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X12 transaction code

X12 856 Ship Notice Manifest

X12 856 Ship Notice Manifest: explore its business purpose, mapping identifiers, validation tests and 350 partner references across 457 listed channels.

Standard
X12
Code
856
Partner references
350
Book an EDI demo ← All trading partners

Implementation guide

X12 856 mapping and validation

X12 856 Ship Notice Manifest is used when shipment contents are known before the agreed notification deadline. 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 shipment contents are known before the agreed notification deadline. 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

X12 856 questions

What is X12 856 Ship Notice Manifest used for?

856 is used when shipment contents are known before the agreed notification deadline. It carries information for the shipment notice (ASN). Match it to your business system using shipment, order, package and item references.

Which partners list X12 856?

The directory on this page links 350 partner entries that list this message. Choose your partner and channel, then confirm which messages and versions your account requires.

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.

How does 856 relate to other EDI messages?

X12 850 Purchase Order; X12 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment; X12 810 Invoice; X12 824 Application Advice are related documents linked from this page. Match these documents through their order, shipment or invoice references. Agree which response marks each business step as complete.

What is the difference between 856 and 850?

856 is used when shipment contents are known before the agreed notification deadline. 850 is used when a buyer places an order. Each message represents a different business step. Keep their record references connected and track the processing result for each message.

What is the difference between 856 and 855?

856 is used when shipment contents are known before the agreed notification deadline. 855 is used when a seller responds to an order. Each message represents a different business step. Keep their record references connected and track the processing result for each message.

Connect EDI to your business systems

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