An EDI 856 tells the retailer exactly what is in each carton before the shipment arrives. It is the document most retailer chargebacks trace back to, and the one where prepacks, size runs and carton labels make apparel hardest to get right.
The EDI 856, also called the ship notice/manifest or advance ship notice (ASN), is the X12 electronic document a supplier sends a retailer when goods ship. It lists every carton in the shipment, what is inside each one, which purchase order it fills, and which store or distribution centre it is going to.
The retailer uses it to receive the shipment by scanning carton labels instead of opening boxes. If the 856 does not match what physically arrives, receiving breaks, and the retailer charges you for the extra handling.
The order matters. Most retailers expect the 856 before the 810, and an invoice that arrives ahead of its ship notice is a common reason for a payment hold or deduction.
An 856 is built as a hierarchy. Each level opens with an HL segment, and the levels nest inside each other: the shipment contains orders, orders contain cartons, cartons contain items.
| Segment | Name | What it carries in an apparel shipment |
|---|---|---|
| BSN | Beginning segment for ship notice | Your shipment ID, date and time, and the hierarchy structure you are using |
| HL | Hierarchical level | Opens each level: shipment (S), order (O), tare or pallet (T), pack or carton (P), item (I) |
| TD1, TD5 | Carrier details | Carton count, weight, and the carrier code from the routing instructions |
| REF | Reference identification | Bill of lading number, PRO number, department number |
| DTM | Date and time | Ship date and estimated delivery |
| N1 | Name | Ship-from, ship-to distribution centre, and mark-for store |
| PRF | Purchase order reference | The retailer's PO number this order level fills |
| MAN | Marks and numbers | The 18-digit SSCC printed on that carton's GS1-128 label |
| LIN | Item identification | UPC, vendor style, colour and size identifiers |
| SN1 | Item detail (shipment) | Units of that item shipped in that carton |
| CTT, SE | Totals and trailer | Control counts and the end of the transaction set |
Which segments are mandatory, and in what format, is set by each retailer's 856 implementation guide, not by the X12 standard alone. Always map to the retailer's guide.
The most important structural choice in an apparel 856 is the order of the hierarchy, declared in the BSN segment.
Each carton is its own level, with the items inside it listed underneath. Use it when cartons hold a mix of styles, colours or sizes, which is common for store replenishment and assorted shipments.
Each item is listed once, with the cartons that hold it underneath. Use it when every carton holds a single SKU in a fixed quantity, typical of bulk shipments to a distribution centre.
Sending a standard pack structure for a shipment that was actually pick and packed is one of the fastest ways to generate receiving chargebacks. The retailer's guide says which structures it accepts.
A prepack carton holds a fixed ratio of sizes or colours, for example one small, two medium, two large and one extra large. The 856 has to describe the prepack the way the retailer ordered it, either as the prepack item or as its component sizes. Get it backwards and every carton in the shipment fails to receive.
Every unit needs the right UPC for its exact style, colour and size. A UPC shared across sizes, or a colour code that changed after the order was placed, breaks the match between the 850, the 856 and the carton.
Department stores often order once but ship to many stores through a distribution centre. Each carton then needs a mark-for store on the 856 and on the label, so the distribution centre can cross-dock it without opening it.
Every carton's GS1-128 label carries an SSCC, a unique 18-digit serial shipping container code. The same SSCC appears in the MAN segment of the 856. If the label and the 856 disagree, the carton cannot be received automatically.
Almost none of these are failures of the EDI software. They happen between the system and the warehouse floor, where what was planned and what was packed drift apart. Building the 856 from the scan of each carton as it is packed, rather than from the order, removes most of them.
Yes. ASN, advance ship notice and advance shipping notice all refer to the same document. EDI 856 is its X12 transaction set number, and its formal X12 name is ship notice/manifest.
Each retailer sets its own timing in its routing guide, but the rule is consistent: send it when the shipment leaves, and make sure it arrives before the goods do. Many retailers track ASN timeliness on the vendor scorecard.
Not to a retailer that receives at carton level, which is most of them. The 856 and the labels work as a pair: the label identifies the carton, and the 856 says what is inside it.
The 856 describes what physically shipped. The 810 bills for it. Quantities and prices should reconcile across the 850, 856 and 810, and mismatches between them are a common source of deductions.
The order that every 856 has to match, including size runs, prepacks and store splits.
Read the guideHow the invoice reconciles against the order and the ship notice, and why it short-pays when it does not.
Read the guideWhere chargebacks come from and a process to recover money and stop repeats.
Read the guideBuilt-in EDI or a third-party provider, what retailers require, and what it really costs.
Read the guideEvery X12 document an apparel brand is likely to see, what it does and who sends it.
See the listWe trace each 856 failure back to where it starts, usually between packing and the system, and fix the process so the same chargeback stops recurring. If your ASNs are already clean, we will tell you that.
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