EDI 856 and 997 explained: getting ship notices right with Sellercloud

Of all the EDI documents a retailer asks for, the 856 advance ship notice causes the most trouble. It has to arrive on time, match what is in the box, and pass the retailer's own checks, and when it does not, the retailer's reply is a terse 997 that few people know how to read. This post explains both documents in plain words, the usual reasons an 856 is rejected, and how to spot a problem file before it turns into a chargeback.

The 856: telling the retailer what is on its way#

An 856, or ASN, is sent when an order ships. It tells the retailer what was shipped, how, and against which purchase order, so their receiving team or their customer service knows what to expect. A typical 856 carries:

Part	What it says
Shipment	Ship date, carrier, service and tracking number(s)
Order	The retailer's PO number the shipment belongs to
Pack	Each carton, often with its own label or tracking number
Item	Each product, by the retailer's item number, your SKU or UPC, and the quantity shipped

These levels nest inside each other (a shipment holds orders, an order holds packs, a pack holds items), which is why the 856 is built from repeating "HL" hierarchy segments. Retailers differ in which levels they want and which identifiers they expect at each one, and that is where most rejections start.

The 997: did they accept the file?#

A 997 functional acknowledgment is the retailer's system answering "we received your file, and here is whether it was readable". It says nothing about whether the order itself is right, only whether the file followed the agreed format. The part to look at is the acceptance code for each document:

• A: accepted.
• E: accepted, but with errors noted.
• R: rejected. The 997 names the segment and element that failed, such as a missing address line.

No 997 at all is a problem too: the retailer may never have picked the file up.

Why 856s get rejected#

The causes are usually mundane:

1. A missing or misplaced segment. The retailer's spec requires something (a ship-from address, a carton level) that your file leaves out.
2. Identifiers that do not match. The item numbers, PO number or IDs in the envelope are not the ones the retailer has on file.
3. Quantities that disagree with the order. More or fewer units than the purchase order asked for, without the codes the retailer expects for a short shipment.
4. Carrier codes the retailer does not recognise. Each retailer has its own list of carrier and service codes.
5. Timing. Many retailers expect the 856 within a set time of shipping, and before the goods arrive.

Retailers often hold back payment until the 810 invoice matches the 856, so a rejected ship notice can delay money as well as risk a compliance charge.

How interSend helps you catch them#

interSend builds and sends the 856 and 810 from Sellercloud once an order has shipped and has tracking, and it reads the retailer's replies:

• Every file is kept. Under EDI files, each file sent or received is listed with what it is in plain words (Shipment notice, Invoice), when it went, and when the partner confirmed it. The raw contents are one click away, with Copy and Download to forward to the partner's support team.
• Problems are their own tab. The Needs you tab lists files that were rejected, that the partner never confirmed (No acknowledgment), that were not collected, or that failed to send, each with what to do next.
• A rejection says why. A rejected file shows the partner's reason, such as "segment N4 missing", and its page has Send again for a fresh copy once you have fixed the cause.
• A file the partner will never confirm can be marked with Stop waiting for a 997, so it stops asking for your attention.
• Carrier codes are mapped once. If a shipment is waiting because the partner needs a carrier code, the order page and dashboard ask for it, and the shipment goes out as soon as you save.

Test before the retailer sees anything#

A new connection starts paused, with Create orders in Sellercloud and Send to partner both off. Preview on the connection's page builds the ship notices and invoices the next run would send, with their contents, and sends nothing. When the files look right and the retailer is ready, turn on Send to partner.

For what each retailer expects, see the EDI partner page, with separate pages for Rooms To Go and ShopHQ. Our earlier post on EDI setup and testing covers the whole setup. To go through a retailer's spec with us, book a setup call.