EDI 945 — Warehouse Shipping Advice explained
In short: EDI 945 is the ANSI X12 Warehouse Shipping Advice: a third-party warehouse or 3PL confirms to the seller what was actually shipped in response to a 940 — with actual quantities, weight, carrier, tracking numbers and pack detail.
Key capabilities
- Actual shipped quantities: Reports what actually left the warehouse — often different from what was ordered on the 940 due to short-pick or substitution.
- Carrier & tracking: SCAC, PRO number, master and detail BOL numbers, package tracking IDs — enables downstream ASN generation.
- Pack-level detail: SSCC-18 labels, pallet/carton hierarchy, weight per pack — the raw material for an EDI 856 ASN to the retailer.
- Automatic ERP posting: Marks the sales order as shipped in your ERP, triggers invoicing (INVOIC/810) and updates inventory on-hand.
How EDI 945 becomes an ASN to your retailer
The 945 from your 3PL contains the raw shipment truth: which SSCC pallets went out on which trailer, with which tracking numbers. EDIconnect's mapping engine takes that data and, in the same run, generates the retailer's required EDI 856 ASN (or EDIFACT DESADV in Europe) — with the same SSCC labels, the same carrier detail, translated into each retailer's spec (Walmart, Target, Kroger, Amazon all differ).
The result: one 945 in, one ASN out per retailer, zero manual work, and pack hierarchy that reconciles perfectly at the DC — the #1 way to eliminate ASN chargebacks.
Frequently asked questions
What does EDI 945 mean?
EDI 945 is the Warehouse Shipping Advice — the electronic confirmation your 3PL sends back after shipping goods you instructed via an EDI 940.
Is EDI 945 the same as an ASN?
No. The 945 is between you and your 3PL; the ASN (EDI 856 in X12, DESADV in EDIFACT) is between you and your retailer. Your EDI platform typically converts the 945 automatically into an 856 for downstream retailers.
What information is in an EDI 945?
Shipment identifiers, actual ship date, ship-from and ship-to, carrier and BOL, per-line shipped quantities and their pack hierarchy (pallets, cases, units, SSCCs).
Who sends the 945?
The 3PL or third-party warehouse holding your inventory sends the 945 back to you (the inventory owner) after fulfilling a 940.
When should the 945 arrive?
Best practice: within 24 hours of the truck leaving the dock, and BEFORE the ASN (856) is due at the retailer. Late 945s cascade into late ASNs and chargebacks.