Sephora runs on the ANSI ASC X12 EDI standard. The core set commonly includes 850 (purchase order), 855 (acknowledgment), 856 (advance ship notice), 810 (invoice) and 997 (functional acknowledgment), with 852 (product activity) and 846 (inventory) often added. Sephora can change its specs without notice, so a managed setup that keeps mappings current is the reliable way to avoid ASN chargebacks. AIMS360 generates the full flow automatically.

Request Sephora's EDI Vendor Guidelines from vendor or brand relations, set up the required document flow, carton labeling and ASN timing to their spec, then test in Sephora's certification environment before going live. On AIMS360, POs land in the OMS, ASNs and invoices generate to Sephora's format, and GS1-128 labels print with lot and expiration encoded, so the mapping and testing is handled for you.

Sephora lists SPS Commerce and TrueCommerce among its approved managed EDI providers. AIMS360 is the ERP and operations backbone underneath: it captures the Sephora PO, generates the 855, 856, 810 and 997, produces GS1-128 labels with lot and expiration, and tracks chargebacks. AIMS360 connects to Sephora through managed EDI and works alongside or in place of a standalone network depending on how your account is set up.

Yes. AIMS360 includes a fully managed EDI integration with Sephora. POs flow into the OMS, allocation runs against one inventory pool, ASNs generate to Sephora's exact spec, GS1-128 carton labels print with lot and expiration encoded, and invoices submit on Sephora's window. Chargebacks are tracked at the document level so disputes have evidence. Sephora is one of 350 plus retailer EDI connections AIMS360 supports.

A chargeback is a deduction from your payment when a shipment misses a compliance rule: a late or inaccurate ASN, a wrong carton label, a missing sample. Sephora manages compliance deductions through its Capture Compliance Portal and invoice deductions through the MAP Chargeback Portal. Industry sources put these at roughly 500 to 5,000 dollars per occurrence. AIMS360 reduces them by generating accurate ASNs and GS1-128 labels automatically and tracking each deduction with the evidence to dispute it.

Once you have the EDI Vendor Guidelines, configuration and certification testing typically run from several business days to a few weeks depending on document scope and your fulfillment setup. On AIMS360 the retailer spec is pre-configured, so most of that time goes to testing rather than building maps from scratch.

The 856 is the advance ship notice. It tells Sephora exactly what is shipping before it arrives: carton contents, SSCC labels, weights and carrier detail. Sephora's distribution centers use it to receive fast, so an inaccurate or late ASN is one of the most common chargeback triggers. AIMS360 generates the 856 automatically at ship, with box-level detail and GS1-128 SSCC labels.

Yes. Cosmetics carry batch, lot and expiration, and Sephora expects lot-level visibility and correct labeling for compliance and recall readiness, alongside MoCRA obligations for cosmetics. AIMS360 captures lot and expiration on every SKU, allocates first expired first out by default, and traces every lot from receiving to the exact order it shipped on.

Wholesale is business to business: Sephora buys in bulk with an 850 PO and sells in stores or online, and you ship to their distribution centers. Dropship routes online orders to you or your 3PL to fulfill directly to the shopper, still over EDI. AIMS360 supports both against the same inventory pool, so wholesale commitments and dropship orders do not collide.

Standalone EDI through a value-added network usually runs a monthly platform fee plus per-document charges and a setup fee per retailer, and full-service management costs more. With AIMS360, managed Sephora EDI is part of the platform rather than a separate vendor contract, so the cost sits inside your ERP instead of stacking a shadow EDI service on top of your other tools.