Advanced shipping notice (ASN)
An electronic document sent by suppliers to inform buyers about pending deliveries.
Definition
An ASN provides details of a shipment before its arrival, including contents, packaging, and expected delivery time. It improves visibility and helps prepare receiving operations.
Overview of Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN)
An Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN) is a structured electronic document — typically transmitted via EDI 856 or API — that a supplier sends to a receiving warehouse or retailer before a shipment physically arrives. It details exactly what is being shipped: purchase order numbers, SKUs, quantities per SKU, carton counts, pallet configuration, carrier and PRO number, and expected arrival date and time. The ASN allows the receiving facility to pre-plan labor, dock door assignments, and putaway tasks before the truck backs in. The operational impact of ASNs is significant. Without an ASN, receiving is reactive: a truck arrives, a team unloads it, then workers manually scan or count items to reconcile against a purchase order — a process that can take two to four times longer than ASN-enabled receiving. With a clean ASN that matches the physical shipment, many WMS platforms can process receipts through scan-confirm workflows where workers simply verify carton labels match the pre-loaded ASN rather than building a receipt from scratch. Cross-docking operations depend almost entirely on ASNs — without advance shipment data, cross-dock scheduling is impossible. Retail compliance programs (Walmart, Target, Costco) mandate ASNs and typically charge back suppliers for non-compliance or late ASN submission. For businesses using WareMatch to find warehousing or fulfillment partners, ASN capability is a meaningful filter. A 3PL or warehouse operator that requires and processes ASNs from inbound suppliers will have faster receiving cycles, more accurate inventory records, and lower receiving labor costs — all of which translate into better service levels and potentially lower billing. Shippers evaluating 3PLs should ask specifically about ASN requirements, EDI capability, and what happens operationally when an ASN doesn't match physical receipt (the "exception handling" process is where errors compound).
Role
An electronic document sent by suppliers to inform buyers about pending deliveries.
Focus
An Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN) is a structured electronic document — typically transmitted via EDI 856 or API — that a supplier sends to a receiving warehouse or retailer before a shipment physically arrives. It details exactly what is being shipped: purchase order numbers, SKUs, quantities per SKU, carton counts, pallet configuration, carrier and PRO number, and expected arrival date and time. The ASN allows the receiving facility to pre-plan labor, dock door assignments, and putaway tasks before the truck backs in. The operational impact of ASNs is significant. Without an ASN, receiving is reactive: a truck arrives, a team unloads it, then workers manually scan or count items to reconcile against a purchase order — a process that can take two to four times longer than ASN-enabled receiving. With a clean ASN that matches the physical shipment, many WMS platforms can process receipts through scan-confirm workflows where workers simply verify carton labels match the pre-loaded ASN rather than building a receipt from scratch. Cross-docking operations depend almost entirely on ASNs — without advance shipment data, cross-dock scheduling is impossible. Retail compliance programs (Walmart, Target, Costco) mandate ASNs and typically charge back suppliers for non-compliance or late ASN submission. For businesses using WareMatch to find warehousing or fulfillment partners, ASN capability is a meaningful filter. A 3PL or warehouse operator that requires and processes ASNs from inbound suppliers will have faster receiving cycles, more accurate inventory records, and lower receiving labor costs — all of which translate into better service levels and potentially lower billing. Shippers evaluating 3PLs should ask specifically about ASN requirements, EDI capability, and what happens operationally when an ASN doesn't match physical receipt (the "exception handling" process is where errors compound).
Example
See the definition above for context.
Benefits
- Dramatically reduces receiving dock time by enabling pre-planned unloading and putaway
- Enables cross-docking operations that require advance shipment data to function
- Improves inventory accuracy by catching discrepancies between ordered and shipped quantities before putaway
- Supports retail compliance requirements that mandate ASN submission with chargeback penalties for non-compliance
- Allows warehouse to pre-assign dock doors, labor, and storage locations before truck arrival
- Reduces data entry errors versus manual receipt creation
- Provides carriers and shippers with a shared shipment record that simplifies dispute resolution
FAQs
Q: What's the difference between an ASN and a packing slip?
A: A packing slip is a paper document included inside the shipment listing contents. An ASN is an electronic pre-shipment notification transmitted to the receiving party's WMS or ERP before the shipment arrives. They contain overlapping data, but the ASN's value is its advance timing and machine-readable format — a packing slip can't pre-load dock assignments or trigger receiving workflows.
Q: What EDI transaction set is used for ASNs, and do all 3PLs support it?
A: The standard EDI transaction set for ASNs is EDI 856 (Ship Notice/Manifest). Most enterprise 3PLs and WMS platforms support EDI 856, but capabilities vary — some support full hierarchical ASNs (shipment/order/pack/item levels) while others handle only flat structures. Confirm EDI 856 support and your required hierarchy level before contracting with a 3PL.
Q: What happens if a supplier sends an ASN but the physical shipment doesn't match?
A: The WMS flags a receiving discrepancy. Standard practice is to complete the physical count, receive what arrived, and generate a discrepancy report to the supplier for credit or replacement. The key is that even an inaccurate ASN accelerates receiving — the discrepancy is caught at item level during scan-confirm rather than discovered during a full manual count days later.
Q: Do small suppliers need to send ASNs, or is this only for large vendors?
A: Retail compliance programs require ASNs from all vendors regardless of size — non-compliance triggers chargebacks that can exceed the value of small shipments. For non-retail 3PL relationships, ASN requirements are contractual. Many 3PLs offer supplier portals where small vendors without EDI capability can manually enter ASN data via a web form, bridging the gap.