The EDI 944 is the warehouse's receipt advice: what it counted in against your 943, short and damaged included. AIMS360 imports it from any 3PL on the standard receipt template and posts the units to stock against the PO or RMA.
The 944 warehouse stock transfer receipt advice is the warehouse's answer to your 943: the goods arrived, here is what we counted, and here is what was short or damaged. It is the message that turns an open purchase order into stock. AIMS360 takes it from any 3PL as a file on the standard receipt template, imports it against the purchase order or return authorization, and the received units become sellable inventory in the right warehouse. No EDI trading partner setup, no per document fee.
The EDI 944 is the transaction set a warehouse or 3PL sends to a brand after it has received an inbound shipment. It references the shipment or purchase order that was announced on the 943, then reports what was counted in, line by line, with the quantities received, damaged or refused, the date, and the receipt number the warehouse assigned. It is the document that closes an inbound shipment the way the 945 closes an outbound one.
The 944 is where a purchase order stops being a plan. Until it arrives, the units on the PO are on order, in transit or expected; when it posts, they are stock, in a specific warehouse, available to allocate. Every difference between what the factory said it shipped and what the warehouse counted lands here as a number against a line, which is the only place that difference is useful. Found later, in a physical count, it is shrinkage with no story attached.
For a consumer brands ERP running a 3PL, the 944 is also the quiet workhorse of cost accounting. Received quantities drive landed cost, vendor invoices are matched to what arrived rather than what was ordered, and short shipments become a conversation with the factory while the container is still fresh.
A simplified receipt advice for the 943 example: 420 units announced, 418 received, 2 damaged.
ST*944*0001 / W17*F*20260912*RCV55901*PO88012 / N1*WH*Bergen Logistics NJ / N1*SF*Factory Ltd*92*FAC01 / N1*DE*Your Brand*92*BRAND1 / N9*PO*PO88012 / N9*BM*MAEU3392011 / LX*1 / W07*240*EA**UP*012345678905 / G69*Cropped tee, black, M / LX*2 / W07*178*EA**UP*012345678912 / G69*Cropped tee, black, L / W14*418*2*0 / SE*14*0001| ST | Opens the transaction set and names it as a 944. |
| W17 | Warehouse receipt identification. The reporting code (F full receipt, P partial), the date received, the warehouse's receipt number, and your purchase order or shipment identifier, which is how the receipt is matched back to the 943 and the PO. |
| N1 | Party loops. WH is the receiving warehouse, SF is the ship from (factory, vendor, or the customer on a return), DE is the depositor, meaning you. |
| N9 | References. The PO number, the return authorization, the bill of lading or container number, and any reference the warehouse wants quoted on an invoice. |
| LX / W07 | One LX per line. W07 carries the quantity received, the unit of measure and the item identifier, usually the UPC with a UP qualifier. Lot numbers and expiry dates ride here where the product uses them. |
| G69 | Item description for the person reconciling the receipt to the invoice. |
| W14 | Totals. Units received, units damaged and units refused across the receipt, which is the control check against the 943. |
| SE | Closes the transaction set with a segment count. |
In the example the warehouse received the container announced on the 943, found two units of the large damaged, and reported 418 good units against 420 expected. AIMS360 posts 418 to stock, leaves the PO short by two, and the damaged pair can go to a ghost location so they stay visible without being sellable. When the same message arrives as CSV on the AIMS360 receipt template, the columns map to these fields one for one.
The 943 is the expectation and the 944 is the result. You send the 943 before the goods land so the warehouse knows what is coming. The warehouse sends the 944 after putaway so you know what arrived. Neither one is much use without the other: a 943 with no 944 leaves a PO open forever, and a 944 with no 943 is a receipt the warehouse had to key by hand against a packing list.
| Document | From | To | What it says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 943 | You | Warehouse | This PO or return is coming, here is what is on it |
| 944 | Warehouse | You | It arrived, here is what we counted, short and damaged included |
| 947 | Warehouse | You | We adjusted stock after the fact: a cycle count, a damage, a found carton. See the 947 |
| 856 | You | Retailer | The outbound advance ship notice, unrelated to receiving. See the 856 |
The receipt file is imported through Import and Scan Receipts against the open vendor purchase order, and since version 24.10.07.00 against an open return authorization too. The same template carries both, and one file can hold receipts for several POs and RMAs.
Once the receipt posts, the units are inventory in the warehouse you selected, by style, color and size, and available to every channel that draws from the master stock record. The PO shows received against ordered, and the PO Receipts Log reports the difference.
Each line needs either a UPC, or the style, color, size index and size. The warehouse does not have to send both. Bin locations are on the template for warehouses that track them.
CSV on the AIMS360 standard receipt template, picked up from the warehouse's FTP, from OneDrive or Dropbox, or from a file location. A file that fails validation is kept and reported rather than dropped, so a bad column is corrected and rerun.
Where the 3PL runs an API connection for orders and shipments, such as Bergen Logistics, receipts still arrive as a file. That is not a gap. Receiving is planned days ahead, one file covers a whole container, and a correction is a replaced file rather than a race, which is why even API connected warehouses take the inbound side as CSV.
No. The warehouse drops a CSV on the AIMS360 receipt template on an FTP, OneDrive or Dropbox, and AIMS360 imports it. The warehouse is never set up as an EDI trading partner, there is no VAN in the path, no 997, and no per document charge. AIMS360 charges no per document or per kilocharacter fees of its own. The formats, transports and the cost comparison with a conventional EDI setup are laid out on the EDI 940 page and apply to the 944 identically.
It posts against open purchase orders and return authorizations only. Cut tickets and garment dye jobs are received through the production path, not the 944.
It needs an identifier AIMS360 recognizes. A UPC, or the style, color, size index and size. A receipt line for a product that does not exist in AIMS360 will not post until the style is created.
It does not fix the vendor's invoice. The 944 tells you what arrived. Matching that to what the factory billed is a step in accounts payable, and the PO Receipts Log is the report that makes it a five minute job rather than a dispute.
Damages are only useful if they are recorded as damages. A warehouse that quietly receives 418 as 420 has sent a clean 944 and left you with a phantom pair. Ask the warehouse to report damaged and refused units on the receipt, and route them to a ghost location in AIMS360.
It reports what a warehouse or 3PL received on an inbound shipment, line by line, with the quantities counted, damaged or refused. In AIMS360 the 944 is imported against the purchase order or return authorization, the received units become stock in that warehouse, and the difference between expected and received is visible on the PO. It answers the 943 the way the 945 answers the 940.
Direction and timing. The 943 goes from you to the warehouse before the goods arrive and says what to expect. The 944 comes from the warehouse to you after putaway and says what was counted. Together they close an inbound shipment. The Bergen Logistics page shows a live pair.
No. The warehouse produces a CSV on the AIMS360 standard receipt template and drops it on an FTP, OneDrive or Dropbox. AIMS360 imports it through Import and Scan Receipts. There is no EDI trading partner setup, no VAN, no 997 and no per document fee. The full explanation of how warehouse documents travel without EDI is on the EDI 940 page.
Yes. Since AIMS360 version 24.10.07.00 the same receipt template posts against an open return authorization as well as a vendor purchase order, and one file can carry both. The warehouse receives the customer's carton against the RMA, and the units post back to the return line. Returns processing on each partner varies and is stated on the partner pages.
The purchase order or RMA number, and for each line either the UPC or the style, color, size index and size, plus the quantity received. Bin location is on the template for warehouses that use it. The AIMS360 implementation team hands the warehouse the template and tests it before go live, the same way it does for the 945.
The receipt posts the quantity counted, the PO stays open for the balance, and the PO Receipts Log shows the short. You then decide whether the balance is still coming, should be cancelled, or should be charged back to the vendor. Damaged units reported on the 944 can go to a ghost location under Multi Warehouse so they stay visible without being sellable.
Yes. AIMS360 holds one master stock record that every channel draws from, so units received on a 944 are available to wholesale, EDI retailers, marketplaces and Shopify on the next inventory publish. That is also why the receipt has to land in the right warehouse: availability is calculated per location. See Multi Warehouse.
Last reviewed 5 September 2026 by the AIMS360 integrations team. Segment detail reflects the ANSI ASC X12 944 transaction set and is simplified for reading. AIMS360 mechanics are taken from the AIMS360 support documentation for the 944 vendor purchase order and RMA receiving process. Warehouse capabilities vary by partner and are stated on each partner page.
Bring an open purchase order. We will show the 943 go out, the receipt come back on the template, and the units post against the PO in the right warehouse.
