EDI 945 Warehouse Shipping Advice Guide

The EDI 945 is the warehouse telling you what actually left the building. You sent your 3PL a 940 shipping order for twelve shirts and four cases. The 945 comes back with what really shipped: twelve shirts, three cases, one case short with no backorder, four cartons, four tracking numbers. Everything downstream (the customer's shipping email, the retailer's ASN, the invoice, your inventory balance) runs on those numbers, not on the 940.

This guide covers what the 945 carries, where it sits in the 3PL document set, every segment you will map, three live examples (a parcel order with a short line, a carton-level LTL shipment and a daily batch), the W12 status codes that explain short shipments, and the errors that break reconciliation.

What Is an EDI 945?

An EDI 945 is the Warehouse Shipping Advice transaction set defined by the ASC X12 standards body. A warehouse (the custodian of the goods) sends it to the depositor (the owner of the goods) to confirm that a shipment was made, with the shipment's identifiers, carrier and line-by-line quantities.

Authoritative references for 945 work:

• The X12 transaction set catalog defines the 945 and the rest of the warehouse series (940, 943, 944, 945, 947)
• The Stedi X12 004010 reference for the 945 shows the segment order, loops and usage, and links to each segment's elements and code lists
• Published 3PL mapping guides, such as Infoplus's 945 specification, show how much warehouses differ in where they put tracking numbers, item IDs and totals
• Your warehouse's own 945 implementation guide governs. It sets the required segments, the qualifiers and the timing

Who sends it? The warehouse: a 3PL, a fulfillment center, or your own warehouse if it runs a separate warehouse management system.

Who receives it? The depositor: the brand, manufacturer or distributor that owns the stock and sent the 940.

When is it sent? After the order is picked, packed and handed to the carrier, usually once per order. Some warehouses send one file per order, others send a batch at the end of each shipping day.

Why does it matter? Until the 945 arrives you do not know what shipped. It is the source for tracking numbers, the 856 you owe a retail customer, the invoice quantity and the inventory you still have at the warehouse.

The 3PL Document Set

The 945 is one of five warehouse transaction sets. Each travels in its own functional group, with its own code in GS01.

The 940 and 945 close the outbound loop. The 943 and 944 close the inbound loop. The 947 covers everything else. Your inventory at the warehouse should equal yesterday's balance plus 944 receipts, minus 945 shipments, plus or minus 947 adjustments, and an 846 inventory report from the warehouse is the check.

The 943 and the 945 share their header segment, W06. On the 943 it identifies an inbound transfer; on the 945 it identifies an outbound shipment.

How the 940 to 945 Loop Works

1. Order arrives. A customer order reaches you as an EDI 850, a marketplace order, an email or a PDF, and lands in your ERP or order system.
2. 940 goes out. You send the 940 to the warehouse with your order number in W0502, the ship-to, the requested ship date and the lines.
3. Warehouse ships. The warehouse picks, packs, labels each carton with an SSCC-18, books the carrier and gets tracking numbers or a bill of lading.
4. 945 comes back. The W06 header echoes your order number, the ship date and the warehouse's shipment ID. Each line reports ordered, shipped and the difference, with a status code.
5. You acknowledge it. Your translator returns a 997 for the SW group.
6. You act on it. Update the order, send the tracking to the customer, build the 856 ship notice and the 810 invoice if the customer is a retailer, and post the shipment against your inventory.

Step 6 is where the 945 earns its keep. If the 856 and invoice are built from the 940 instead, every short shipment becomes a retailer chargeback or a short-pay.

Interactive Example: Parcel Order With a Short Line

This 945 answers the 940 in our 940 guide: order ORD-78901234, twelve black tees and four cases of white tees, to Acme Customer in Austin. W06*F reports full detail, G62*11 gives the ship date and W27*U*UPSN names UPS parcel service, freight prepaid. Line 1 shipped complete (W12*CC) in one carton. Line 2 shipped 3 of 4 cases (W12*CP, a partial shipment with no backorder), each case its own carton. Every carton has a MAN segment carrying its SSCC-18 and, in the second qualifier pair, its carrier tracking number. W03 totals 15 units, 61.5 pounds and 4 cartons.

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

945 Structure at a Glance

The 945 in release 004010 has a header, a detail loop per shipped group, and one summary segment.

Two things are not in that table. The 945 has no HL hierarchical loop: pallet-to-carton-to-item nesting belongs on the 856. And the 945 has no prices: it is a custody report, not an invoice.

Key Segments Explained

W06: Warehouse Shipment Identification

W06*F*ORD-78901234*20260510*WHSE-SHIP-99821~

F (Full Detail) is the reporting code most 945 guides specify: every shipped line is reported. The 004010 list for this element also includes N (No Exceptions), X (Exceptions Only) and C (Customer Return, Full Detail), among others. Use the code your warehouse's guide names. If a guide lists N, ask whether the warehouse really sends a 945 with no line detail when nothing is short, because your reconciliation has to handle it.

N1 Loop: Parties

N1*ST*ACME CUSTOMER INC~
N3*123 MAIN STREET~
N4*AUSTIN*TX*78701*US~

At least one N1 is required. Most guides ask for the ship-to (ST), and many also want the warehouse (WH), the ship-from (SF) or the depositor (DE). For retail shipments the ship-to often carries a DC or store number in N103/N104, which you will need on the 856.

N9: References

N9*BM*BOL-22455013~
N9*CN*PRO-71530288~

N9 carries references at the header (up to 10), at each LX group and on each item. Common qualifiers on a 945:

There is no single standard home for parcel tracking numbers. Some warehouses send them in N9 at the header or LX level, some in MAN against each carton (as in our examples), and some in both. Your warehouse's guide decides, and your map has to read from the right place.

G62: Date/Time

G62*11*20260510~

G6201 = 11 means "shipped on this date". Some guides add a time, an estimated delivery date (17) or an actual pickup date (86).

W27: Carrier Detail

W27*U*UPSN*UPS GROUND*PP~

Compare W27 with what the 940 asked for. A shipment that went out on a different carrier or service than the customer's routing guide required is a chargeback risk, and the 945 is your first chance to catch it.

LX and MAN: Shipped Groups and Carton Labels

LX*1~
MAN*GM*00008123456000001015**CP*1Z999AA10123456784~

LX starts each detail group. The standard does not say what a group is; the warehouse's guide does. One LX per carton (the most useful for building an 856), one per order line, or one per pallet are all common.

MAN carries the marks on the container. It has two qualifier and value pairs, so one segment can describe one physical carton two ways:

If you ship to retailers, these SSCC-18s are the ones printed on the GS1-128 labels, and the retailer's 856 must carry the same numbers. Taking them from the 945 instead of generating new ones keeps the labels and the ASN in step. Our SSCC label generator shows how the number and its check digit are built.

W12: Warehouse Item Detail

W12*CP*4*3*1*CA*012345678912*VN*BRAND-SKU-002~

The standard requires either W1206 or the W1207/W1208 pair, so every line carries at least one item identifier. Make sure it is one your 940 sent, or the line cannot be matched.

W1201 status codes you will see on a 945

Element 368 has over a hundred codes in total. Your warehouse's guide lists the handful it uses; map those and alert on anything else.

G69: Description

G69*PERFORMANCE TEE WHITE LARGE CASE OF 12~

A free-text description of the item. Useful for people reading the file; never match on it.

W03: Total Shipment Information

W03*15*61.5*LB***4*CT~

W0301 adds up units across lines whatever their unit of measure, so a 945 with eaches and cases has a total that mixes both. Reconcile on the lines, and use W03 as a check that you received every line.

Short Shipments, Backorders and Substitutions

The difference between the 940 and the 945 is where the money is. Three cases cover almost every exception:

Short, no backorder (CP, or PR where the guide says so). The warehouse shipped what it had and the rest is closed. Cancel the balance in your order system, ship-confirm the shipped quantity, and tell the customer before their receiving dock does. For retail orders, the 856 and the invoice must show the shipped quantity, not the ordered one.

Short, backordered (BP or BO). The balance stays open and a later 945 will report it. Keep the order line open for the difference in W1204, and expect a second 945 with the same W0602 and a different W0604 shipment ID. Some warehouses do not backorder at all and want a new 940 for the balance; the guide says which.

Substituted (IS or CS). A different item shipped. Under IS, W1216 to W1218 identify the item originally ordered, so you can match the line back to the 940 and still invoice the item that really shipped. Substitutions you did not authorize are worth raising with the warehouse the same day.

Whatever the code, alert on every line where W1203 does not equal W1202. Status codes vary by warehouse; the arithmetic does not.

Interactive Example: Carton-Level Detail to a Retail DC

A less-than-truckload shipment to a retailer's distribution center. W0606 carries the retailer's PO, N9*BM the bill of lading and N9*CN the carrier's PRO number, and W27*M*SRLX the LTL carrier's SCAC. Each LX is one carton with its SSCC-18 in MAN*GM, followed by the W12 for the item inside it. W03 totals 96 units, 38 pounds and 2 cartons.

This is the 945 shape to ask for if you sell to retailers through a 3PL. One LX per carton gives you everything the 856's pack level needs: the SSCC-18, the item and the quantity in each carton. What the 945 cannot give you is pallet-to-carton nesting, because it has no HL loop. If the retailer wants a pallet level on the 856, agree with the warehouse how it will report pallet SSCCs (for example, a separate LX per pallet with its own MAN) and build the hierarchy on your side.

Interactive Example: Daily Batch of Three Orders

Many 3PLs send one file per shipping day. The right way to do that in X12 is one 945 transaction set per order, all inside one functional group: three ST/SE pairs between a single GS and GE, with GE01 = 3. Each 945 has its own W06, ship-to, carrier, cartons and W03. The third order shipped 1 of 2 cases with the balance backordered (W12*BP).

A 945 transaction set has exactly one W06, so one transaction set describes one shipment for one depositor order. A file with several W06 segments inside a single ST to SE is not valid X12, and a validator will reject it.

EDI 945 vs 940, 856, 944 and 810

The 945 and the 856 look alike because both describe a shipment, but they face different directions. The 945 is internal to your supply chain: your warehouse reporting to you. The 856 is external: you reporting to your customer. When a 3PL ships to your retail customer, the 945 comes in first and your 856 goes out built from it.

Where the 945 Sits in the Flow

For a supplier selling to a retailer through a 3PL:

1. Retailer sends an 850 purchase order to you.
2. You send a 940 to the 3PL.
3. The 3PL ships and sends the 945 to you.
4. You send the 856 to the retailer, built from the 945's cartons, SSCCs and quantities.
5. You send the 810 for the shipped quantities.
6. Every document gets a 997 in return.

For a direct-to-consumer brand the chain is shorter: the 945's tracking numbers go to the shopping platform and the customer's shipping email. Our guide to 3PL EDI integration covers the setup on both sides.

Common 945 Errors and How to Prevent Them

945 Implementation Checklist

Before going live with a warehouse:

• Get the warehouse's 945 guide and confirm release (usually 004010) and GS01 = SW
• Confirm one 945 per order or per shipment, and whether daily batches arrive as several transaction sets in one group
• Confirm W0602 echoes your 940 order number exactly, and where the customer PO goes
• Confirm what one LX represents: a carton, a pallet or an order line
• Confirm where tracking numbers, bills of lading and PRO numbers are sent
• Get the list of W1201 status codes the warehouse uses, and its backorder policy
• Confirm the item identifiers in W12 match the ones on your 940
• Map lots, serials and expiry dates if you sell regulated or dated goods
• Build reconciliation: every 940 has a 945, every line's shipped quantity is posted, W03 matches the lines
• Return a 997 for every 945 group, and test a short line, a backorder and a substitution before go-live

If you are setting up a 3PL connection from scratch, our page on EDI for third-party logistics and the EDI document types reference show which documents each side usually owns.

Getting Orders to Your Warehouse With OrderSync

The 945 can only be as good as the 940 it answers. If the order that went to the warehouse had the wrong item number, unit or ship-to, the 945 confirms the wrong shipment accurately.

OrderSync works on the order side. It reads customer orders in any format, from EDI 850s and 875s to PDFs, emails and spreadsheets, matches customers, items and units to your catalog, and outputs valid X12 or ERP data, so the order your warehouse works from is right the first time. Paste any 945 into the free EDI inspector to see it parsed segment by segment with a plain-English summary, or book a 15-minute walkthrough to see your own orders processed.

Frequently Asked Questions