ASN
What is an ASN (advance ship notice)?
An ASN, advance ship notice, is a message sent before a shipment arrives that lists exactly what is coming: items, quantities, pack structure, carton identifiers and usually the expected delivery time. It turns receiving from an open-ended count into a check: the dock knows what should be on the truck, so the team verifies instead of discovers. ASNs arrive as EDI 856, as a portal upload, or as a file from the supplier.
What a useful ASN carries
- Purchase order or order reference, so the arrival can be matched before the doors open.
- Item identifiers and quantities, down to the carton or pallet where the supplier packs that deep.
- Pack structure: which items are in which carton, which cartons are on which pallet.
- Ship and expected arrival dates, and the carrier or PRO number where one exists.
Receiving with and without one
With an ASN the receiver scans the pallet, compares the counts to the notice, and exceptions become the whole job: short cases, wrong items, damaged cartons. Without one, receiving counts from zero and hopes the paperwork catches up. The difference shows up later too: an ASN matched at the door is what lets putaway start before the paperwork is finished.
A supplier who cannot send an ASN can often send a packing list file instead. The format matters less than arriving before the truck.