Native Blain's Farm & Fleet EDI inside AIMS360: 850 orders from Blain Supply in by UPC, the 856 ASN built from the packed shipment, the 810 from the same pick tickets, and GS1-128 carton labels.
Blain's Farm & Fleet EDI Integration
AIMS360 is a consumer brands ERP with Blain's Farm & Fleet EDI built in. One platform runs your inventory and produces the documents Blain Supply trades: 850 orders in, GS1-128 carton labels, 856 ASNs built from the packed shipment, and 810 invoices from the same pick tickets. The connection is managed by our EDI team.
What system manages inventory and does EDI with Blain's Farm & Fleet? AIMS360. It runs your inventory and your Blain's EDI in one platform: the 850 from Blain Supply imported as a sales order against your UPCs, GS1-128 labels printed from the packed shipment, the 856 built from that same shipment with the SSCC of every carton, the bill of lading and the carrier's PRO number, and the 810 invoiced from the same pick tickets so its quantities match the ASN. Our own EDI team builds the maps and runs the connection, so there is no separate EDI provider in the middle.
Blain's EDI Documents
Blain's published EDI guides cover the order, the ship notice and the invoice, all on X12 version 4010.
| Transaction | What it does for Blain's Farm & Fleet |
|---|---|
| EDI 850 purchase order | Blain Supply sends the purchase order. AIMS360 imports it as a sales order validated against your catalog at the UPC level, with the ship-to that came on the PO. |
| EDI 997 acknowledgment | A 997 goes back for each 850, and one comes back for each ASN and invoice you send. Our EDI team sets the 997 up and proves it in testing. On AIMS360's own EDI we also check every hour for outbound documents with no 997 back, and contact you and the trading partner when one is missing. |
| EDI 856 ship notice (ASN) | Blain's guide structures the ASN at shipment, order, pack and item level, with the bill of lading number, the carrier's PRO reference, the routing and your vendor item number on each line. AIMS360 builds it from the packed shipment with the SSCC of every carton. |
| EDI 810 invoice | AIMS360 invoices from the same packed pick tickets the ASN is built from, so the quantities on the invoice match what shipped. |
| GS1-128 carton label | A pack level ASN identifies every carton, so each one carries a GS1-128 label with the SSCC that appears on the ASN. AIMS360 prints it from the label template on the Blain's account. The label layout comes from Blain's vendor documents. |
Vendor Requirements
Blain's keeps most of its vendor rules between its buyers and its vendors. What is public is the shape of its EDI: open implementation guides for the 850, the 856 and the 810, built from Blain's own documentation and dated 2024. The rows below come from those guides and from Blain's company information. Everything operational, from routing to chargebacks, comes from your buyer.
| Requirement | What Blain's expects, as far as it is public |
|---|---|
| Trading partner | Blain Supply, Inc., Janesville, Wisconsin. It provides merchandising and distribution for the Blain's Farm & Fleet stores, and it is the name most EDI directories list. |
| EDI standard | X12 version 4010. The published guides cover the 850 purchase order, the 856 ship notice and the 810 invoice. |
| ASN structure | Shipment, order, pack and item levels, with the bill of lading number, the carrier's PRO reference, the routing and the vendor item number on each line. |
| Other documents | Some EDI providers list an 846 inventory feed and 852 sales data for Blain Supply. Blain's guides cover three documents, so ask your buyer whether your account uses more. |
| Ship-to | Blain's runs one distribution center, in Janesville, Wisconsin. Use the ship-to on the PO. |
| Routing and vendor terms | Not published. They come from your buyer at Blain Supply. |
| Chargebacks | Blain's publishes no fee schedule. Whatever applies to you is in the vendor terms your buyer sent. |
| Drop ship | We found no public vendor drop ship program. Blain's sells online with drive-thru pickup at its stores. |
Sources: open EDI implementation guides for Blain's Farm & Fleet covering the X12 4010 850, 856 and 810, built from Blain's public documentation and dated May and September 2024; EDI provider trading partner listings for Blain Supply; Blain's public company information and the Forward Janesville business listing for Blain Supply, read October 2026. We found no public vendor manual or fee schedule, and requirements change without notice, so confirm each rule with your Blain's buyer.
Blain's EDI Workflow
One loop, one system, and no retyping between the warehouse and the documents.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Order arrives | The 850 from Blain Supply becomes a sales order validated at the UPC level. |
| 2. Acknowledge | The 997 goes back. Our EDI team sets it up and proves it in testing. |
| 3. Allocate | Stock is allocated to the order before it is released to the warehouse. |
| 4. Pick and pack | Your team packs the order and AIMS360 prints a GS1-128 label for every carton. |
| 5. ASN | The 856 is built from the packed shipment with the SSCC of every carton, the bill of lading and the carrier's PRO number. |
| 6. Invoice | The 810 is built from the same packed pick tickets, so its quantities match the ASN. |
| 7. Payment | Payment is applied to the open invoice, and any deduction is tracked against the shipment record. |
Native vs Bolted On
Nothing public says Blain's requires a particular EDI network. What matters is that the ASN and the invoice describe the same cartons.
The order, the cartons, the labels, the ASN and the invoice are linked in one system, so the ASN describes the cartons that left and the invoice matches it.
Our EDI team builds the Blain's maps and tests them with Blain Supply. On AIMS360's own EDI it also checks every hour for documents that were not acknowledged.
With web-form EDI in front of an ERP that has no native EDI, someone rekeys each shipment into a portal: the cartons, the SSCCs, the bill of lading and the PRO.
Then the invoice is typed again from another system, and the two only match if nobody slipped.
Blain's Programs
Two names for one family business, and one name that belongs to someone else.
About 45 stores in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan, selling workwear and footwear next to tires, pet, lawn and garden, sporting goods and housewares. The business has been family owned since Claude and Bert Blain opened the first store in Janesville in 1955. Jane Blain Gilbertson is President and CEO.
Blain Supply, Inc. is the company that buys and distributes for the stores, from one distribution center in Janesville, Wisconsin. It is the trading partner on your EDI setup and the name on most EDI directories.
Blain's sells online and offers drive-thru pickup at its stores. We found no public vendor drop ship program. If your buyer raises one, send us the document and we will build to it.
Fleet Farm is a separate company with its own EDI program. Both started in Wisconsin in 1955, founded by families who were friends and agreed to use similar names. If your purchase order says Fleet Farm, it is a different trading partner.
One Stock Record
A farm and fleet buyer shops across categories. AIMS360 is built for consumer brands that do the same, so apparel, footwear, pet, outdoor and home products sit in one catalog and one warehouse.
| Situation | What AIMS360 does |
|---|---|
| Sized goods | Workwear and footwear are kept by style, color and size, so an 850 line lands on the exact size it ordered. |
| Everything else | Pet, outdoor and home items sit in the same catalog and the same warehouse as sized goods. See AIMS360 for pet products and outdoor and sporting goods. |
| Case packs | In AIMS360 a case pack is its own style holding inventory, and a prepack is a selling ratio of sizes. See case packs and prepacks. |
| Allocation | With Intelligent Allocation, stock can be allocated to open orders down to the size level before release. |
| A 3PL holding stock | Integrated 3PL locations feed the same record, so the ASN describes cartons that were packed. |
| Selling the rest of farm and ranch | The same pool feeds Blain's, Tractor Supply, Rural King, Boot Barn and Scheels without a separate inventory file per retailer. Each is its own trading partner with its own rules. |
Managed Onboarding
Our EDI team builds the connection and tests it with Blain Supply. You supply your vendor number, the buyer's EDI request and whatever vendor terms came with it.
| Stage | What we do |
|---|---|
| Kickoff | Read Blain's current EDI guides and your vendor terms with you. |
| Setup | Build the Blain Supply trading partner and customer account, the ship-to, the carriers and the GS1-128 label template. |
| Testing | Test the 850, the 997, the 856 and the 810 end to end with Blain Supply. |
| Go live | Watch the first PO through packing, the ASN and the invoice, then read the first payment with you. |
| After | Maintain the maps. When Blain's revises a guide, the change is ours to make. |
We keep emergency EDI support running around the clock for the day an ASN is rejected with a truck at the dock.
Blain's EDI FAQ
The documents, Blain Supply, Fleet Farm, the ASN, chargebacks and drop ship.
AIMS360. It is a consumer brands ERP with Blain's Farm & Fleet EDI built in: the 850 from Blain Supply imported as a sales order by UPC, the 856 built from the packed shipment, the 810 from the same pick tickets, and GS1-128 carton labels. Our own EDI team builds the maps and runs the connection.
Blain's published EDI guides cover three documents on X12 version 4010: the 850 purchase order, the 856 ship notice and the 810 invoice, with 997 acknowledgments. Some EDI providers also list an 846 inventory feed and 852 sales data for Blain Supply, so ask your buyer whether your account uses more than the three.
They are the same family business. Blain Supply, Inc. in Janesville, Wisconsin provides merchandising and distribution for the Blain's Farm & Fleet stores, and it is the name most EDI directories list as the trading partner. Your purchase orders come from Blain Supply for goods sold in Blain's Farm & Fleet stores.
No. They are separate companies with separate EDI programs. Both started in Wisconsin in 1955, founded by families who were friends and agreed to use similar names. If your purchase order says Fleet Farm, it is a different trading partner with its own rules. See all EDI retailers.
Blain's 856 guide is structured at shipment, order, pack and item level, with the bill of lading number, the carrier's PRO reference, the routing and your vendor item number on each line. AIMS360 builds it from the packed shipment with the SSCC of every carton. More on the EDI 856.
Nothing public says Blain's requires a particular EDI network. AIMS360 has EDI built into the ERP and our own EDI team runs the Blain's connection, so the order, the cartons, the ASN and the invoice come from one system and nothing is retyped into a portal.
Blain's publishes no fee schedule. Whatever applies to you is in the vendor terms your buyer sent. AIMS360 keeps the order, the cartons, the ASN and the invoice linked, so if a deduction shows up the evidence is already in one place. See chargeback management.
We found no public vendor drop ship program. Blain's sells online with drive-thru pickup at its stores. If your buyer raises drop ship, send us the document and we will build to it.
About 45 stores in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan, with one distribution center in Janesville, Wisconsin. The company has been family owned since Claude and Bert Blain founded it in 1955, and Jane Blain Gilbertson is President and CEO.
We do. The maps belong to us, so a revised guide is our work rather than a project for your team. Blain's revised its EDI guides in 2024, and we check the current version with you before go-live.
See AIMS360 take in a Blain Supply 850, pack the order, and build the ASN and the invoice from the shipment you just closed, all from one record.
