Glossary

Advance ship notice (ASN)

A Lieferavis (advance ship notice, ASN) is the supplier's electronic notice that goods have been dispatched or are ready for dispatch. It is sent before the goods arrive and says which order, packages and items are on the way.

In short

  • A Lieferavis (advance ship notice, ASN) is the supplier's electronic notice that goods have been dispatched or are ready for dispatch. It is sent before the goods arrive.

  • In EDI it is EDIFACT DESADV (Despatch advice) or ANSI X12 856 (Ship Notice/Manifest). The two are counterparts.

  • The notice names the order, the parties, the dispatch and delivery dates and the packing structure. For each package it lists the items and quantities. Each package carries an SSCC, the 18-digit serial shipping container code on its carton or pallet label.

Example

A wholesaler orders 25 shower sets and 2 sets of fittings under a purchase order, number PO-88231. The manufacturer ships two cartons. It sends a DESADV with the delivery note number LS-60231, the order number, both cartons with their SSCC, and the items with their quantities per carton. When the goods arrive, the wholesaler's goods receipt scans the carton labels instead of counting by hand.

The excerpt shows the segments that carry the packing sequence (CPS), the package (PAC), the identification number (GIN), the item (LIN) and the quantity (QTY). The DESADV names each carton and what it holds.

What to watch for

  • The ASN is a notice, not a confirmation of the order. The confirmation is the order acknowledgement. It is not an invoice either.

  • Packing levels differ between partners. Some skip the package level, others add a pallet level. Agree the structure before the first notice arrives.

  • Article numbers and units in the ASN must match the order. Check them when the notice arrives.

  • The notice has to be in place before the goods arrive, so that the receiving dock can read the content of each package.

Not to be confused with

  • Order acknowledgement: confirms the order. The ASN reports the shipment.

  • Delivery note (Lieferschein): the paper delivery note that travels with the goods.

  • Invoice: INVOIC in EDIFACT, or 810 in X12.

Part of an EDIFACT DESADV (simplified)
BGM+351+LS-60231+9'
DTM+137:20261110:102'
RFF+ON:PO-88231'
CPS+2+1'
PAC+1++CT'
GIN+BJ+340123450000000017'
LIN+1++4012345111118:EN'
QTY+12:25:PCE'

In Mercura

Mercura's free EDI viewer shows X12 856 ship notices and EDIFACT DESADV messages as readable tables.

Related terms

EDIFACT

EDIFACT (UN/EDIFACT) is the international EDI standard of the United Nations, maintained by UN/CEFACT. Its syntax rules are set out in ISO 9735, and it defines messages such as orders and invoices.

ANSI X12

ANSI X12 (ASC X12) is the EDI standard used mainly in North America. It defines numbered transaction sets for business documents, such as the 850 purchase order and the 855 purchase order acknowledgment.

Order acknowledgement

An order acknowledgement (Auftragsbestätigung, AB) is the seller's confirmation of a customer's order. It states the items, quantities, prices, delivery dates and terms.

Purchase order (PO)

A purchase order (PO) is the buyer's document that orders goods or services from a supplier. It states the PO number, the buyer, the ship-to address, the line items, the requested dates and the terms.

openTRANS

openTRANS is an XML standard for business documents in the order process, such as orders, order responses, dispatch notifications and invoices. It is built on BMEcat, the format for product catalogues.

On mercura.ai

Sources

Updated

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