What is the EDI 856 - Advance Ship Notice? 
The EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice (ASN) provides detailed shipment information to the buyer prior to the physical arrival of goods. The ASN reduces manual data entry, enables cross-docking, and supports compliance programs with trading partners. The advantage of exchanging the Ship Notice/Manifest (856) business message is the ability for very specific information related to a shipment to be integrated into various systems without multiple data entry functions.
The flexible data structure of the Ship Notice/Manifest (856) allows reporting at shipment, order, tare (pallet), pack and item levels. The SOPI structure of the ASN refers to the hierarchical level information within the EDI ASN. SOPI stands for Shipment, Order, Package, Item. The Hierarchical Level allows the receiver to view the shipment much in the same way as packaged. The message, when used properly, provides the receiver with information necessary to schedule shipment receipt and storage.
The key to successfully implementing the Ship Notice/Manifest (856) lies with the timing, the ASN is designed to convey shipment detail prior to physical delivery of the product in other words in advance of the shipment. Since the ASN is designed to convey shipment in advance of the shipment, the Ship Notice/Manifest (856) is extremely useful in tracking and traceability, delivery appointments, resource scheduling, and Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC).
How does PartnerLinQ use the EDI 856 - Advance Ship Notice?
PartnerLinQ integrates the EDI 856 into supply chain execution processes, enabling automated updates to ERP and WMS systems. It manages carton IDs, pallet IDs, shipment hierarchies, SSCC and LPN labels while ensuring compliance with customer routing guides. PartnerLinQ’s ASN process improves visibility, traceability, and accelerates order-to-cash workflows.
What responses to the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice are expected/sent?
The 856 is typically generated in response to an 850 Purchase Order that has been processed (shipped). Often preceded/paired with the 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment and followed by the 810 Invoice, the ASN informs the buyer of the contents, packaging, and logistics details of a shipment before goods arrive.
What does the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice support?
The ASN supports efficient receiving, streamlined logistics, and compliance with customer programs. It ensures that shipments match purchase orders, reduces dock-to-stock times, and enhances accuracy.
What are the Key Features of the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice? 
The EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice.
- Provides hierarchical shipment details (Order, Shipment, Pack, Item levels)
- Includes carton, pallet, SSCC/LPN tracking
- Communicates carrier and logistics details
- Reduces receiving errors and accelerates dock-to-stock
- Enables compliance with retailer routing guides
What is the Purpose of the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
The purpose of the EDI 856 is to give buyers advanced visibility into shipments, allowing them to prepare for receipt, optimize labor, and ensure accurate inventory management.
What Information Included in the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
The EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice typically includes:
- Shipment identifiers (BSN, REF)
- Date/Time references (DTM)
- Carrier details (TD1, TD5)
- Hierarchical levels (HL) for Shipment, Order, Pack, Item
- Line items with quantities (LIN, SN1)
- Packaging, pallet IDs, and SSCCs
- Totals (CTT, SE)
What are the Essential Components of the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
| Segment | Description |
|---|---|
| ST | Transaction Set Header |
| BSN | Beginning Segment for Ship Notice |
| DTM | Date/Time Reference |
| HL | Hierarchical Levels (Shipment, Order, Pack, Item) |
| LIN | Item Identification |
| SN1 | Item Detail (Shipment) |
| PRF | Purchase Order Reference |
| TD1 | Carrier Details (handling units) |
| TD5 | Carrier Routing |
| REF | Reference Identification |
| N1 | Party Identification |
| CTT | Transaction Totals |
| SE | Transaction Set Trailer |
What are the Common Segments Included in the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
| Segment | Description |
|---|---|
| BSN | Ship Notice header |
| DTM | Dates/Times |
| HL | Shipment hierarchy |
| LIN/SN1 | Items |
| TD1/TD5 | Carrier info |
| N1 | Buyer, Seller, Ship-to |
| REF | References |
| CTT/SE | Totals |
What Status Codes are used with the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
Status codes may be used within the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice, they include qualifiers in BSN01 and BSN07 segments. While the BSN07 codes may be used to identify shipment status such as partial or complete ASN, the BSN07 is rarely used. The BSN01 segment is another matter, it is used to indicate status or action, for example.
The ‘00’ (Original) qualifier in the BSN01 is use when a new ASN is issued or sent.
The ‘01’ (Cancellation) qualifier in the BSN01 is indicated for use when a cancellation of an 856 is required, when BSN01 = ‘01’ (Cancellation) the BSN02 element contains the Shipment Identification number of the ASN meant for cancellation in the recipient’s system
The '05' (Replace) qualifier in the BSN01 is used to indicate an action which seeks to replace the original ASN with a new transaction which contains the modifications or corrections. When transmitting the ASN replacement document using the '05' (Replace) qualifier ensure that the BSN01 = 05 and the BSN02 = the same Shipment Identification number as was indicated on the original ASN transmission, a Unique ISA Ctrl number is also applied.
PartnerLinQ suggests a ‘change by refresh’ process for those companies who expect an outbound transaction to change or anticipate the use of change or replacement transactions
The ‘change by refresh’ process begins with an original transaction. When a change to the original transaction is encountered, the ‘change by refresh’ process is initiated first by a cancellation of the initial or original transaction and is followed by a replacement transaction, where the original transaction and the replacement transaction are both identified (whenever possible)
*See also ‘01’ (Cancellation), 03’ (Delete), '04' (Change), and ‘05’ (Replace) qualifiers under the BSN01 element for additional notes.
What Reason Codes are used with the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
Reason codes may appear in REF or N9 segments to describe exceptions, such as short shipments, substitutions, or compliance deviations.
What Use Cases does the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice support?
- Retail replenishment shipments
- Manufacturing plant-to-distribution center shipments
- Cross-docking operations
- Dropship and direct-to-consumer fulfillment
What are the Benefits of the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
Benefits from using the Ship Notice/Manifest (856) include reduced off-loading time at the receiving dock, reduced check-in time from point of receipt to selling floor (point of sale), and include provisions for cross referencing to the transportation messaging such as the Transportation Carrier Shipment Status Message (214) or the Motor Carrier Package Status Message (240). Benefits of the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice include:…
- Improves receiving efficiency
- Enhances inventory accuracy
- Reduces manual receiving effort
- Supports faster dock-to-stock cycles
How efficient is the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
The EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice is very efficient, it contains information that, when implemented correctly, accelerates warehouse operations by pre-advising shipment contents and deliveries. The EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice speeds up tracking and decision-making for carriers and shippers alike, making it possible to schedule resources accordingly, a very important aspect in warehousing receiving environments of medium to large scale.
How Compliant is the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
The 
EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice (ASN) meets retailer and trading partner ASN requirements and across industries like Retail Grocery, Foodservice, Apparel and General Merchandise, Automotive and many more. Specific Ship Notice/Manifest (856) implementation guidelines support US Customs filings with batch level reporting for the meat and poultry industry, substitute product information for the produce industry, and Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) support for in addressing counterfeit & dangerous drugs in the drug supply chain.
What is the Format of the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
The EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice follows ASC X12 standards, v2030 and above with a HL hierarchical structure. The HL (Hierarchical Level) identifies levels of detail that describe the actual physical shipment, as well as information, which will allow the recipient to identify, match and receive the shipment. A process that speeds up tracking and decision-making for carriers, shippers, and receivers making it possible to schedule resources accordingly, very important in warehousing and receiving environments both small and large.
How Accurate is the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
The EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice ensures shipment details match PO and carton-level data, standardizing data exchange for consistent reporting.
What are the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
The EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice is not error proof. Errors in ASN mapping can lead to chargebacks or penalties. Complex shipments require precise HL structure alignment.
Are Guidelines & Sample Files for the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice available?
Yes. PartnerLinQ provides sample EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice Transaction and implementation guides through its Support and Guideline Management Team.
Sample EDI 856 implementation guides illustrate both inbound and outbound flows, segment layouts, and valid data examples and support testing and partner onboarding. Customized specification documents for use in on boarding and technical development are available upon request.
PartnerLinQ provides:
- EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice transaction implementation guide
- Sample payloads
- Qualification and testing maps
- Error handling and best-practice notes
What are the Basic Questions for EDI Integration with the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
- Are there Samples and Specs available?
- What is the general direction of the transaction?
- Is the ASN Inbound to or Outbound from the endpoint to another party?
Are there more than one trading partner exchanging the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?- Are there other interested parties?
- What transactions might these interested parties be a party to?
- What response to the transaction is expected or sent?
- Is a response to the transaction a timed event?
- Are notifications involved/needed?
- Are there samples and specs of the response transaction available?
- How are changes to the the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice business message managed today?
- Is there automation? (an internal systems trigger) Or are the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice business message transactions triggered manually?
- Are responses and changes automatically triggered? (an internal systems trigger) Or do transactions require human intervention?
- Is the shipment related to a return?
- If the shipment is related to a return, is there an authorization required for such a return, a return merchandise authorization (RMA), return authorization (RA) or return goods authorization (RGA) as a part of the process of returning a product to the manufacturer or re-packager?
- If the shipment is related to a return, has the returns process been identified including the process for capturing the return merchandise authorization (RMA), return authorization (RA) or return goods authorization (RGA)?
- If the shipment is related to a return, is there a ‘reason code’ required to indicate or receive a refund, replacement, or repair?
- Is the shipment related to an order?
- If the shipment is related to an order, is there an authorization such as a Purchase Order or PO reference needed or included?
- If the shipment is related to an order, is there a Purchase Order referenced so the shipment can be checked for accuracy or inventory adjusted?
- Which hierarchical levels (SOPI) are required by the partner?
- Are SSCC/LPN labels supported?
- How are carrier details captured (TD1/TD5)?
- What tolerance exists for OSD s(Over/Short/Damaged) shipments and how are they reported?
What Business Level Workflow does the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice support?
A seller may notify a public warehouse when a shipment of product is made from the seller’s plant, production facility or another public warehouse using the Ship Notice/Manifest (856).
- Buyer issues an 850 PO.
- Seller acknowledges with an 855.
- Seller prepares shipment and generates ASN (856).
- ASN transmitted with carton/pallet/item data.
- Buyer’s WMS/ERP uses ASN for receiving preparation.
- Invoice (810) completes the order-to-cash cycle.
What are the Best Practices for using the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
- Validate HL structure (Shipment, Order, Pack, Item)
- Use SSCCs for carton/pallet traceability
- Follow customer routing and ASN timing requirements
- Automate ASN generation from WMS/ERP for accuracy
What Transactions are associated with the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice?
| Transaction | Role |
|---|---|
| 855 | Purchase Order Acknowledgment |
| 860 | Purchase Order Change |
| 856 | Advance Ship Notice |
| 810 | Invoice |
| 997 | Functional Acknowledgment |
| 832 | Price/Sales Catalog |
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