Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) - 856

Published: 2023-DEC-13

Published by: Christopher Schoeder

Source: ChatGPT Prompt

EDI 856, also known as an Advance Ship Notice (ASN), is an electronic data interchange (EDI) document used in supply chain management to communicate detailed information about a shipment. The EDI 856 transaction set provides a standardized format for the transmission of data related to the shipments of goods from a supplier or manufacturer to a customer or retailer.

The EDI 856 document typically includes information such as:

  • Shipment identification: This includes unique identifiers for the shipment, such as the bill of lading number, purchase order number, or shipments tracking number.

  • Shipment details: It provides information about the contents of the shipment, including the item number, description, quantity, weight, and dimensions of each item or product being shipped.

  • Packaging information: It includes details about the packaging used for the shipment, such as the type of packaging (e.g., pallets, cartons), the number of packages, and the type of unit load.

  • Transportation information: This section contains information about the carrier responsible for transporting the shipment, including the carrier’s name, identification number, and the estimated time of arrival (ETA).

  • Routing information: It specifies the routing instructions, such as the origin and destination locations, the transportation method (e.g., truck, air, rail), and any special handling instructions.

By transmitting an EDI 856 document, the supplier or manufacturer provides the customer or retailer with advance notification of a pending shipment, allowing them to plan their receiving processes accordingly. This helps streamline logistics operations, improves inventory management, and enables better coordination between trading partners in the supply chain.