added Network (VAN). To keep EDI costs affordable, today most EDI transmission is done through the internet using AS2 or secure FTP, eliminating the need for an expensive VAN. The file is kept secure using encryption to keep the data safe.

Depending on the trading partner’s labeling requirements, it may be necessary to generate UCC-128 barcode labels as part of the ASN. This enables the receiver of the ASN (and ultimately the shipment) to quickly and accurately receive the inventory with a barcode scanner.

Translating an EDI 856

Once an EDI 856 document has been received, it must be translated into a functional format for your system. The majority of organizations have their own standard set of definitions for EDI 856s so companies use a platform like logicbroker to configure and translate these different documents. Once the EDI 856 is translated, the shipping information can be synced to your internal system of record such as an ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning or shopping cart – eliminating the need for manual data entry. Now that you have the shipping information you can quickly track the shipment, which suppliers find useful because their retailers can easily anticipate incoming orders. Also, many times retailers find it useful to have a platform like logicbroker to pull the ASN (Advance Shipment Notice) from an internal system, like an ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning), to have the tracking information synced to a shopping cart – allowing your customer to quickly receive tracking information without having to manually re-key information. Typically, the next step is to send back similar documents such as an EDI 810 (Invoice).

To learn more, please download our complete EDI 856 booklet or contact us.