AIMS360 is the apparel ERP with built-in EDI 856 ASN software — generating retailer-compliant Advance Ship Notices for Nordstrom, Macy's, Walmart, Saks, Target, Costco, and 300+ retailers. Bulk and dropship. Chargeback-prevention by design. No middleware. No per-transaction, kilocharacter, or VAN fees.
The EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice is the single most chargeback-sensitive document in apparel EDI. AIMS360 generates it from the same pick/pack/label workflow that produces your UCC-128 cartons and your EDI 810 invoice — so the data is always consistent and chargebacks drop at the source.
EDI 856 ASN, EDI 850, EDI 855, EDI 810, UCC-128 labels, and 3PL routing all run inside AIMS360 — alongside your styles (PIM), inventory (WMS), production (PLM), and accounting. No separate EDI software, no per-transaction or kilocharacter fees.
Walmart wants SOTPI for pallets. Macy's wants SOPI for bulk. Nordstrom Direct wants SOI for dropship. AIMS360 builds the correct hierarchical structure per retailer specification automatically — same pick/pack data, the right 856 format for every trading partner.
Walmart OTIF, Target's Vendor Income Program, Macy's compliance — every retailer enforces ASN-before-arrival timing, and missing the window means a chargeback. AIMS360 transmits the EDI 856 the moment shipment is confirmed, so the ASN always beats the truck.
From picked-and-packed shipment to retailer-confirmed ASN, every transaction flows through one apparel ERP — no rekeying, no reconciliation, no chargebacks from data mismatches between the ASN and the physical shipment.
The retailer's purchase order is in AIMS360 from the inbound EDI 850 — every line allocated against inventory, every UPC mapped to your styles. See EDI 850 →
Your warehouse picks the order against the AIMS360 WMS pick ticket. Each carton is built and confirmed against the retailer's pack rules — case packs, pre-packs, ratio packs, or eaches.
AIMS360 generates a unique SSCC-18 number for every carton and prints retailer-compliant UCC-128 carton labels — Walmart, Target, Macy's, and Nordstrom all use different label formats, applied automatically. UCC-128 labeling →
AIMS360 builds the correct EDI 856 HL loop hierarchy for each retailer — SOPI for Macy's bulk, SOTPI for Walmart pallets, SOI for Nordstrom Direct dropship — using the same pick/pack data, no manual structure setup.
AIMS360 captures the carrier (TD5), BOL number, tracking number, ship date (DTM), and ship-to/ship-from (N1 loops) — populated automatically from the WMS shipment record. VICS BOL →
The ASN is validated against the retailer's specification — required segments, qualifier codes, hierarchical level codes — and transmitted via VAN, AS2, or through SPS Commerce, DiCentral, OpenText, or CommerceHub. Retailer SLA timing met automatically.
The retailer's EDI 997 functional acknowledgment confirms the ASN was received and parsed cleanly. AIMS360 then triggers the EDI 810 invoice from the same source data so all three documents always reconcile. EDI 810 →
All five documents flow through AIMS360 — plus EDI 832, 846, 860, 864, 870, 997.
You never need to write X12 segments, build hierarchical loops, or learn EDI specifications. When your warehouse confirms a shipment in AIMS360, the AI EDI engine builds the entire EDI 856 ASN — every segment, every SSCC number, every retailer-specific qualifier — and transmits it before the truck pulls away from the dock.
Your warehouse picks the order, packs the cartons, scans the pick ticket complete in the AIMS360 WMS. That's it — no EDI knowledge, no segment building, no hierarchical structure decisions.
For EDI specialists or IT teams: this is a simplified ANSI X12 4010 EDI 856 with the SOPI hierarchical structure (Shipment → Order → Pack → Item) for a 12-carton apparel shipment. AIMS360 generates every segment automatically — ISA, GS, ST, BSN, HL loops, MAN (UCC-128 marks), TD5, REF, N1 loops, LIN, SN1. Your team never has to build this.
The EDI 856 ASN is the #1 source of retailer chargebacks in apparel. AIMS360 EDI is a managed service — our apparel-industry implementation team configures every retailer's hierarchical structure, UCC-128 specs, ASN timing, and carrier formatting; trains your warehouse and operations staff; and writes a custom standard operating procedure (SOP) for your business. ASN compliance is owned by us, not handed to you.
Walmart SOTPI, Target SOPI, Nordstrom Direct SOI, Macy's bulk SOPI — every retailer's EDI 856 spec mapped, tested, and certified by our EDI team during implementation.
Hands-on training so your warehouse team knows how to pick, pack, label, confirm, and ship — with the EDI 856 generating itself in the background. No EDI background required.
A documented standard operating procedure for your EDI 856 workflow — bulk and dropship, every retailer — so your team follows the same playbook every time.
Late ASN, wrong hierarchy, missing SSCC, mismatched BOL — these chargeback triggers are owned by our EDI service team. Chargeback management →
When November hits and EDI 856 ASNs need to fire from your warehouse to 50+ retailers concurrently — Walmart, Target, Nordstrom, Macy's, Saks, Bloomingdale's, Anthropologie, QVC, Stitch Fix, Costco, Amazon — AIMS360 generates and transmits every ASN in parallel, hits every retailer SLA, and keeps Walmart OTIF compliance intact when the rest of your ops team is at their breaking point.
The EDI 856 X12 specification covers segments, hierarchical level codes, and qualifier values that vary by retailer. Below are the references most apparel brands ask about. AIMS360 supports the full EDI 856 specification (X12 4010 and 5010), and the implementation guide for each retailer is delivered as part of every onboarding — no separate spec PDF to interpret yourself.
HL03 codes that define the hierarchical structure of the ASN. Different retailers require different combinations.
The segments AIMS360 builds automatically for every retailer-compliant ASN.
SCAC codes most used by apparel brands shipping to major retailers.
How the EDI 856 ASN fits into the apparel EDI document family — all handled inside AIMS360.
AIMS360 sends EDI 856 ASNs to Walmart (with OTIF compliance), Nordstrom, Macy's, Saks, Target, Costco, and the full retailer landscape — bulk and dropship — with retailer-specific HL hierarchies, UCC-128 SSCC formats, and ASN timing applied automatically. See the complete retailer integration list →
The EDI 856 ASN is the leading cause of retailer chargebacks. Because AIMS360 generates the ASN, UCC-128 labels, and EDI 810 invoice from one source, the data is always consistent and chargebacks drop at the source.
Every SSCC-18 number in your EDI 856 ASN matches a UCC-128 label printed from the same AIMS360 record — Walmart, Target, Macy's, Nordstrom formats supported.
Generate VICS Bills of Lading from the same shipment data that builds the 856 — required by Walmart, Target, and most major retailers for inbound freight reconciliation.
The most common questions apparel brands ask about the EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice, X12 specifications, hierarchical pack structures, and how AIMS360 prevents the ASN-driven chargebacks that hit fashion businesses hardest.
EDI 856 is the ANSI X12 transaction set for the Advance Ship Notice (ASN), also called Ship Notice/Manifest. The supplier sends the EDI 856 to the retailer before shipment arrives, detailing exactly what is being shipped, how it is packed, the carrier and tracking, and which carton contains which items down to the SKU. For apparel brands shipping to Nordstrom, Macy's, Walmart, Target, Saks, and 300+ other retailers, the EDI 856 ASN is the single most chargeback-sensitive document in the entire EDI workflow.
An EDI 856 ASN (Advance Ship Notice) is the electronic shipping notification a supplier sends to a retailer before goods physically arrive at the retailer's distribution center. It contains the original PO reference, ship date, carrier, BOL number, tracking number, full hierarchical pack structure (shipment to order to pack to item), UCC-128 carton SSCC numbers, and quantity by SKU per carton. Inside AIMS360 apparel ERP, the EDI 856 is generated automatically from the picked and packed shipment — eliminating the manual data entry that drives most retailer chargebacks.
The supplier (the apparel brand, manufacturer, or its 3PL on its behalf) sends the EDI 856 ASN to the retailer (the buyer). The 856 must be transmitted before the physical shipment arrives at the retailer's distribution center — most retailers require it within a specific SLA window after the truck departs. AIMS360 generates and transmits the EDI 856 automatically the moment shipment is confirmed in the apparel ERP, hitting retailer SLAs without manual effort.
An EDI 856 works in five steps: (1) the retailer sends an EDI 850 purchase order, (2) the supplier picks and packs the order, (3) the supplier generates UCC-128 carton labels with unique SSCC numbers, (4) the supplier transmits the EDI 856 ASN to the retailer detailing every carton's contents, BOL, and tracking, (5) the retailer's WMS uses the 856 to receive the shipment by scanning UCC-128 labels rather than manually counting. AIMS360 automates all five steps inside one apparel ERP — pick, pack, label, ASN, and transmission — so the data is always consistent and chargeback risk drops dramatically.
The EDI 856 hierarchical pack structure (the HL loop) describes how the shipment is physically organized. Common levels are Shipment (S) → Order (O) → Pack/Tare (T) → Pack (P) → Item (I). Different retailers require different pack structures — Walmart often requires SOPI (Shipment-Order-Pack-Item) for case-pack orders or SOTPI when pallets are involved, while Macy's, Saks, and Bloomingdale's typically use SOPI for bulk and SOI for dropship. AIMS360 builds the correct hierarchical structure per retailer specification automatically, so the same shipment can produce the right 856 format for every trading partner.
There is no difference — they are the same document. EDI 856 is the ANSI X12 transaction set number, and ASN (Advance Ship Notice) is the business name for what that document does. Some retailers and software vendors call it "the 856," some call it "the ASN," and some call it "Ship Notice/Manifest" — the X12 standard names. AIMS360 supports all retailer naming conventions and processes the document the same way regardless of what it is called.
Core EDI 856 segments include: ISA/GS/ST (envelopes), BSN (beginning segment with shipment ID and date), HL (hierarchical level loops that nest shipment, order, pack, and item), TD1/TD3/TD5 (carrier and transportation details), REF (PO numbers, BOL, vendor codes), DTM (ship date, delivery date), N1 loops (ship-to, ship-from, carrier), MAN (UCC-128 SSCC marks), LIN/SN1 (line items and shipped quantities), PID (product description), CTT/SE/GE/IEA (trailers). AIMS360 builds every required segment automatically based on the retailer's specification.
Freight costs in the EDI 856 are carried in the SAC segment (Service, Promotion, Allowance, or Charge) at the shipment level — typically with charge code D240 for freight. Total weight and freight class are carried in the TD1 segment. Some retailers also use the AT segment for additional transportation charges. Most apparel retailers use prepaid freight terms (FOB origin or destination) and don't require freight in the 856 — AIMS360 applies the correct freight handling per retailer setup during EDI implementation.
A lot number in EDI 856 identifies a specific production batch and is carried in the LIN segment (qualifier LT for lot/batch number) or in a REF segment with qualifier LO. Most apparel retailers don't require lot numbers — they're more common in food, pharma, and beauty. When a retailer does require it, AIMS360 captures lot numbers at the WMS level during pick/pack and includes them automatically in the EDI 856 to that retailer.
The ASN number (BSN02 in the EDI 856) is the supplier's unique identifier for that shipment — typically a sequential number generated by the supplier's ERP or WMS at the moment the shipment is created. AIMS360 generates the ASN number automatically and uses it as the unique key linking the EDI 856 to the original EDI 850 PO and the eventual EDI 810 invoice — so the retailer can reconcile all three documents to the same shipment.
The EDI 856 ASN is the #1 source of retailer chargebacks in apparel. Common ASN-driven chargebacks include: ASN sent late (after the goods arrive), ASN data doesn't match physical shipment (wrong carton count, wrong UPC, wrong quantity), missing or incorrect UCC-128 SSCC numbers, missing BOL or carrier info, incorrect hierarchical structure for the retailer's spec, and ASN sent for a different PO than what shipped. Because AIMS360 generates the EDI 856 from the same WMS pick/pack data that produces the UCC-128 labels and the EDI 810 invoice, the data is always consistent — eliminating the most common chargeback triggers at the source. See EDI Chargeback Management for the full prevention workflow.
Walmart's EDI 856 specification follows ANSI X12 with Walmart-specific requirements — typically the SOTPI hierarchy (Shipment-Order-Tare-Pack-Item) for pallet shipments or SOPI for floor-loaded, mandatory UCC-128 SSCC marks at every pack level, specific carrier qualifiers in TD5, and a strict ASN-before-arrival SLA enforced by Walmart's OTIF (On Time In Full) program. AIMS360 supports Walmart EDI 856 specs out of the box for both Walmart Stores and Walmart Marketplace, with OTIF compliance built into the workflow.
Yes. AIMS360 generates EDI 856 ASNs for both bulk wholesale shipments and individual dropship shipments. Dropship 856s typically use a simpler SOI (Shipment-Order-Item) hierarchy since each shipment is one consumer order with one or two items, while bulk shipments use SOPI or SOTPI. Brands selling on Nordstrom Direct, Saks Direct, Bloomingdale's Dropship, Anthropologie, QVC, Stitch Fix, Macy's Vendor Direct, and Amazon all run dropship 856s through the same AIMS360 workflow.
EDI 850 and EDI 856 are paired documents that move in opposite directions. EDI 850 is the inbound purchase order from retailer to supplier, asking the supplier to ship specified items. EDI 856 is the outbound Advance Ship Notice from supplier to retailer, confirming what was actually shipped, how it was packed, when it left, and how to identify each carton. The 850 starts the order; the 856 closes the shipping loop. AIMS360 processes the full EDI 850 → 855 → 856 → 810 → 820 sequence inside one apparel ERP.
Yes. AIMS360 is built for peak-season EDI 856 ASN volume — when November and December bring concurrent dropship surges from Nordstrom, Macy's, Saks, Bloomingdale's, Anthropologie, QVC, Stitch Fix, and Amazon, the apparel ERP generates and transmits ASNs in parallel rather than serially. Capacity supports 1.25M+ EDI 856 ASNs per day per client/retailer with retailer-specific SLA timing applied automatically. UCC-128 carton labels print directly from the same workflow so the SSCC numbers in the ASN always match the labels on the boxes.
When picking is confirmed in AIMS360's WMS, the apparel ERP automatically: builds the correct hierarchical structure for that retailer (SOPI, SOTPI, SOI, etc.), generates UCC-128 SSCC numbers and carton labels, populates the EDI 856 with PO references, ship-to data, carrier and BOL info, and per-carton item details, validates the file against the retailer's specification, and transmits the EDI 856 over VAN, AS2, or directly through SPS Commerce, DiCentral, OpenText, or CommerceHub. The supplier never builds the 856 by hand.
AIMS360 EDI is a managed service. The AIMS360 implementation team handles every retailer EDI 856 mapping during onboarding — including hierarchical structure setup (SOPI, SOTPI, SOI), UCC-128 SSCC configuration, ASN timing, carrier and BOL formatting — trains your staff, and writes a custom standard operating procedure (SOP) for your business covering both bulk and dropship workflows. Because ASN compliance is the #1 chargeback driver and is owned by our EDI team, the most common chargeback causes are prevented at the source rather than left for your team to manage.
No. AIMS360's AI EDI engine builds every EDI 856 ASN automatically from your pick/pack data inside the apparel ERP — your team confirms the shipment and the EDI is generated, validated, and transmitted in the background. The implementation team sets up retailer mapping, hierarchical structure, UCC-128 configuration, and ASN timing during onboarding, so brands without any EDI background can run Nordstrom, Macy's, Walmart, Saks, and Target EDI 856s on day one.
AIMS360 sends EDI 856 ASNs to over 300 retailers including Nordstrom, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Walmart, Target, Costco, Kohl's, JCPenney, Dillard's, Neiman Marcus, Burlington, TJX, Ross, Big 5 Sporting Goods, REI, QVC, Stein Mart, Sportsman's Warehouse, SSENSE, Stitch Fix, Anthropologie, Amazon Dropship, and Amazon FBA. See the full EDI Retailers integration list for every supported partner and their specific 856 hierarchical structure.
See how AIMS360 generates EDI 856 ASNs for Nordstrom, Macy's, Walmart, Saks, Target, Costco, and 300+ retailers — bulk and dropship — without middleware or per-transaction, kilocharacter, or VAN fees. ASN-driven chargebacks prevented by design.
