Last updated: 7 October 2026 · Independent buyer’s guide · We do not sell rankings or coverage.
The EDI 856 ASN (advance ship notice) is the X12 transaction a supplier sends to tell a customer what is on a shipment: which purchase orders, pallets, cartons, items and quantities, and which carrier is bringing it. Customers receive freight by scanning the GS1-128 label on each pallet or carton against the 856, so the ASN must arrive before the truck and match the labels exactly. Your ERP or warehouse system has to capture carton contents, weights and carrier data at packing, and an EDI provider or connector turns that data into each customer’s version of the 856.
Key takeaways
- Standard pack (SOIP) suits cartons that hold one SKU. Pick and pack (SOPI, or SOTPI when pallets are included) is needed when cartons hold mixed SKUs, and it requires carton-level packing data.
- The SSCC-18 on each GS1-128 label must match the MAN segment in the 856, or the customer cannot receive the pallet by scanning.
- Walmart requires the ASN before the truck reaches its gate, and Kroger says its processing can take up to 90 minutes.
- Apart from Epicor, the ERPs we reviewed rely on a full-service EDI provider such as SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce, Cleo or Orderful, or a partner connector, to produce the 856. The provider formats data but cannot create carton data your warehouse never captured.
What the 856 transaction set is
X12, the standards body that maintains the format, describes the 856 Ship Notice/Manifest as a transaction set used “to list the contents of a shipment of goods” along with order, packaging, marking and carrier information and the configuration of goods in the trailer (X12, no date shown).
In a typical cycle, the customer sends an 850 purchase order, you ship and send the 856, and then you send an 810 invoice. Kroger, for example, says it returns a 997 that lists any EDI standards violations, and an 824 Application Advice with the results of its business-rule checks for every ASN that passes those standards (Kroger ASN startup document, no date shown).
The hierarchical levels and key segments
The 856 is built from HL (hierarchical level) loops. Each HL segment carries its own ID, its parent’s ID and a level code. The common codes are S for shipment, O for order, T for tare (a pallet or other unit load), P for pack (a carton) and I for item.
| Level | What it describes | Typical segments | Data your system must supply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Header | The ASN itself | BSN | Unique shipment ID, date, time, hierarchy structure code |
| Shipment (S) | The truckload or parcel shipment | TD5, REF*BM, REF*CN or REF*2I, N1*SF / N1*ST, DTM | SCAC, bill of lading, PRO or tracking number, ship-from and ship-to IDs |
| Order (O) | Each customer purchase order on the truck | PRF | Customer PO number |
| Tare (T) and Pack (P) | Pallets and cartons | MAN*GM | SSCC-18 for each labeled unit, carton weight, pallet configuration |
| Item (I) | Each SKU in the pack or order | LIN, SN1 | GTIN or UPC, quantity shipped, unit of measure |
In GovX’s supplier guide, BSN01 is “00” for an original ASN, BSN02 is your shipment ID, BSN03 and BSN04 carry the date and time, and BSN05 “0001” declares the hierarchy structure (GovX 856 guide, no date shown). Orderful, an EDI vendor, explains that TD503 carries the carrier’s SCAC, the bill of lading goes in REF with qualifier BM for truckload and LTL, and parcel shipments use the tracking number with qualifier 2I (Orderful, 27 February 2026). Sprouts Farmers Market’s 856 specification asks for REF*BM, REF*CN for the carrier PRO number and MAN*GM for the 18-digit SSCC (Sprouts 856 specification, file name dated 22 August 2023).
Standard pack, pick and pack, SOPI and SOTPI
TrueCommerce, an EDI vendor, defines a standard ASN as one for pure cartons, each holding one type of item, in the order Shipment, Order, Item, Pack (SOIP). A pick and pack ASN can describe pure or mixed cartons and uses Shipment, Order, Pack, Item (SOPI) (TrueCommerce, 28 April 2026).
SOTPI adds a tare level between order and pack, so the ASN states which cartons sit on which pallet. Orderful describes it as best for complex shipments where both the packaging and the individual items must be tracked (Orderful, updated 8 December 2025). Kroger uses another variant: shipment, order, tare and pack, with one case GTIN for each pallet license plate (Kroger, no date shown).
Standard pack only needs carton counts by SKU. Pick and pack and SOTPI need a record of which units went into which carton and which carton went onto which pallet. Acctivate, which sells inventory software, says its pick and pack ASN typically requires its Package Manager to specify carton contents (Acctivate, 10 April 2025).
How the 856 ties to the GS1-128 label
The physical label and the electronic ASN are linked by one number, the Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC). GS1 defines it as the identifier for a logistic unit such as a pallet or carton (GS1, no date shown), and its Logistic Label Guideline makes the 18-digit SSCC, encoded with application identifier (00), the single mandatory element on every logistic label (GS1 Logistic Label Guideline v1.2, ratified September 2017).
Walmart’s supplier help center states that the 20-digit value on the GS1-128 pallet label (AI 00 plus the SSCC-18) must match the MAN segment with the GM qualifier in the ASN (Walmart Supplier One help center, ASN FAQs, no specific date shown). One system should assign the SSCC, print it and write it into the ASN. If the label printer and the EDI file draw serial numbers from different places, they will eventually disagree.
Timing rules: the ASN must arrive before the truck
Walmart tells suppliers to send the ASN before the truck reaches the Walmart gate, ideally as soon as the trailer doors are sealed, and checks a four-way match between purchase order, ASN, physical shipment and invoice (Walmart Supplier One, no specific date shown). Kroger says its system processes an ASN in less than 90 minutes after you send it, so short transit lanes leave little margin (Kroger, no date shown).
Sending too early is also a problem. Orderful advises sending the 856 only after the shipment is tendered to the carrier, when the details are final (Orderful, updated 8 December 2025). The ASN should therefore be triggered by ship confirmation or trailer close in your ERP or WMS, not by order release.
A late or inaccurate ASN usually leads to a compliance fee, and Walmart states that it applies financial penalties for label and ASN mismatches. Fee schedules differ by retailer, so we cover them in our guide to retail chargebacks and the software that prevents them.
The data your ERP or WMS must hold
Before you choose an EDI provider, confirm that your systems capture the following at packing and shipping:
- Carton contents. Which SKUs and quantities went into each carton, recorded by scanning during packing.
- Pallet build. Which cartons sit on which pallet, plus the pallet SSCC.
- Weights. Carton and shipment weights, and often pallet configuration (Kroger asks for TI-HI).
- Carrier data. SCAC, bill of lading, PRO number for LTL or tracking numbers for parcel, and trailer number.
- Item identifiers. The GTIN or UPC the customer ordered, your vendor item number, and lot or expiration dates where required.
- Party identifiers. Ship-from and ship-to codes such as GLN or D-U-N-S numbers, which some partners require in the N1 segments.
If pickers write carton counts on paper or weights are keyed in after the truck leaves, your ASN will be late or wrong whatever EDI product you use. Our guide to the difference between warehouse and inventory management explains when a WMS becomes necessary, and our analysis of what mis-picks cost distributors covers the upstream errors that end up in the ASN.
Worked example: one truck, two orders, three pallets
Illustration: all figures in this section are constructed for this example. A housewares distributor ships one LTL load to a retail distribution center. Purchase order A ships as pure cartons: 18 cartons of SKU X on pallet 1 and 12 cartons of SKU Y on pallet 2. Purchase order B ships as 16 mixed cartons of three SKUs each on pallet 3.
If the retailer requires SOTPI, the ASN contains 1 shipment level, 2 order levels, 3 tare levels and 46 pack levels. The item levels total 78: one under each of the 30 pure cartons and three under each of the 16 mixed cartons. That is 130 HL loops. The warehouse must print 49 SSCC labels (3 pallets and 46 cartons) and every one of them must appear in a MAN*GM segment under the correct parent.
If the retailer accepted standard pack for order A, the 30 carton SSCCs would sit under two item loops instead. Order B would still need pick and pack because its cartons are mixed, which is why many suppliers maintain more than one ASN structure.
If the truck leaves at 2:00 p.m. for a distribution center two hours away, and processing can take up to 90 minutes, as Kroger states, the ASN must go out by about 2:30 p.m. That is realistic only if trailer close triggers the 856 automatically.
Software options for producing the 856
Full-service EDI providers
SPS Commerce is a full-service EDI provider that maintains retailer maps as requirements change. Its NetSuite integration is in the Built for NetSuite program, supports ASNs for all fulfillment models and has pre-built links to Pacejet, RF-Smart, Ozlink and ShipHawk for packing and shipping data (SPS Commerce, no date shown). SPS does not publish a current price list; a definitions page last modified on 19 September 2017 listed $500 setup and $29 per month for each integrated trading partner, which you should treat as historical (SPS Commerce, 19 September 2017).
TrueCommerce offers web-based and integrated EDI. Its pricing page shows starting monthly figures for three plans, but the figures we saw were inconsistent, so request a written quote (TrueCommerce, no date shown).
Cleo sells Cleo Integration Cloud, which handles purchase orders, invoices and ASNs and lists connectors for NetSuite, Business Central, SAP S/4HANA and QuickBooks. It offers self-service and managed models and does not publish prices (Cleo, no date shown).
Orderful is an API-based EDI platform. It publishes pricing: labels from $99 per month, web EDI fulfillment at $189 per month per trading partner, integrated plans from $399 per month, and custom enterprise pricing for more than 20 partners (Orderful, no date shown). Zenbridge also publishes plans, starting at $450 per month for 1,000 transactions and three trading partners (Zenbridge, no date shown). All of these companies sell the products described.
ERP-native and partner connectors
| ERP | How the 856 is usually produced | What the warehouse side needs |
|---|---|---|
| Oracle NetSuite | Partner SuiteApps such as SPS Commerce (Built for NetSuite) | Carton data from a packing tool such as Pacejet, RF-Smart, Ozlink or ShipHawk |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central | Marketplace apps such as EDI 365 by WebSan Solutions, which lists the 856 and trading-partner packing slips (Microsoft Marketplace, no date shown), or Cleo’s connector | Package or carton records from the app or a WMS add-on |
| Acumatica | SPS Commerce’s embedded solution on the Acumatica Marketplace, which lists the 850, 856 and 810 (Acumatica Marketplace, no date shown) | The listing does not mention GS1-128 label creation, so confirm who prints labels |
| Epicor (Kinetic, Prophet 21, Eclipse) | Epicor EDI, self-managed or as a managed service (Epicor, no date shown) | Packing data from Epicor or a connected WMS |
Epicor sells its own EDI service, expanded through its June 2022 acquisition of UK-based Data Interchange (Business Wire, 7 June 2022). None of these ERP vendors publishes EDI pricing on the pages we reviewed.
Our independent take
The retailer rules we reviewed test what the warehouse did: whether labels match the ASN, quantities match the truck and the ASN arrived first. The common failures therefore start in the warehouse, such as cartons packed without a scan, SSCCs printed from one sequence and transmitted from another, and ASNs sent at order release. Ask each provider to show a SOTPI ASN generated from your ERP test data, with labels printed from the same record. We do not name an overall winner, because the right choice depends on your ERP, your packing method and how many trading partners you serve.
Three buyer scenarios
A $15 million consumer goods supplier on NetSuite shipping pure cartons to three big-box retailers. Standard pack ASNs cover most of your volume, so a Built for NetSuite provider such as SPS Commerce, paired with your shipping tool for labels, is a reasonable path.
A $60 million industrial distributor on Business Central that ships mixed cartons to retail and OEM customers. Fix carton-level packing data first. Evaluate a WMS or packing add-on alongside an EDI app or Cleo, and require a pick and pack demonstration with your own items.
A small food producer with two retail customers and fewer than 50 ASNs a month. A web EDI plan with label printing, such as Orderful’s per-partner web fulfillment, may be enough at first. Move to an integrated connection once retyping starts to take hours each week.
When you do not need dedicated software for this
You may not need an integrated EDI connection if you have one or two EDI customers, low volumes and time to key ASNs into a web portal. Several providers, including Orderful and SPS Commerce, sell web-based fulfillment for this purpose. The trade-off is that every manual ASN is a chance for a typing error, and those errors usually show up later as chargebacks.
How we researched this
We read the X12 transaction set description, the GS1 Logistic Label Guideline and SSCC definition, and supplier requirements published by Walmart, Kroger, Sprouts and GovX. We reviewed documentation and pricing pages from the EDI and ERP vendors named above. We also reviewed the top search results for “EDI 856 ASN” to see what they leave out.
Related guides
- Deductions Management Software for CPG and Food Suppliers (2026): How It Works and How to Choose
- Kitting in Inventory Management: How ERP and Inventory Software Handle Kits, Bundles and Assemblies
- Vendor Rebate Tracking Software for Distributors: How It Works and What Your Options Are
Frequently asked questions
Is an EDI 856 the same as an ASN?
Yes. ASN is the business name, and 856 is the X12 transaction set number, officially titled Ship Notice/Manifest. In EDIFACT the equivalent is DESADV.
When should I send the 856?
Send it after the shipment is tendered to the carrier and before the truck arrives. Walmart suggests sending it when the trailer doors are sealed, and Kroger says its processing can take up to 90 minutes.
What is the difference between SOPI and SOTPI?
SOPI lists shipment, order, pack and item levels, so it shows which items are in each carton. SOTPI adds a tare level between order and pack, so it also shows which cartons are on which pallet.
Does the SSCC on the label have to match the ASN?
Yes. The SSCC-18 on the GS1-128 label is the key the receiving dock scans, and it must appear in the MAN segment with the GM qualifier.
Can my ERP send an 856 without an EDI provider?
Rarely on its own. In the options we reviewed, NetSuite, Business Central and Acumatica use partner apps or an EDI provider for 856 mapping and transmission. Epicor sells its own EDI service.
How much does EDI for ASNs cost?
Published prices vary widely. Orderful lists web EDI at $189 per month per trading partner and integrated plans from $399 per month, and Zenbridge lists plans from $450 per month. SPS Commerce, Cleo and the ERP vendors do not publish current prices, so request quotes based on partner count and volume.
Sources
- X12, Transaction sets: 856 Ship Notice/Manifest, no date shown. x12.org
- GS1, Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC), no date shown. gs1.org
- GS1, Logistic Label Guideline, version 1.2, ratified September 2017. ref.gs1.org
- Walmart Supplier One help center, Advance Ship Notice (ASN) FAQs, no specific date shown. supplierone.helpdocs.io
- Kroger, ASN startup document, no date shown. edi.kroger.com
- Sprouts Farmers Market, grocery ASN (856) specification hosted by SPS Commerce (an EDI vendor), file name dated 22 August 2023. community.spscommerce.com
- GovX, 856 implementation guide (X12 5010), no date shown. support.govxinc.com
- Orderful (EDI vendor), 856 ASN carrier and shipping field requirements, 27 February 2026. support.orderful.com
- Orderful (EDI vendor), EDI 856 guide: reducing errors and optimizing packing, updated 8 December 2025. orderful.com
- Orderful (EDI vendor), Pricing, no date shown. orderful.com
- TrueCommerce (EDI vendor), Difference between a standard ASN and pick and pack ASN, 28 April 2026. help.truecommerce.com
- TrueCommerce (EDI vendor), EDI software pricing, no date shown. learn.truecommerce.com
- Acctivate (inventory software vendor), EDI Advance Ship Notice 856 pick and pack file structure, 10 April 2025. hub.acctivate.com
- SPS Commerce (EDI vendor), NetSuite integration, no date shown. spscommerce.com
- SPS Commerce (EDI vendor), Definitions of key terms for SPS Fulfillment Services, last modified 19 September 2017. spscommerce.com
- Acumatica Marketplace, SPS Commerce full-service EDI solution for Acumatica, no date shown. acumatica.com
- Microsoft Marketplace, EDI 365 by WebSan Solutions for Business Central, no date shown. marketplace.microsoft.com
- Cleo (EDI vendor), Cleo Integration Cloud, no date shown. cleo.com
- Zenbridge (EDI vendor), EDI pricing, no date shown. zenbridge.io
- Epicor, EDI integrations, no date shown. epicor.com
- Business Wire, Epicor acquires Data Interchange, 7 June 2022. businesswire.com