Travis > I've been working with EDI for years and have never really found a > good outlet for detailed information about the relationship between > an ASN (the different HL levels), a shipment, a BOL, etc. The VICS > info seems to be lacking. How does anyone understand exactly how it > should all fit together without more information?
The ASN (Advance Shipment Notice) is the actual EDI document. It would be the same as a 'shipment'. The ASN is an electronic Bill of Lading, and contains detailed descriptions of the contents of the shipment. Note: Some Trading partners don't want any details, so the ASN has to be simplified. Normally, the ASN is constructed with the following levels: S Shipment O Order P Pack I Item Variations include a T Tare level, or different order SOIP, or fewer levels. These variations are usually driven by the business requirements. Example: When shipping very large items (refrigerators), you may have to consider the volume and split the ASN/shipment into multiple Truckloads. Example: When shipping hanging clothes, some Partners may want a single label for ALL items in the shipment. Example: Different business units for the same customer may have different packing rules. When shipping directly to a Store (or Cross-Docked to a Store), you would usually combine multiple items and even orders into the same carton (if your items are small enough). When shipping to a Catalog center, you would _never_ combine items, since that would make their pick/pack procedure very difficult. Unfortunately, the variations are endless and sometimes arbitrarily required by your Trading partner. The bottom line, is that the ASN has to carry detailed Carton (or Pallet) information. To link the ASN to the physical world, each Carton (and/or Pallet) carries a unique 20 digit UCC Carton number which is printed on a 4" x 6" UCC/MH10 label AND sent in the P level. The Item level (I Level) lists the items and quantity in each carton/pallet. Complications: You can have multiple Orders (O Level) in the shipment ;-) The BOL is just the Bill Of Lading number, which is a reference number used by you and the Carrier to refer to that particular shipment. It is usually printed on most documents for the Carrier. The biggest problem is that most accounting systems are not interesting in how you package your goods. You can invoice 1,000 candles of a specific style (and color and size), but there is no way to enter how the shipment is packed (which items are in which cartons). That's what makes life interesting <bg> PS: It doesn't matter if it's X12 or XML, you _still_ will have the same problems and variations. Earl Wertheimer [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.spe-edi.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $4.98 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/Q7_YsB/neXJAA/yQLSAA/OIFolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> . Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC> Access the list online at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
