Ace Hardware names six mandatory EDI documents, not four, and runs its warehouse and dropship programs on different document sets with different labeling rules. AIMS360 runs both against one pool of stock.
Ace runs its warehouse business and its dropship business on different EDI document sets, with different labeling rules. Get that wrong and you build to the specification for a channel you are not in. This page separates the two, quotes Ace's own thresholds and assessment amounts, and shows how AIMS360 runs both against one pool of stock.
Ace Hardware EDI is the electronic document exchange every Ace vendor must sign up to and trade on. Ace requires six core transaction sets on its warehouse business: the 850 purchase order, the 997 acknowledgment, the 856 advance ship notice, the 810 invoice, the 864 invoice rejection notice and the 812 chargeback advice. The 820 remittance advice is optional. Documents move over AS2 across the internet, on ANSI X12 version 004010, and Ace measures your accuracy and your on time performance on a monthly vendor scorecard.
Two things about that list surprise most suppliers. The first is that the 864 and the 812 are mandatory, not optional. Almost every guide you will read lists four documents and stops at the 997. Ace lists six, and the two extra ones are the two that carry bad news back to you. The second is that Ace's dropship business runs on a different set entirely, through a different connection, with its own rules about labeling.
If you supply Ace with paint, lawn and garden, pet, household goods, outdoor living, workwear, gloves or hand tools, both of those facts change what you have to build.
Ace moves product to its retailers two ways: through its own distribution network, and direct from you to the store or the consumer. The EDI looks different on each side.
Ace's distribution network runs 7 consolidation centers, known as crossdocks, and 15 Retail Support Centers. You receive an 850, acknowledge it, ship to an RSC or a crossdock against Ace's routing guide, and send the 856 and 810. This is the program the published Policy and Procedures manual describes, and the one with the AS2 connection and the six document set.
Orders reach you one at a time and ship from your warehouse. Ace announced Logicbroker as its dropship EDI technology partner and states the connection is provided at no cost to the supplier. Ace's own sample files for this channel cover the 850, the 855 acknowledgment for exceptions only, the 856, the 810, the 846 inventory feed and the 180 return notification.
Ace states it directly: only shipments into an Ace RSC or warehouse require GS1-128 labels and the SSCC data that goes with them. Shipments direct to retailers, which Ace calls drop ship orders, do not require GS1-128 ASN data or labels. Building carton labeling for a channel that does not use it is wasted work.
On the warehouse side the acknowledgment is the 997, required within 12 hours of every 850, specific to that one purchase order and carrying the AK1, AK2, AK5 and AK9 segments. On the dropship side Ace's sample set uses the 855 purchase order acknowledgment, and only for exceptions. Same word, different document, different trigger.
Confirm which programs you have been approved for before you build. Ace's vendor portal postings are treated as part of the manual and supersede it where they conflict, so the current answer for your account comes from your Ace merchant and from the portal rather than from any page on the internet, including this one.
Ace's manual instructs vendors to establish and test six core documents. Here they are with what each one does and where it sits.
| Document | What it carries | Ace status |
|---|---|---|
| 850 | Purchase order, from Ace to you. Carries a requested ship date calculated from your vendor processing days. | Mandatory |
| 997 | Functional acknowledgment. Required for every 850 within 12 hours, specific to that order, not batched with others. | Mandatory |
| 856 | Advance ship notice. Ace's record of your readiness to ship. One per shipment when a PO ships in multiple loads. | Mandatory for all 850 orders |
| 810 | Invoice. Sent when the order is fulfilled and shipped, usually the same day. | Mandatory |
| 864 | Text message. Ace uses it to reject an invoice that failed its edits and tell you what to fix. | Mandatory |
| 812 | Credit and debit adjustment. How Ace tells you a chargeback has been issued, the same day it is raised. | Mandatory |
| 820 | Remittance advice against EFT payment. Also available in the vendor portal under A/P Data. | Optional |
Ace's dropship channel uses a different list. Ace's own supplier sample files for that side cover the 850, 855 for exceptions only, 856, 810, 846 inventory and the 180 return notification. Requirements are set by Ace, are posted and revised on Ace's own schedule, and can change, so treat this table as the shape of the program rather than as a specification to map from.
Ace checks every inbound 810 against its own edits. If the invoice fails, Ace sends back an 864 text message as a rejection, and that invoice does not get paid until you correct the error and retransmit. Not queued for a person to look at. Rejected, returned, and sitting on you.
The 812 is the other half. When Ace reconciles an invoice against a goods receipt and finds a discrepancy, it recovers the difference by charging you back, and it notifies you the same day the chargeback is issued. Supporting detail lands in the vendor portal under A/P Data.
This is why Ace lists six mandatory documents rather than four. A vendor who maps only the 850, 856, 810 and 997 has built the path that carries good news and left the two return paths unmonitored. The practical effect is invoices that quietly age, and deductions discovered at reconciliation weeks later. Ace publishes both of these documents precisely so you do not have to find out that way.
Ace also runs a dispute route, and it has a clock on it: disputes are considered within 90 days from the date of the chargeback, and load quality and new item audit disputes must go through the Traverse Systems vendor portal rather than by email.
Ace measures delivery performance as On Time In Full, calculated at each level, and states the requirement plainly.
Ace requires all vendors to maintain an OTIF rating above 95 percent. The calculation is the number of units shipped by Ace's requested ship date plus a 2 calendar day grace, divided by the number of units ordered. Failure to hold that rating can lead to financial assessments, formal performance reviews and, in Ace's own words, possible loss of business.
The grace period is worth reading twice. Two calendar days, not two business days, and the assessment applies to a percentage of the purchase value of units not shipped inside that window, scaled to your OTIF rating.
Ace requires compliance with three vendor processing days, defined as business days from purchase order receipt until shipment. Day 0 is the day Ace creates the order, Day 1 is the next business day. More processing time needs prior approval from the Replenishment Planning Manager.
Ace uses the 856 as the record of your readiness to ship, and requires it on the same day the shipment leaves your facility. A late ASN lowers your OTIF score whether or not the truck left on time. Ace scores this directly, comparing the ASN transmission date against the ship date inside the ASN.
Ace scores a line level match across three documents: invoice quantity, ASN quantity and goods receipt quantity. Pass or fail, per line. It also scores the two way pairs separately, plus initial invoice acceptance rate and invoice price errors.
Monthly scorecard, weekly supplier dashboard and weekly purchase projections sit in the vendor portal under Tools and Resources, ADW Reporting Access. Load quality violations arrive weekly by email and are detailed in the Traverse Systems portal.
Ace's labeling rules are specific about quantity and scope, and the scope is the part that saves work.
Palletized loads need one unique GS1-128 label per pallet, whether that pallet is a single SKU or mixed. Small parcel shipments need one per carton. A single label cannot cover more than one skid.
When backorders for several purchase orders travel on one pallet, each PO needs its own separate and unique GS1-128 label. Ace also asks for the POs to be physically segregated on the pallet with shrink wrap or slip sheets, and each one placarded.
Ace states that only shipments to its RSCs and warehouses require GS1-128 labels. Drop ship orders direct to retailers do not require GS1-128 ASN data or labels. Floor loaded shipments are handled case by case with Ace's supply chain team.
Ace's manual itemizes it: unique shipment ID, ASN creation date and time, shipment weight, SCAC and carrier name, PRO or tracking or bill of lading number, ship date, ship from detail, purchase order number, UPC, manufacturer part number, Ace item number, item description, units shipped and ordered, total lines, and the GS1-128 SSCC on RSC shipments. Line numbers must match the original order.
Ace publishes an appendix of assessments. These are the ones with stated amounts. Several others are charged per violation at amounts the RSCs determine.
| What went wrong | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Non-EDI document where EDI is required, covering the 850, 856 and 810 | $250 per document |
| Dropship paper invoice, from a vendor who is already EDI capable | $25 per document |
| Dropship invoice keyed or uploaded on the portal | $10 to $20 per invoice, by monthly volume |
| Not receiving payment by electronic funds transfer | $100 per occurrence |
| Missing OTIF target | A percentage of the purchase value of units not shipped within 2 calendar days of the requested ship date, scaled to your OTIF rating |
| Barcode relabeling, load quality, appointment reserved and not used, non-preferred LTL carrier, new item start audit | Per violation, at amounts set by the RSCs and reported through Traverse Systems |
Read the $10 to $20 portal invoice line next to your dropship volume before you decide that a portal is cheaper than integrating. On a few dozen orders a month it is. The arithmetic changes fast. Ace reserves the right to modify assessment amounts and thresholds, so confirm current figures against the compliance tab of the vendor portal for your account.
Ace's manual lists ERP or new computer system implementation as a change vendors are responsible for communicating to Ace at least 60 days before it happens. It sits in the same list as changes to shipping locations, moving sourcing overseas, packaging redesigns and changes to the number of eaches in a selling unit.
Most brands find this out late. It is worth building into your project plan on day one, because a migration that goes live without notice can collide with a scorecard period, and the assessments do not pause while you cut over.
Two related timing rules while you are planning. Price increases need 90 days notification through Ace's Price Change Portal. Permanent or temporary changes to ship locations need 60 days, and without that notice the vendor carries the transportation cost until a new rate analysis is approved.
If you are still comparing systems, our ERP buying guide and the comparison pages cover what to check before you commit, and how implementation runs covers the timeline side.
Ace exchanges data using AS2 over HTTP or HTTPS. Authentication and encryption run on a certificate, with SHA2 preferred. Ace sits behind a firewall, so you supply the URL, IP address and port you will trade from before anything moves.
Ace's manual states ANSI X12 version 004010 across the supported set, and publishes separate qualifier and ID pairs for test and for production. Production use requires authorization. Ace runs IBM Sterling B2B Integrator on its side.
Every vendor signs the EDI Agreement, the Vendor Indemnification Agreement, the EFT Agreement and the Purchase Order Terms and Conditions, and supplies a Trading Partner Profile and a valid taxpayer ID. Ace's EDI recruiters then set out the testing process and its timeframe.
Item setup and product information run through Ace's Item Data Management portal, which is the PIM side of the relationship and where barcodes, pack levels, weights and measurements have to match what you ship. Collect vendors enter shipment data in E2Open, Ace's transportation management system. Load quality violations and disputes run through Traverse Systems. Chemical, aerosol, battery and appliance items register with UL WERCSmart, and hazardous goods data goes to Infotrac.
New vendor applications start on RangeMe from the Ace Hardware vendor page. Ace also requires all new vendors to complete Ace Vendor University training within the first 90 days of receiving a vendor number, at no cost.
AIMS360 is a consumer brands ERP. Its EDI is built in-house and mapped to each retailer's own specification rather than to a generic profile, so the ERP and the EDI are the same system rather than two that have to be kept in step.
Ace purchase orders import into the same platform that holds your inventory, so you can see what you can ship inside the three vendor processing days before you commit to the requested ship date.
The acknowledgment is generated per order rather than batched, which is what Ace asks for: one 997, specific to that 850, inside 12 hours.
Mobile scanning builds each pallet and carton, so the system knows what is in the load because it watched it go in. Case pack quantities come from the item record, which is where the invoice quantity in eaches has to reconcile.
The GS1-128 label prints and its SSCC writes to the shipment record in the same step, then the 856 is built from those scanned units. That is what keeps the invoice quantity, the ASN quantity and the goods receipt quantity agreeing on Ace's three way match.
The 810 goes out from the same shipment. The 864 rejection and the 812 chargeback come back into the same records, and chargeback management logs and routes them instead of leaving them to surface at reconciliation.
EDI is part of the platform, so a heavy Ace season does not multiply a separate EDI bill. There are no per document, per transaction or kilocharacter charges on our side, and no middleware layer between the ERP and the retailer.
Ace Hardware is one of 350+ retailer connections on AIMS360, alongside Shopify and your other wholesale accounts, all drawing on one pool of stock so a strong week in one channel cannot oversell units already promised to an Ace purchase order. AIMS360 serves brands across ten consumer categories, including household and home care, home and lifestyle, outdoor and sporting goods, pet products and apparel.
What brands ask before and during an Ace Hardware EDI setup.
Ace's published manual instructs vendors to establish and test six core documents: the 850 purchase order, the 997 functional acknowledgment, the 856 advance ship notice, the 810 invoice, the 864 text message and the 812 credit and debit adjustment. The 820 remittance advice is optional. Ace's dropship channel uses a different set, covering the 850, the 855 for exceptions only, the 856, the 810, the 846 inventory feed and the 180 return notification.
Yes. Every vendor signs Ace's EDI Agreement as part of the new vendor packet, and Ace requires all warehouse and dropship invoices for merchandise for resale to be transmitted by EDI. Ace's published assessment for sending a non-EDI document where EDI is required, covering the 850, 856 and 810, is $250 per document. Vendors also sign an EFT agreement, because Ace pays all vendors electronically.
Twelve hours. Ace requires a 997 for every 850 within 12 hours of receipt, acknowledging at the transaction and group level, specific to that one purchase order. Ace states it should not contain acknowledgments for other transactions, so a batched end of day 997 does not satisfy the requirement. Ace also requires the AK1, AK2, AK5 and AK9 segments to be returned.
The same day the shipment leaves your facility. Ace uses the 856 as the record of a vendor's readiness to ship, and states that any delay in submitting it lowers your OTIF score and can trigger assessments, regardless of when the truck left the dock. Ace scores this directly by comparing the ASN transmission date against the ship date carried inside the ASN. An ASN is also required before the purchase order is received at the RSC.
Above 95 percent. Ace measures On Time In Full at each level, calculated as the number of units shipped by Ace's requested ship date plus a 2 calendar day grace, divided by the number of units ordered. Ace states that failing to hold that rating may result in vendor assessments, formal performance reviews and possible loss of business. The assessment itself is a percentage of the purchase value of units not shipped inside the window, scaled to your rating.
On warehouse shipments, yes. Ace requires one unique GS1-128 label per pallet on palletized loads, whether that pallet is single SKU or mixed, and one per carton on small parcel shipments. One label cannot cover more than one skid, and backorders for different purchase orders on the same pallet need separate labels per PO. Ace states that only shipments to its RSCs and warehouses require them, and that drop ship orders direct to retailers do not require GS1-128 ASN data or labels.
It is how Ace rejects an invoice. Every inbound 810 is checked against Ace's edits, and if an exception is found Ace sends back an 864 message as a rejection. That invoice is not paid until you correct the error and resend the 810. The same error messages appear in the vendor portal under Tools and Resources, Applications, A/P Data. This is one of the two mandatory documents most Ace EDI summaries leave out.
Through the 812 credit and debit adjustment. When Ace reconciles invoices against goods receipts and finds a discrepancy, it recovers the amount by charging the vendor back and notifies you the same day the chargeback is issued, with supporting documentation in the vendor portal. Disputes are considered within 90 days from the date of the chargeback, and load quality and new item audit disputes must be submitted through the Traverse Systems vendor portal rather than by email.
Ace exchanges data over the internet using AS2 with HTTP or HTTPS, authenticated and encrypted with a certificate, SHA2 preferred. You supply the URL, IP address and port you will trade from, because Ace sits behind a firewall. Ace's manual states ANSI X12 version 004010, runs IBM Sterling B2B Integrator on its side, and publishes separate qualifier and ID pairs for test and for production, with production use requiring authorization.
Ace announced Logicbroker as its drop ship EDI technology partner, covering consumer drop ship, RSC and AceNet Direct orders, and states the connection is provided at no cost to the supplier. Ace's published supplier material describes both a portal path, which can have you trading in days, and an integrated path that connects the orders into your own system and typically takes two to three weeks with technical resources available. The dropship document set and the labeling rules differ from the warehouse program, so confirm which programs your account is approved for before you build.
Yes, and with more notice than most brands expect. Ace's manual lists ERP or new computer system implementation among the changes vendors must communicate to Ace at least 60 days before they happen, alongside changes to shipping locations, overseas sourcing moves and packaging redesigns. Price increases need 90 days notification through Ace's Price Change Portal. Build both into the project plan rather than discovering them at cutover.
For the warehouse channel Ace does not nominate a provider. You connect by AS2 directly to Ace, which you can do from an ERP that carries EDI natively or through a separate translator sitting beside your ERP. For the drop ship channel Ace has named Logicbroker as its technology partner and states that connection is provided at no cost to the supplier. AIMS360 runs the warehouse side natively: the EDI is part of the ERP and mapped to Ace's own specification, with no per document, per transaction or kilocharacter fees on our side. See the full retailer list.
Yes, and the warehouse does not need to be EDI capable. AIMS360 performs the Ace EDI itself and passes shipment instructions to the warehouse in whatever format that warehouse accepts, which across our partner base is more often an API call or a delimited file than an X12 envelope. The pallet and carton detail that comes back is what builds the 856 Ace receives, and the GS1-128 label that goes on the freight. Our 3PL guide covers how that works.
Yes. AIMS360 EDI is built in-house and mapped to each retailer's own specification, so Ace purchase orders land against live inventory and the 856 is built from the pallets and cartons your warehouse scanned on the floor, with the GS1-128 label and the ASN coming from one record. The 864 rejection and the 812 chargeback come back into the same records rather than into a separate mailbox. Ace Hardware is one of 350+ retailer connections, and there are no per document, per transaction or kilocharacter fees on our side. See the full retailer list.
Last reviewed 1 September 2026 by the AIMS360 EDI team. Every Ace Hardware requirement, threshold, formula and assessment amount on this page is as published in Ace Hardware Corporation's own Policy and Procedures manual on its vendor site, revision date 12 June 2025, and in Ace's own supplier onboarding material for its drop ship program. Ace treats vendor portal postings as part of that manual and states they supersede it where the two conflict, and Ace reserves the right to change policies and assessment amounts at any time, so confirm anything commercially significant against the current documents issued to your own account and against your Ace merchant. Ace Hardware, AceNet, the Ace control label brands and all other names referenced are trademarks of their respective owners, and AIMS360 is not affiliated with or endorsed by Ace Hardware Corporation.
See AIMS360 take an Ace purchase order through acknowledgment, pallet label, ASN and invoice from one record, in a 30 minute demo using your own order.
