Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a fundamental method for document exchange in the warehousing and third-party logistics industry, allowing you to track real-time movement of goods across the supply chain. EDI simplifies the logistics management and helps your operations run more efficiently, keeping you current with the requirements of your customers, partners, and vendors. Most importantly, it helps you to remain competitive.
Retailers, suppliers, distributors, 3PLs, etc. all can benefit by exchanging important business documents on a secure network and in real-time:
- Less manual intervention and more accurate data
- Less paper
- Improved visibility on business operations
- Streamlined business relationships
- Shorter supply chain cycle
- Increased support for just-in-time and lean production
The most common EDI documents that are exchanged are purchase orders (EDI 850), invoices (EDI 810) and Advanced Shipment Notices (EDI 856). There are additional EDI documents that are used widely in the warehousing and 3PL industries. These transaction sets fall in the 900 series and include:
- 940 – Warehouse Shipping Order
- 943 – Warehouse Stock Transfer Shipment Advice
- 944 – Warehouse Stock Transfer Receipt Advice
- 945 – Warehouse Shipping Advice
- 946 – Delivery Information Message
- 947 – Warehouse Inventory Adjustment Advice
- 997 – Functional Acknowledgement
- 856 – Advance Shipment Notice/Manifest
The exchange of these documents helps to pin-point the gaps in the complicated supply processes. You get a full understanding of stocking and reduce your inventory costs. Below provides you with a better understanding of what each Transaction Set offers:
940 Warehouse Shipping Order
This transaction set is used to request a warehouse to make a shipment, confirm, modify or cancel a previously transmitted shipping order.
943 Warehouse Stock Transfer Shipment Advice
Used by the depositor or an agent of the depositor to advise that a transfer shipment has been made. It provides the receiving location with detailed information regarding the product(s) being shipped to that location.
944 Warehouse Stock Transfer Receipt Advice
The 944 is used by a receiving location to advise a depositor or agent that a transfer shipment has been received. It provides detailed information concerning the product(s) that was received.
945 Warehouse Shipping Advice
The warehouse uses the 945 to advise the depositor that a shipment was made and is used to reconcile order quantities with shipment quantities.
946 Delivery Information Message
Used by the receiving location to advise the depositor/agent that a transfer shipment was received. It provides detailed information concerning the product that was received.
947 Warehouse Inventory Adjustment Advice
The 947 is used to inform a warehouse/depositor of a quantity or status change to the inventory records. It provides detailed information regarding the internal adjustments that occur between a warehouse and depositor and can be used to reconcile inventories.
997 Functional Acknowledgement
The 997 confirms receipt of an EDI document and evaluates the structure and syntactical validity. Documents with valid syntax are accepted; documents with invalid syntax are rejected. The 997 does not evaluate the data content of the document.
856 Advance Shipment Notice/Manifest (ASN)
The 856 is used to list the contents of the shipment of goods as well as additional information relating to the shipment and may include: order information, product description, physical characteristics, type of packaging, marking, carrier information and configuration of goods withing the transportation equipment. The 856 enables the sender to describe the contents and confirmation of a shipment in various levels of detail and provides an ordered flexibility to convey information. The sender of the ASN is the organization responsible for detailing and communicating the contents of the shipment or shipments to one or more receivers of the ANS. The receiver of the ASN can be any organization having an interest in the contents of shipment or information about the contents.
If you haven’t taken advantage of the above transaction sets, you are missing out on opportunities to get the full profit of investing in EDI implementation that can increase your company’s competitiveness. Our EDI Specialists at Data Communication Solutions (DCS) have assisted numerous customers to implement the above transactions sets and more since 1991. To learn more about how we can help your business, contact us today!
Data Communication Solutions
Since 1991, our team of experienced and knowledgeable EDI specialists has been providing services such as development, managed services, support, and training for a variety of EDI systems and industries. Check out our list of clients to see the hundreds of companies we’ve worked with and consider reading some of our case studies to learn how we help organizations find the best EDI solutions.
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