Benefits of using an EDI 940 Warehouse Shipping Order
Both the sender and the receiver benefit from implementing the EDI Warehouse Shipping Order. Many of these benefits are dependent on how automated and integrated the transaction is for both parties.
Some of the benefits of the EDI 940 include:
Reduce administrative time spent by the supplier to manually submit shipping orders and reduce time for the 3PL to process paper-based shipping documents
Eliminate the need to send/receive warehouse orders in several different formats such as email, fax or CSV
Reduce volume of paperwork and increase operating efficiencies through reduced time requirements to complete transactions by both parties
Provide more accurate data and reduce errors
Key data elements in an EDI Warehouse Shipping Order (x12 940 Warehouse Shipping Order) document include:
Buying party purchase order number
Buyer’s ship-to location
Item identifiers
Supplier’s order number
Requested ship date
Quantities
Additional information may include standard and custom mod pallet configurations, carrier information, other parties involved in the order (such as a broker), temperature requirements, special handling services, bill of lading lots and other product information (such as lot numbers and production codes).
What happens if you’re not using the EDI 940?
Many suppliers use third-party warehouses or third-party logistics firms to process shipments and maintain inventory on their behalf. The EDI 940 Warehouse Shipping Order is one of two primary transaction sets designed for EDI communications with remote warehouses.
Without using the EDI 940, suppliers and their 3PL partners rely on email, faxes, phone calls, spreadsheets or other manual methods to send and receive warehouse orders. This is more time-consuming than EDI automation and creates the potential for delays and data-entry errors.
Automate Warehouse Shipping Orders with Full-Service EDI from SPS Commerce
Managing ongoing EDI tasks can be complex and time-consuming. Full-service EDI providers like SPS Commerce deliver EDI technology and associated staffing resources responsible for customizing, optimizing and operating your EDI solution.

A full-service provider, like SPS Commerce, has an expert team that handles ongoing management of your EDI solution so you can prevent EDI errors and chargebacks.
SPS communicates directly with your trading partners to manage connectivity, setup, requirements, updates and support efforts. Our team takes ownership of understanding your trading partner requirements and making map changes. We actively manage 9,000 changes from retailers each year.
Our full-service team also proactively monitors and optimizes your solution to minimize keystrokes and data entry. Interested in learning more about our EDI solution?
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