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X12 EDI

Nordstrom X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest

X12 856 (Ship Notice/Manifest) is the EDI transaction exchanged between Nordstrom (Nordstrom Rack (via DSCO (dba Rithum))) and its trading partners. Stacksync handles full compliance, mapping, and real-time delivery.

Segments
23
Loops
3
X12 856
All partners ↗

Transaction context

Where 856 Ship Notice/Manifest fits on Nordstrom Rack (via DSCO (dba Rithum))

On Nordstrom Rack (via DSCO (dba Rithum)), the X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest follows the 850 Purchase Order and 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment and precedes the 810 Invoice in the Order-to-cash cycle.

Nordstrom channels
6 of 8

6 of Nordstrom's 8 channels carry 856

Trading partners
350

partners across the Stacksync network trade 856

Channels
457

channels network-wide carry 856

On Rithum, 856 runs on 25 channels.

The 856 Ship Notice/Manifest, known in practice as the Advance Ship Notice (ASN), describes the contents and packing configuration of a shipment before it arrives, using nested hierarchical levels for shipment, order, pack, and item. Buyers use it to schedule dock labor and to match scanned GS1 carton labels against expected contents at receiving. Retail compliance programs treat the ASN as mandatory, and ASN errors are widely reported to generate more supplier chargebacks than any other EDI document type. Sent by the supplier, or a 3PL shipping on its behalf, to the buyer (retailer or distributor) at the time the order ships.

When it fires: A packed order is ship-confirmed and tendered to the carrier; the warehouse system generates the 856 so it reaches the buyer before the goods do.

Common 856 rejection causes
  • SSCC-18 on the physical carton label does not match the SSCC in the ASN, so receiving scans fail and cartons are processed manually.
  • Quantities in the ASN differ from what was physically packed or from the purchase order, a chargeback event commonly billed at 25 to 200 USD per incident.
  • ASN transmitted after the truck arrives, or never sent, which retailers penalize regardless of whether the physical shipment was accurate.
  • HL hierarchy (shipment/order/pack/item) flattened or nested incorrectly during mapping, causing receiving systems to misread carton contents.

Specification summary

X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest at the element level

The X12 856 specification defines 32 segments carrying 147 data elements, 50 of which are mandatory.

Segments
32
Data elements
147
Mandatory elements
50
Segments with mandatory elements
Segment Elements Mandatory
BSN 6 4
HL 3 2
LIN 19 2
SN1 4 2
PRF 2 1
PID 3 1
REF 2 1
MAN 4 2
DTM 3 1
FOB 4 1
N1 4 1
N3 2 1
Key identifiers in 856
  • Transaction Set Purpose Code
  • Shipment Identification
  • Date
  • Time
  • Hierarchical ID Number
  • Hierarchical Level Code
  • Product/Service ID Qualifier
  • Product/Service ID
Full segment guideline — 23 segments 3 loops · X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest
ISA Interchange Control Header 16 elements

To start and identify an interchange of zero or more functional groups and interchange-related control segments

GS Functional Group Header 8 elements

To indicate the beginning of a functional group and to provide control information

ST Transaction Set Header 2 elements

To indicate the start of a transaction set and to assign a control number

BSN Beginning Segment for Ship Notice 5 elements

To transmit identifying numbers, dates, and other basic data relating to the transaction set

HL Loop Repeat: 200,000
HL Hierarchical Level 3 elements

To identify dependencies among and the content of hierarchically related groups of data segments

LIN Item Identification 21 elements

To specify basic item identification data

SN1 Item Detail (Shipment) 3 elements

To specify line-item detail relative to shipment

PRF Purchase Order Reference 1 element

To provide reference to a specific purchase order

PO4 Item Physical Details 4 elements

To specify the physical qualities, packaging, weights, and dimensions relating to the item

CTT Transaction Totals 1 element

To transmit a hash total for a specific element in the transaction set

SE Transaction Set Trailer 2 elements

To indicate the end of the transaction set and provide the count of the transmitted segments (including the beginning (ST) and ending (SE) segments)

TD1 Carrier Details (Quantity and Weight) 3 elements

To specify the transportation details relative to commodity, weight, and quantity

TD5 Carrier Details (Routing Sequence/Transit Time) 8 elements

To specify the carrier and sequence of routing and provide transit time information

REF Reference Identification 3 elements

To specify identifying information

MAN Marks and Numbers 2 elements

To indicate identifying marks and numbers for shipping containers

DTM Date/Time Reference 3 elements

To specify pertinent dates and times

N1 Loop Repeat: 200
N1 Name 4 elements

To identify a party by type of organization, name, and code

N2 Additional Name Information 2 elements

To specify additional names or those longer than 35 characters in length

N3 Address Information 2 elements

To specify the location of the named party

N4 Geographic Location 4 elements

To specify the geographic place of the named party

CUR Currency 2 elements

To specify the currency (dollars, pounds, francs, etc.) used in a transaction

SAC Loop
SAC Service, Promotion, Allowance, or Charge Information 3 elements

To request or identify a service, promotion, allowance, or charge; to specify the amount or percentage for the service, promotion, allowance, or charge

PER Administrative Communications Contact 6 elements

To identify a person or office to whom administrative communications should be directed

Trading partners

5+ trading partners.
And every channel covered.

We connect to every major retailer, distributor, and 3PL on the EDI network. Type to search the directory, or browse the full catalogue.

Trading partners

5+ trading partners.
And every channel covered.

We connect to every major retailer, distributor, and 3PL on the EDI network. Type to search the directory, or browse the full catalogue.

Nordstrom Nordstrom Rack (via DSCO (dba Rithum)) EDI 856 FAQ

Common questions about 856 Ship Notice/Manifest on the Nordstrom Rack (via DSCO (dba Rithum)) channel.

What is X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest?
X12 856 (Ship Notice/Manifest) is the EDI transaction set used to exchange ship notice/manifest data. Nordstrom's Nordstrom Rack (via DSCO (dba Rithum)) channel requires it from trading partners.
Does Nordstrom Nordstrom Rack (via DSCO (dba Rithum)) require 856 for trading partners?
Yes, Nordstrom (Nordstrom Rack (via DSCO (dba Rithum))) supports X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest. Stacksync handles the full integration so your team can focus on operations.
How fast can I integrate Nordstrom 856 with Stacksync?
Most companies go live with Nordstrom 856 on Stacksync in days. Pre-built mappings, no-code setup, and real-time monitoring make EDI compliance straightforward.
Which other Nordstrom channels accept 856?
X12 856 runs on 6 of Nordstrom's 8 channels. Besides Nordstrom Rack (via DSCO (dba Rithum)), it is accepted on Nordstrom (US) (Direct to Store), Nordstrom (US) (for 856 only), Nordstrom (Dropship) (via DSCO (dba Rithum)), [DEPRECATED] Nordstrom (Canada) (for 856 only) , Nordstrom Rack (formerly HauteLook) (via Rithum DSCO). Each channel carries its own implementation guideline; Stacksync validates outbound documents against the correct guideline automatically.

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