EDI 895 Delivery/Return Acknowledgment: DSD Guide

The EDI 895 tells a DSD supplier what the store actually agreed to receive. The route driver's 894 delivery/return base record is the supplier's version of the stop. The 895 is the store's version after the receiver has counted the product and the store system has checked every cost against its own file. Where the two differ, the 895 wins, because it is the figure the retailer pays against.

This guide covers what the 895 carries, how it pairs with the 894 at the back door (DEX) and over the network (NEX), every segment you will map, a live example that adjusts the delivery from our 894 guide, and how to post 895 adjustments so they stop turning into short-pays you cannot explain.

What Is an EDI 895?

An EDI 895 is the Delivery/Return Acknowledgment or Adjustment transaction set defined by the ASC X12 standards body, used in direct store delivery to acknowledge an 894 delivery or return record, or to communicate adjustments to it identified during check-in. Like the 894, it comes from the grocery Uniform Communication Standard (UCS), uses grocery "G" segments, and travels in a functional group with GS01 = DX. Retailer guides commonly label the version 004010UCS or a later UCS release.

Authoritative references for 895 work:

• The X12 transaction set catalog defines the 894 and 895 pair
• The Stedi 004010 895 reference lists the 895's segments: G87, G88, the LS/LE loop of G89 line adjustments, and the G84, G86 and G85 summary
• Published retailer guides show it in use. The Harris Teeter 895 guideline on Kroger's EDI portal states that an 895 containing no changes is considered an acceptance of the preceding base record, and that the transaction carries only the detail data being changed
• GS1 US governs the UPCs and case codes the 895 uses to identify adjusted items

Who sends it? Usually the retailer: the store's DSD receiving system at the back door, or the chain's head-office EDI system. The G87 segment also allows the supplier to be the initiator, for retailers whose process lets the supplier send a correction.

Who receives it? The DSD supplier, through the driver's handheld (DEX) or the supplier's EDI system (NEX), and from there the route accounting system.

When is it sent? After the store checks in an 894. With DEX, before the driver leaves the store. With NEX, later the same day or on the retailer's schedule.

Why does it matter? The 895 is the store's record of the stop. If you post the driver's 894 to AR and ignore the 895, your receivable is overstated by every adjustment, and the gap shows up later as a deduction on the retailer's payment.

How the 894 and 895 Work Together

Two details from the standard drive the whole exchange:

• The 895 identifies the record by its integrity check. G8704 must contain the G85 value from the base record (or previous adjustment) it responds to. If your driver edits the 894 after it was sent and does not recalculate G85, the store's 895 will not match the record your system holds.
• Adjustments are numbered. G8705 starts at 1 and increases by one for each further adjustment to the same record, whichever party sends it. A second 895 for the same delivery is not a duplicate; it is adjustment 2.

DEX and NEX for the 895

The 895 follows the same channel as the 894 it answers.

DEX (Direct Exchange). The store's receiving system returns the 895 to the driver's handheld at the back door. The driver sees adjustments before leaving and can dispute a count while the product is still there. The handheld then uploads the 895 to route accounting with the rest of the day's records.

NEX (Network Exchange). The retailer sends the 895 over a normal EDI connection (VAN, AS2 or SFTP). There is no driver in the loop, so the 895 lands in your EDI system and has to be matched to the 894 by delivery number and integrity check before anyone sees it.

Interactive Example: Store Adjustment of a DSD Delivery (895)

This 895 answers the beverage delivery in our 894 guide: record DSD-118734 for 20 cases and $178.90, with integrity check 3C9A7F21. The store makes two changes. Line 1 (cola 12-packs) is accepted at the store's file cost of $8.75 per case instead of $8.95. Line 2 (lemon-lime 2L) is counted at 5 cases instead of 6. Line 3 is unchanged, so it is not repeated. G84 restates the record at 19 cases and $165.50:

• Line 1: 10 cases at $8.75 = $87.50
• Line 2: 5 cases at $11.40 = $57.00
• Line 3: 4 cases at $5.25 = $21.00 (unchanged)

Use the Plain English tab for a readable summary, or click any segment to break it down element by element.

895 Structure at a Glance

An acknowledgment with no changes is the shortest possible 895: ST, G87, G86, G85 and SE. Retailer guides may require more, such as G84 on every 895.

Key Segments Explained

G87: Delivery/Return Adjustment Identification

G87*R*D*DSD-118734*3C9A7F21*1*R0147-261103~

Match every 895 on G8703 and G8704 together. The delivery number alone can match a record that was edited after sending; the integrity check proves which version the store responded to.

G88: Delivery/Return Identification Adjustment

G88*20261103~

G88 corrects header facts from the 894's G82. A changed store number in G8805 matters: it moves the delivery to a different store's books.

G89: Line Item Detail - Adjustment

G89*1**CA*614141001293****8.75~
G89*2*5*CA*614141002122~

The 895 carries only what changed. On line 1 the quantity element is empty and the cost is 8.75: the store accepted 10 cases but at its own file cost. On line 2 the quantity is 5 and the cost is empty: the cost stands, the count changed. The Harris Teeter guide's own sample uses the same pattern, with the quantity left empty on cost-only adjustments. The exact rules for which elements must be repeated on an adjusted line (for example, whether the UPC is always sent) are in each retailer's guide.

LS*0100 and LE*0100 wrap the whole set of adjusted lines once. They are not repeated per line, and they are not sent at all when there are no line adjustments.

G84: Delivery/Return Record of Totals

G84*19*16550~

G84 restates the totals for the whole record, not just the changed lines. That makes it the easiest number to reconcile: the 894's G8402 minus the 895's G8402 is the dollar value of the store's adjustments ($178.90 minus $165.50 is $13.40 here: $2.00 of cost and $11.40 of quantity).

G86 and G85: Signature and Integrity Check

G86*5D2E91C4*M ALVAREZ~
G85*A41F06B2~

G86 carries the electronic signature of the party that generated the 895, produced the same way as in the base record. It is mandatory in the 895. G85 is a check value computed over this 895's content, using the algorithm in the retailer's guide. If a later adjustment follows, its G8704 will quote this value.

Acknowledgment vs Adjustment

Posting 895 Adjustments

Most DSD money is lost between the 894 and the 895, and most of it is recoverable only if you see the pattern.

1. Match. Find the 894 by G8703 and confirm G8704 equals its G85. Hold anything that does not match.
2. Apply. For each G89, replace the quantity or cost on the matching G83 line. Leave lines without a G89 as sent.
3. Check. Recompute the record total and compare it to G84. A mismatch means a line was missed or applied twice.
4. Post. Update AR, route settlement and inventory with the adjusted figures, so the driver's truck count, the store's receipt and your invoice agree.
5. Review. Report adjustments weekly by store, by item and by type. Repeated cost adjustments on one item mean your cost file and the retailer's disagree, usually because a price change was not loaded on both sides through 888 item maintenance or an 832 price catalog. Repeated count adjustments at one store point to a receiving or route problem.

EDI 895 vs 894, 861 and 824

The 895 does in DSD what the 861 does at a distribution center: it reports what was actually received. A 997 for your 894 only proves the file arrived. The 895 tells you what the store agreed to.

Common 895 Errors and How to Prevent Them

Unresolved DSD adjustments usually show up later as retail chargebacks or short-pays on the remittance. The 895 is the earliest warning you get.

895 Implementation Checklist

• Get the retailer's DSD 894/895 guide and confirm DEX, NEX or both
• Confirm whether the retailer sends an 895 for every 894, or only when it adjusts
• Confirm which G89 elements it sends on a changed line, and how it marks an added line
• Confirm whether it sends G84 on every 895
• Match on delivery number and integrity check; build a hold queue for mismatches
• Apply adjustments line by line, then check against G84
• Post adjusted figures to AR, route settlement and inventory
• Set up a weekly review of adjustments by item, store and type
• Test an acceptance, a cost adjustment, a quantity adjustment and a second adjustment to the same record

For the wider DSD picture, see grocery EDI requirements and the EDI document types reference.

Handling DSD Orders With OrderSync

DSD suppliers live on two streams: the route, and the orders that set it up. Store and head-office orders arrive as EDI 850s and 875s, emails, PDFs, spreadsheets and phone calls, and someone keys them in before the truck leaves.

OrderSync reads those orders in any format, matches stores, items and units to your catalog, and outputs clean data to your ERP or route system, so every stop starts from the right order. Paste any 895 into the free EDI inspector to see the delivery it adjusts and each changed line in plain English, read more about EDI for DSD distributors and beverage distribution, or book a 15-minute walkthrough to see your own orders processed.

Frequently Asked Questions