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X12 transaction code

EDI 856 Ship Notice/Manifest (X12 856)

EDI 856 is the advance ship notice (ASN), the X12 Ship Notice/Manifest transaction set, used when an order ships, before the goods arrive. The supplier, or a 3PL shipping on its behalf, sends the 856 to the buyer, usually a retailer or distributor.

Standard
X12
Code
856
Partner references
350
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At a glance

EDI 856 at a glance

What the 856 carries, who sends it to whom, when it goes out, and the segments trading partners list for it.

X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest summary
Document X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest
Business record Shipment notice (ASN)
Who sends it to whom The supplier, or a 3PL shipping on its behalf, sends the 856 to the buyer, usually a retailer or distributor.
When it is sent 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.
Match on Shipment, order, package and item references
Partner references 350 trading partners in this directory
Related documents X12 850 Purchase Order, X12 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment, X12 810 Invoice, X12 824 Application Advice

Key segments in an EDI 856

The business segments that appear in at least half of the 453 partner document references listed below, most common first. The table leaves out envelope segments (ISA, GS, ST, SE, GE, IEA). Your partner guide sets which segments and elements your account must send.

Segment Name Purpose Partner references
BSN Beginning Segment for Ship Notice To transmit identifying numbers, dates, and other basic data relating to the transaction set. 453 of 453
HL Hierarchical Level To identify dependencies among and the content of hierarchically related groups of data segments. 453 of 453
LIN Item Identification To specify basic item identification data. 453 of 453
SN1 Item Detail (Shipment) To specify line-item detail relative to shipment. 453 of 453
PRF Purchase Order Reference To provide reference to a specific purchase order. 452 of 453
DTM Date/Time Reference To specify pertinent dates and times. 449 of 453
N1 Party Identification To identify a party by type of organization, name, and code. 441 of 453
REF Reference Information To specify identifying information. 435 of 453
TD5 Carrier Details (Routing Sequence/Transit Time) To specify the carrier and sequence of routing and provide transit time information. 429 of 453
CTT Transaction Totals To transmit a hash total for a specific element in the transaction set. 423 of 453

Stacksync connects EDI documents such as the X12 856 to your ERP, CRM and databases with two-way sync. Read the EDI overview, check pricing and security, or book a demo to walk through your partner guide.

Implementation guide

X12 856 mapping and validation

X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest is used when an order ships, before the goods arrive. Preserve shipment, order, package and item references so the shipment notice (ASN) in your business system stays connected to the original document.

Use the version and implementation guide agreed with your trading partner to confirm required fields and responses.

Map records and test the business result
Document or decisionRecord and matching IDsWhat to test
Match the business record shipment notice (ASN)

shipment, order, package and item references
  • Define which combination of shipment, order, package and item references identifies one business record, its lines and any later revision.
Update the receiving system Processing the shipment notice (ASN)

ID assigned by the receiving system and processing result
  • Reconcile item quantities through shipment, order and packaging levels against the physical shipment.
  • Test split shipments for one purchase order and prevent the second ASN from replacing the first.
Check the processing result Processing status for the shipment notice (ASN)

Original document reference and matching response
  • Reconcile the shipment notice (ASN) with the source after a timeout before sending it again. A lost response can occur after the destination has already processed the document.

How the related documents differ

Each message represents a different business event. Use shared references to connect the records while tracking each message’s outcome separately.

Implementation steps

  1. Choose the starting event and owner

    Decide which application acts when an order ships, before the goods arrive. Name the operational owner of the shipment notice (ASN) and the team that resolves rejected or ambiguous messages.

  2. Keep record IDs connected

    Map shipment, order, package and item references. Confirm qualifiers, code lists, units and date/time meaning against the agreed X12 version and partner guide. Preserve the source reference alongside any new destination identifier.

  3. Test failures before launch

    Run the failure cases in the mapping table against realistic shipment notice (ASN) data. Check how the receiving system reports a rejection and how your team corrects it without creating a duplicate.

  4. Track every document to completion

    Record transport delivery and document validation separately from successful shipment notice (ASN) processing. Give unresolved errors an owner and check the receiving system before approving retries.

Go-live checklist

  • An approved 856 sample and the agreed version and partner guide are available.
  • The mapping tests pass with realistic shipment notice (ASN) data.
  • Each submitted document can be traced through delivery, validation and processing in the receiving system.
  • Your team knows how to investigate and recover a rejected or timed-out shipment notice (ASN) without processing it twice.

Document structure

X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest at the element level

The X12 856 reference contains 32 segment entries and 147 data elements; 50 are marked mandatory in this reference. Use the version and partner guide agreed for your account to confirm required fields.

Segments
32
Data elements
147
Mandatory elements
50
Segments with elements marked mandatory in this reference
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

Find your trading partner for X12 856

350 partners, 457 channels. Choose a channel to inspect its listed document reference and implementation context.

Catalog breakdown

Where X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest appears in this catalog

The largest groups of classified 856 catalog entries are in retail, apparel & footwear and grocery & food.

By industry

  • retail 80 channels
  • apparel & footwear 68 channels
  • grocery & food 65 channels
  • building & hardware 54 channels
  • furniture & home 43 channels
  • healthcare & pharma 30 channels

By network

  • SPS Commerce 90 channels
  • Epicor Eclipse 42 channels
  • TrueCommerce 25 channels
  • Rithum 25 channels
  • Logicbroker 9 channels
  • Sonepar USA 4 channels
Partner entries with the most listed channels

FAQ

EDI 856 questions

What is an EDI 856?

EDI 856 is the advance ship notice (ASN), the X12 Ship Notice/Manifest transaction set. Trading partners use it when an order ships, before the goods arrive. It carries the data for the shipment notice (ASN), and your system matches it on shipment, order, package and item references.

Who sends an EDI 856 and who receives it?

The supplier, or a 3PL shipping on its behalf, sends the 856 to the buyer, usually a retailer or distributor. Your trading partner agreement confirms the direction and version for your account.

When is an EDI 856 sent?

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. Your partner guide sets any deadline or schedule for the document.

What are the key segments in an EDI 856?

Across 453 partner document references listed here, the business segments that appear most often include BSN (Beginning Segment for Ship Notice), HL (Hierarchical Level), LIN (Item Identification), SN1 (Item Detail (Shipment)), PRF (Purchase Order Reference), DTM (Date/Time Reference). Each partner guide sets which segments and elements your account must send.

What is the difference between EDI 856 and EDI 850?

The 850 says what the buyer ordered. The 856 says what the supplier shipped against it, organized by shipment, order, pack and item, and reaches the buyer before the goods do.

What is the difference between EDI 856 and EDI 855?

The 855 confirms the order before fulfillment. The 856 follows when the goods ship and lists what is in each carton or pallet, so the buyer can receive against it.

What should I map for X12 856?

Start with shipment, order, package and item references and the target shipment notice (ASN). Define duplicate detection, allowed updates and response correlation before mapping individual fields. Use the partner guide to check required fields and their formats.

How should I test 856 error handling?

Reconcile item quantities through shipment, order and packaging levels against the physical shipment. Test split shipments for one purchase order and prevent the second ASN from replacing the first. Also test a lost response after destination processing so that a retry cannot create an unintended duplicate or repeated adjustment.

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