ASN and EDI introduction to Advance Ship Notice

ASN or Advance Ship Notice are normally sent in electronic formats as part of an EDI. An ASN enables the contents of dispatch or shipment to be sent to the company that are receiving the goods.

ASN and retail markets

Working with these file formats and the systems used to send the notifications, the dispatched items are sent using the ASN to the company receiving them. The shipment notifications are used by most of the major UK retailers, meaning that suppliers have to supply this information to them in order to supply their goods into the UK retail market.

Replacing paper notifications with digital and automated ones makes the processes more efficient and more traceable. Making sure that your products or goods have not been dispatched and also received when delivery is complete.

On the EDI basics website there are listed some benefits of using these formats:

• The process takes seconds or minutes instead of days
• The PO goes from the buyer’s computer through a network to the vendor’s computer with no human intervention at all. There is no need to copy of transcribe the PO upon receipt, eliminating the possibility of data entry error
• The electronic document has not been handled by any mailroom staff, postal or delivery service or data entry staff. It will not wait in any in-basket waiting for collection and it won’t have to wait while staff are on the phone
• The buyer receives rapid confirmation of PO receipt

These facts can translate directly into cost savings resulting from reduced cycle times, reduced overheads and improved accuracy. In today’s business environment, companies cannot afford to ignore these benefits.

Also listed are the steps involved for integrating the systems in your company.

Step 1 – Develop the organisational structure for managing the EDI system

Step 2 – Undertake a strategic review of the business

Step 3 – Developing an EDI Solution to meet the needs of the business

Step 4 – Integrating with other business systems across the company

Step 5 – Undertake mapping / data analysis of internal business processes

Step 6 – Establishing a pilot project with selected trading partners

Step 7 – Deployment of the EDI system amongst trading partners

If you are looking to integrate the systems with your company’s warehouse or picking system then talk to us today and we can provide more information on integration and getting your warehouse automated.

For more information on EDI’s there is a helpful website http://www.edibasics.co.uk/

Also for more information on warehouse systems visit: http://www.keymas.co.uk/