The EDI 862 Shipping Schedule is how a buyer turns a longer-range 830 forecast into firm, dated ship instructions for the next few days or weeks. It does not establish pricing or a new agreement. It points back at a blanket purchase order and the planning schedule already in play, then says: ship these exact quantities, to this dock, on these dates. In just-in-time manufacturing, the 862 is the document that keeps an assembly line running.
This guide covers what the 862 contains, how it differs from the 830, the segments you will work with, a real example you can open in our renderer, and how a supplier acts on inbound 862s even without an ERP integration.
What Is an EDI 862?
An EDI 862 is the Shipping Schedule transaction defined by the ASC X12 standards body, used by a buyer to send a supplier firm, near-term shipping requirements against an existing planning schedule and blanket order. It is most common in automotive and other just-in-time manufacturing supply chains, where an OEM drives daily or intra-day deliveries and a missed shipment can stop a line.
Authoritative references for 862 implementation:
- The X12.org Transaction Sets reference defines the BSS, LIN, FST, and SHP segment structure used across 862 implementations
- The EDI Academy 830 and 862 reference explains how the 862 Shipping Schedule supplements the 830 with tighter near-term ship instructions
Who sends it? The buyer (an OEM, assembler, or other manufacturer) sends the 862 to its supplier or contract manufacturer.
When is it sent? On a short cadence, often daily and sometimes more than once a day, covering a near-term horizon measured in days or a few weeks.
Why does it matter? The 862 is the ship-authorization signal. Reading it wrong, or acting on a stale schedule, leads directly to premium freight, a line-down event, or excess inventory at the dock.
EDI 862 vs EDI 830: Plan vs Ship
The 830 and 862 work as a pair, and confusing them is the most common mistake on the supplier side:
| EDI 830 Planning Schedule | EDI 862 Shipping Schedule | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Longer-range demand: forecast plus firm releases | Near-term firm ship instructions |
| Horizon | Weeks to months | Days to a few weeks |
| Carries forecast? | Yes, for material and capacity planning | Usually firm only, no planning forecast |
| Authorizes shipment? | Firm buckets only | Yes, this is its whole job |
| Cadence | Weekly or daily | Daily, sometimes intra-day |
The 830 Planning Schedule lets a supplier buy materials and reserve capacity. The 862 then says which of that planned demand to actually ship right now. The 862 supplements the 830; it does not replace it or authorize materials on its own.
Key Segments Explained
Here are the segments you will work with in an 862 transaction set:
| Segment | Name | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| ST | Transaction Set Header | Identifies the start of the 862 and assigns a control number |
| BSS | Beginning Segment for Shipping Schedule | Schedule purpose and type, schedule dates, and the buyer references (blanket PO and the related 830 release) |
| N1 | Name | Identifies the buyer location (MI), supplier (SU), and ship-to dock (ST) |
| LIN | Item Identification | The part being scheduled, by buyer part number and supplier part number |
| UIT | Unit Detail | Unit of measure and, where present, price |
| FST | Forecast Schedule | The dated ship quantities, flagged firm (C) for the near-term horizon |
| SHP | Shipped/Received | Cumulative shipped and received quantities for reconciliation |
| CTT | Transaction Totals | Number of line items in the schedule |
A Real EDI 862 Example
The example below is an OEM shipping schedule for a molded part, issued against the blanket PO and the 830 release already in play. Every dated bucket is a firm ship requirement (code C) over a tight three-day horizon, with a cumulative shipped figure for reconciliation. Open it in the renderer to see the parsed structure and plain-English view.
OEM 862 Shipping Schedule
Near-term ship instruction against an existing 830 planning schedule and blanket PO: dated firm ship quantities for a molded part, with cumulative shipped reconciliation
Raw EDI (X12)
Human-Readable
Interchange
Where the 862 Sits in the Order Lifecycle
In a blanket-PO, just-in-time manufacturing relationship, the 862 is the trigger to ship:
- Blanket 850 Purchase Order - Buyer establishes the agreement, pricing, and item list
- 830 Planning Schedule - Buyer sends rolling forecast and firm releases against that blanket
- 862 Shipping Schedule - Buyer sends tight, dated ship authorizations for the near term
- 856 Ship Notice / ASN - Supplier notifies the buyer of each shipment
- 810 Invoice - Supplier requests payment
A late or misread 862 ripples straight into the ASN and the delivery itself, which is why receiving docks and supplier schedulers watch it in near real time.
How Suppliers Handle Inbound 862s Without an ERP
Many of the suppliers receiving 862s are contract manufacturers, job shops, and molders that do not run a system with an affordable EDI-capable API. The common (and expensive) advice is to integrate the shipping schedule directly into an ERP or MRP system, but that is not the only path.
OrderSync reads inbound 862s (and arbitrary-format ship instructions like PDF, Excel, and email release schedules) and turns them into a clean, reviewable list of dated ship requirements. It reconciles the 862 against the related 830, collapses date grids into dated lines, flags quantity or date anomalies, and produces valid X12 that drops into the EDI desktop client or folder your trading partner already polls. No ERP read or write is required to get started. When you are ready, the same pipeline can validate ship requirements against your item and ship-to master.
See EDI without ERP integration for the full approach, or try the free EDI inspector to upload one of your own 862s and see it parsed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between EDI 862 and EDI 830?
The 830 Planning Schedule carries longer-range demand, including forecast that authorizes material and capacity. The 862 Shipping Schedule is a tighter, near-term instruction for what to ship and when. The 862 supplements the 830; it does not replace it or authorize resources on its own.
Does an EDI 862 carry forecast quantities?
Usually not. The 862 is meant to carry firm, ship-authorized quantities for the near term. Forward-looking forecast lives in the 830. Some implementations include a short look-ahead, but the defining job of the 862 is firm ship authorization.
Who uses the EDI 862 Shipping Schedule?
It is most common in automotive and other just-in-time manufacturing supply chains. OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers send 862s to their suppliers to drive daily or intra-day deliveries against a blanket purchase order.
Can a supplier process an 862 without an ERP?
Yes. The 862 can be parsed, reviewed, and acted on as a schedule of dated ship requirements without writing into an ERP. OrderSync ingests 862s and other formats, reconciles them against the related 830, surfaces the requirements for review, and outputs valid X12 to your existing EDI client.