EDI Retailer Integrations · Updated September 2026
Every retailer AIMS360 trades EDI with, and no middleware in between
Nordstrom, Macy's, Walmart, Costco, Dillard's, Kohl's, TJ Maxx, Belk, Bloomingdale's, Dick's, Academy, Sephora, Ulta, Chewy, PetSmart, Home Depot, Williams-Sonoma and several hundred more. The purchase order lands as a sales order, the warehouse scan builds the ASN, and the invoice comes off the shipment. Same database, same login, no second EDI vendor.
AIMS360 trades EDI with 350+ retailers, and the EDI engine is built into the apparel ERP rather than bought from a middleware provider such as SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce or Cleo. One vendor owns the map, the label and the fix. EDI activates as an add-on on any plan, Bronze through Gold, with unlimited transactions, no VAN fees and no per-document charges. A first retailer goes live inside the 3 to 16 week implementation; each retailer added after the first usually runs 2 to 4 weeks.
What does it mean that EDI is built into the ERP?
Most apparel ERP vendors do not write EDI. They partner with a middleware provider, and you end up with two contracts, two support queues and a sync between them. When a retailer changes a label spec, the ERP vendor waits for the middleware vendor, and you wait for both.
AIMS360 writes and maintains its own EDI maps. The 850 purchase order becomes an apparel sales order with the style, color, size and ship window already populated. The warehouse scans cartons, and that carton structure becomes the 856 ASN, so the ASN describes what physically shipped rather than what someone typed. The 810 invoice is generated from the same shipment record. Nothing is re-keyed between systems, because there is only one system.
| When this happens | ERP plus middleware | AIMS360 built-in EDI |
|---|---|---|
| Retailer changes a spec | ERP vendor waits on middleware vendor, you chase both | One team reads the routing guide and updates the map |
| An ASN rejects | Two support tickets, and each vendor points at the other | One ticket, and the shipment record is right there |
| Transaction volume | Commonly metered per document or per kilocharacter | Unlimited transactions on the EDI Service Bureau add-on |
| Adding a retailer | A middleware line item, plus that vendor's own mapping fee | A trading partner add-on, typically live in 2 to 4 weeks |
| Inventory feeding a dropship 846 | Batched sync, so oversell risk on fast movers | Same database as the warehouse, no sync lag |
| Who owns the chargeback | Contested between vendors | AIMS360, because AIMS360 built the map and the label |
Worth being precise about: built-in does not mean AIMS360 replaces your VAN or your retailer's chosen network. Where a retailer mandates a specific network or portal, such as Dsco for a dropship program or Mirakl for a marketplace, AIMS360 connects through it. What is built in is the mapping, the document generation and the support, which is the part that usually carries a second vendor's fee elsewhere.
Which retailers can AIMS360 trade EDI with?
The grid on this page is the working list, and it runs past 300 named trading partners across apparel, footwear, beauty, home, outdoor, pet, toys and general merchandise. The short version by category:
If your retailer is not on the list, that is not a no. The list is what has already been built, not the limit of what can be. AIMS360 has read routing guides for hundreds of retailers over 40+ years, and a new trading partner is a mapping project, not a product decision. Send the routing guide and you will get a straight answer on scope and timing.
Which EDI documents actually move, and which way
A retailer's routing guide names the transaction sets you have to support. These are the ones AIMS360 generates and consumes natively, each with its own reference page.
| Doc | What it is | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| 850 | Purchase order. Lands as an apparel sales order with style, color, size, ship window and cancel date. | Retailer to you |
| 855 | Purchase order acknowledgment. Confirms, changes or rejects lines. | You to retailer |
| 860 | Purchase order change from the retailer. | Retailer to you |
| 865 | Acknowledgment of that change. | You to retailer |
| 753 / 754 | Routing request and the retailer's routing instructions. | Both ways |
| 856 | Advance ship notice. Built from the actual scanned carton hierarchy, with SSCC numbers. | You to retailer |
| 810 | Invoice, generated from the shipment rather than re-keyed. | You to retailer |
| 820 | Remittance advice, including deduction detail you can match to chargebacks. | Retailer to you |
| 846 | Inventory advice. Feeds dropship and marketplace availability. | You to retailer |
| 852 | Product activity data. Store-level sell-through and on-hand. | Retailer to you |
| 832 | Price and sales catalog. | You to retailer |
| 997 | Functional acknowledgment. The receipt that says the file parsed. | Both ways |
Two things travel with the shipment and cause more chargebacks than the documents do: the carton label and the bill of lading. AIMS360 prints UCC-128 and GS1-128 labels to each retailer's spec and generates the VICS bill of lading from the same shipment record, so the SSCC on the label, the ASN and the BOL all agree.
Dropship, marketplaces and the networks retailers make you use
Bulk wholesale EDI is only half of it. Most large retailers now run a dropship or marketplace program on a specific network, and the vendor requirements are different: smaller orders, tighter ship-by clocks, and inventory feeds that have to be current or you oversell.
Dsco (Rithum / CommerceHub)
Used by Nordstrom, Kohl's and others for dropship. AIMS360 connects to Dsco and Rithum directly.
Mirakl
The marketplace platform behind several retailer marketplaces, including Ulta Beauty. See Mirakl integration.
SPS Commerce and other VANs
Where a retailer mandates a VAN, AIMS360 trades through it. You are not asked to buy a second mapping product on top.
Dropship generally
The workflow, the 846 cadence and the label differences are covered on the EDI dropship page.
How long does it take to get a retailer live?
Your first EDI retailer goes live as part of the AIMS360 implementation, which runs 3 to 16 weeks end to end depending on how much else is in scope. Each retailer you add after that typically takes 2 to 4 weeks, and the variable is almost never AIMS360. It is the retailer's own testing and certification calendar, which you do not control and neither do we.
- Send the routing guide. AIMS360 EDI staff read it. You are not asked to interpret qualifier codes yourself.
- Maps get built for the transaction sets that retailer requires, plus their label format and packing structure. For most large retailers a pre-certified map already exists.
- Test with the retailer until every document passes their validation.
- Train the people who touch it: order entry, warehouse, accounting.
- Go live, with transmissions monitored through the first cycle so rejections get caught before they become deductions.
Full detail on scoping and phases is on the implementation page.
Where chargebacks actually come from
Retailer deductions are rarely about the EDI file itself. They come from the gap between the file and the physical carton: an ASN that says four cartons when five shipped, a label with the wrong SSCC, a ship date outside the window, a BOL that does not match the ASN. Those gaps exist because the ERP and the EDI system are different systems holding different versions of the truth.
When the ASN is generated from the scan and the invoice from the shipment, that class of error largely disappears. What is left, you dispute, and AIMS360 tracks deductions against the original order so you can. See chargeback management and the guide on staying compliant and avoiding chargebacks.
What AIMS360 EDI does not do
Worth saying plainly, because every vendor page reads the same until you get to this part.
- It does not make you compliant on its own. If your ship windows slip or cartons are packed wrong, correct EDI documents will describe a late, wrongly packed shipment. Software reports reality; it does not fix operations.
- It does not shorten a retailer's certification calendar. Some retailers test in fixed windows. If theirs is six weeks out, that is the date.
- It does not replace a retailer-mandated network. Where a retailer requires Dsco, Mirakl or a specific VAN, you trade through it. AIMS360 removes the second mapping vendor, not the retailer's platform choice.
- It is not free. EDI is a paid add-on on top of your plan, and each retailer you trade with is its own trading partner. What you are not paying is a middleware vendor's mapping fee, VAN fees or per-document charges.
- It is not a standalone EDI product. AIMS360 EDI comes with the ERP. If you want EDI bolted onto a different ERP, this is not that.
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One retailer order, from purchase order to cash
This is the sequence a wholesale order actually follows in AIMS360. It is worth reading once, because it is where the difference between built-in and bolted-on shows up in practice.
| Step | What happens | Where the data comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Order in | Retailer sends the 850. It becomes an apparel sales order with style, color, size, ship window and cancel date. | Retailer's purchase order, mapped to your style master |
| 2. Acknowledge | The 855 goes back confirming, changing or rejecting lines. | Live Open-to-Sell, including WIP and future receipts |
| 3. Allocate | Stock is committed against the order and reserved so it cannot be sold twice. | The same inventory record the warehouse sees |
| 4. Route | Where the retailer requires it, the 753 asks for routing and the 754 comes back with the carrier and pickup. | Retailer routing instructions |
| 5. Pick and pack | Warehouse scans cartons. The carton hierarchy and SSCC numbers are created here. | Physical scan, not a typed pack list |
| 6. Label | UCC-128 or GS1-128 labels print to that retailer's spec, carrying those SSCCs. | The same carton records |
| 7. Ship notice | The 856 ASN is generated from the carton hierarchy, and the VICS BOL from the same shipment. | Actual cartons, so the ASN matches the truck |
| 8. Invoice | The 810 is generated from the shipment. | Shipped quantities, not ordered quantities |
| 9. Payment | The 820 comes back with remittance and deduction detail, matched to the original order. | Retailer remittance |
The single most important line in that table is step 7. An ASN built from a scan describes the truck. An ASN built from a pack list someone typed describes what was supposed to be on the truck. Retailers charge you for the difference.
Bulk wholesale and dropship are two different programs
Brands routinely get caught out here. Getting approved for a retailer's bulk wholesale program does not put you in their dropship program, and the compliance rules are not the same.
| Bulk wholesale | Dropship | |
|---|---|---|
| Ships to | Retailer distribution centre | The shopper's address |
| Order size | Large, often case or prepack quantities | Usually one or two units |
| Clock | A ship window with a start and cancel date | A ship-by time, often same or next day |
| Packing | Cartons, UCC-128 labels, VICS BOL | Retailer-branded packing slip and label |
| Inventory feed | Not usually required | 846 on a frequent cadence, or you oversell |
| Typical network | Direct EDI or a VAN | Dsco, Rithum, CommerceHub, Mirakl |
Nordstrom, Kohl's, Macy's, Belk, Bloomingdale's and Ulta all run both. If you are selling into a retailer on both programs, you need one system that can hold the same inventory number against two very different fulfilment paths. That is the argument for a single database rather than a wholesale system plus a dropship connector.
Frequently asked questions about AIMS360 EDI
Does AIMS360 have built-in EDI, or does it use middleware?
AIMS360 writes and maintains its own EDI maps in-house. It is not resold middleware from SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce, Cleo or a similar provider. The practical effect is that one vendor owns the map, the carton label and the fix, so when a retailer changes a spec there is no handoff between an ERP vendor and an EDI vendor. Where a retailer mandates a specific network such as Dsco or Mirakl, AIMS360 trades through it, but the mapping and support stay with AIMS360.
Which retailers does AIMS360 support for EDI?
AIMS360 trades EDI with 350+ retailers. Named connections include Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Dillard's, Kohl's, Belk, Bealls, TJ Maxx and Marshalls, HomeGoods, Burlington, Walmart, Walmart Canada, Sam's Club, Costco, Kroger and Fred Meyer, Dick's Sporting Goods, Academy Sports, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, Boot Barn, PGA TOUR Superstore, Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Bluemercury, Williams-Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, Ashley Furniture, Wayfair, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Chewy, PetSmart, Petco, Tractor Supply, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Farfetch, Disney, Signet Jewelers, Amazon Vendor Central and Amazon Seller Central.
Is there a separate fee for EDI with AIMS360?
Yes. EDI is a modular add-on rather than something bundled into the base plan, and it can be activated on any plan, Bronze, Silver or Gold. There are two parts. The EDI Service Bureau is your native AIMS360 EDI account, the platform connection that powers all retailer trading, and it carries unlimited transactions. EDI Trading Partners are added for each retailer you trade with, also with unlimited transactions. What you are not paying for is a third-party middleware vendor, VAN fees or per-document charges, because AIMS360 built the EDI engine in-house rather than reselling someone else's. Implementation is billed separately as a one-time engagement alongside your first subscription period. See plans and pricing.
How long does it take to add a new EDI retailer?
Each retailer added after the first typically runs 2 to 4 weeks. Your first retailer goes live inside the overall AIMS360 implementation, which runs 3 to 16 weeks depending on scope. The variable is usually the retailer's own testing and certification calendar rather than the mapping work, because some retailers only certify new vendors in fixed windows.
What if my retailer is not on the AIMS360 list?
The published list is what has already been built, not a limit. Send the retailer's vendor routing guide and EDI specification and AIMS360 will scope it. Adding a new trading partner is a mapping project using the same in-house team that built the existing 350+ connections, so it follows the same 2 to 4 week pattern in most cases.
Which EDI transaction sets does AIMS360 support?
AIMS360 natively handles the 850 purchase order, 855 acknowledgment, 860 purchase order change, 865 change acknowledgment, 753 routing request and 754 routing instructions, 856 advance ship notice, 810 invoice, 820 remittance advice, 846 inventory advice, 852 product activity data, 832 price and sales catalog, and 997 functional acknowledgment. Warehouse transaction sets for 3PL flows, including the 940, 943, 944, 945 and 947, are handled through the 3PL integrations.
Does AIMS360 print UCC-128 and GS1-128 carton labels?
Yes. AIMS360 prints UCC-128 and GS1-128 carton labels to each retailer's specification and generates the VICS bill of lading from the same shipment record. Because the label, the 856 ASN and the BOL all come from one scanned carton hierarchy, the SSCC numbers agree across all three, which is where a large share of retailer deductions otherwise originate.
Does AIMS360 support EDI dropship for retailers?
Yes. AIMS360 handles retailer dropship programs including those run on Dsco, Rithum and CommerceHub, plus retailer marketplaces on Mirakl. Dropship differs from bulk wholesale in order size, ship-by clocks and the cadence of the 846 inventory feed. Because AIMS360 holds warehouse inventory in the same database, the 846 reflects real availability rather than a batched sync, which is what prevents overselling on fast movers.
Can AIMS360 replace SPS Commerce or TrueCommerce?
For the mapping and document generation layer, yes. Brands running AIMS360 do not need a separate EDI mapping product, because AIMS360 builds and maintains its own maps and its EDI Service Bureau carries unlimited transactions rather than per-document charges. What AIMS360 does not do is override a retailer's own platform choice. If a retailer requires you to trade through a particular VAN or portal, you still trade through it, but you are not paying two vendors to build and maintain the same map.
Does AIMS360 work with my existing VAN?
Yes. AIMS360 trades through the value-added network a retailer mandates or that you already use. Built-in EDI refers to the mapping, document generation and support living inside the ERP, not to replacing network connectivity.
How does AIMS360 reduce retailer chargebacks?
Most deductions come from a mismatch between the EDI document and the physical shipment: an ASN with the wrong carton count, a label with a mismatched SSCC, a BOL that does not agree with the ASN, or a ship date outside the window. AIMS360 generates the ASN from the actual warehouse scan and the invoice from the same shipment record, so that class of mismatch largely disappears. Remaining deductions are tracked against the original order through the 820 remittance advice so they can be disputed with evidence. See chargeback management.
Does AIMS360 support Amazon Vendor Central EDI?
Yes. AIMS360 supports Amazon Vendor Central EDI for 1P wholesale, Amazon Seller Central for 3P, and Amazon FBA for fulfilment. These are genuinely different operating models with different documents and different compliance rules, and AIMS360 has a separate integration page for each rather than treating Amazon as one connection.
Can I use AIMS360 for EDI without using it as my ERP?
No. AIMS360 EDI is not sold as a standalone EDI product bolted onto another ERP. The advantage of the approach comes precisely from the EDI documents being generated out of the same database that holds styles, inventory, orders and shipments. If you want EDI attached to a different ERP, a middleware provider is the right fit rather than AIMS360.
What is the difference between bulk wholesale EDI and dropship EDI?
Bulk wholesale EDI moves large purchase orders into a retailer's distribution centres, with carton-level packing, UCC-128 labels, a VICS bill of lading and a fixed ship window. Dropship EDI moves single consumer orders from your warehouse to the shopper's address, usually on a much tighter ship-by clock, with retailer-branded packing slips and a frequent 846 inventory feed. Most large retailers now run both, and they are separate vendor programs with separate compliance rules.
Name your retailer. We will tell you exactly how it connects.
Send the retailer and, if you have it, their routing guide. You will get a straight answer on whether the map already exists, what documents they require, and how long it takes, before anyone talks about a contract.
Related AIMS360 guides
- What is EDI? EDI transactions, codes and costs is the explainer: what EDI stands for, how it works, every transaction code apparel retailers use, and what EDI costs.
- Apparel EDI software: the complete guide covers the standards, the certification process and what a routing guide actually asks for.
- Staying compliant and avoiding chargebacks goes deeper on deductions and how to dispute them.
- Shipping integrations covers the carrier side, including why collect freight on a retailer's account is not a rate-shopping decision.
- 3PL integrations covers the warehouse side, including the 940, 943, 944, 945 and 947 when a third party ships for you.
- Apparel ERP software: the 2026 guide is the pillar page on the category, including implementation timelines and pricing.
Written by the AIMS360 team. Reviewed 7 September 2026. Retailer coverage reflects connections built and maintained by AIMS360 as of that date; retailer program names and network requirements are set by the retailers and change without notice, so confirm current requirements in their vendor routing guide.
