BSN and HL
BSN identifies the notice; HL establishes each hierarchical occurrence.
Ship-notice fundamentals
What Is an EDI 856 Ship Notice / Manifest?
A practical guide to the X12 transaction commonly used as an Advance Ship Notice (ASN).
EDI 856 is the X12 Ship Notice / Manifest transaction set. It can communicate shipment and packaging hierarchy, purchase-order references, item identifiers, source quantities, carrier and routing information, marks and container identifiers, parties, references, dates, and related shipment details. Actual content varies by sender, receiver, release, and implementation agreement.
Where the 856 fits
A supplier, warehouse, carrier, or other shipping party may send an 856 before or around delivery so a receiver can prepare for goods described in the notice. It often follows an 850 Purchase Order and may precede an 810 Invoice, but no single sequence is mandatory.
HL represents a variable shipment hierarchy
HL segments identify parent/child structure. Common level codes include shipment (S), order (O), tare (T), pack (P), and item (I), but an 856 is not required to use one universal S → O → P → I pattern. A file can omit levels, use tare or pack variants, or contain malformed ancestry that must be reported rather than guessed.
Common 856 structures
PRF, N1, REF, DTM
Carry qualified purchase-order, party, reference, and date context.
LIN and SN1
Carry qualified product identifiers and source-reported item quantities.
MAN, TD1, and TD5
Report marks or container IDs, physical packaging observations, and carrier or routing facts.
Which releases are tested?
Smart Mapping is tested for generic releases 004010, 004030, and 005010. Other releases and partner implementation references are not advertised as supported.
Common EDI 856 questions
Is an EDI 856 the same as an ASN?
EDI 856 is the X12 Ship Notice / Manifest transaction set and is commonly used as an Advance Ship Notice. A partner guide determines the required hierarchy, identifiers, labels, and timing.
What is the difference between an 856 and a 945?
An 856 describes shipment contents and configuration for a receiving workflow, often with HL hierarchy. A 945 reports warehouse shipping-advice evidence to a depositor or other party. Neither automatically substitutes for the other.
What an 856 does not prove
A mapped 856 does not by itself prove delivery, fulfillment, acceptance, retailer compliance, GS1 compliance, or trading-partner certification. Quantities, weights, and volumes remain source observations separated by their qualifiers and units. Continue with the 856 reading guide, inspect the EDI 856 canonical data map, or open the source in the browser-local EDI Viewer.