Advance Ship Notice
The EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice tells a buyer exactly what is on the way before it arrives: shipment contents, packaging hierarchy, carrier, tracking references, and expected dates.
What is EDI 856?
The EDI 856 is the ANSI X12 Ship Notice/Manifest, universally called the Advance Ship Notice or ASN. A supplier sends it to the buyer when a shipment leaves the dock, describing the shipment’s contents and packaging structure along with carrier, bill of lading, and PRO references.
The 856 is the highest-stakes document in retail EDI. It must arrive before the truck does, it must match the physical shipment exactly, and it is structured as a hierarchy (the HL loop): shipment, then order, then pack, then item. Receiving teams scan the SSCC labels announced in the ASN to check in freight in minutes instead of hours, which is why retailers fine suppliers for late or inaccurate 856s. It is also where order EDI meets freight EDI: the 856 names the carrier SCAC, the bill of lading, and the PRO number, the same references that flow through the EDI 214 shipment status messages carriers send while the load is rolling.
Key segments
What's inside an EDI 856.
Example
A sample EDI 856 message.
ST*856*0001~BSN*00*SH100482*20260806*1432~HL*1**S~TD1*CTN*36~TD5*B*2*CSCD*M~REF*BM*BOL5501287~REF*CN*PRO7788412~DTM*011*20260806~N1*ST*Northgate Distribution Center*92*DC014~HL*2*1*O~PRF*4501776~HL*3*2*I~LIN**VN*PS-4416*UP*012345678905~SN1**48*CA~CTT*3~SE*16*0001~
Illustrative values in X12 format (segment terminator ~, element separator *) showing the common segments of a 856. Each trading partner's spec defines its own required segments and qualifiers.
Frequently asked
EDI 856 questions, answered.
What is an EDI 856?
The EDI 856 is the X12 Ship Notice/Manifest, better known as the Advance Ship Notice (ASN). Suppliers send it when a shipment departs, telling the buyer what is coming, how it is packed, which carrier is moving it, and which references (BOL, PRO, SSCC labels) to expect at the dock.
What is the HL hierarchy in an 856?
The HL loop nests the shipment’s structure: a shipment level (S) containing order levels (O), which contain pack levels (P) and item levels (I). This mirrors the physical freight: one truckload holding multiple POs, each PO in labeled cartons or pallets, each with item detail. Receivers use it to check in freight by scanning labels instead of counting product.
What is the difference between an EDI 856 and an EDI 214?
The 856 comes from the supplier and describes the contents of a shipment. The EDI 214 comes from the carrier and describes the progress of that shipment: picked up, in transit, out for delivery, delivered. They share references like the BOL and PRO number, which is how buyers connect what was shipped with where it currently is.
When should an 856 be sent?
At or immediately after ship time, and always before the freight arrives. Most retail routing guides require the ASN within one hour of departure. A late or inaccurate ASN is one of the most commonly charged-back EDI failures in retail.
What is the difference between an ASN and a bill of lading?
The bill of lading is the legal contract of carriage between shipper and carrier for the physical move. The ASN is a data document to the buyer describing shipment contents and packaging. The 856 references the BOL number, but they serve different parties and purposes.
Melrose maintains full segment-level specs for the core freight set (204, 990, 214, 210) and stands up new transaction sets like the 856 on request. See the partner network or book a demo.
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