EDI documents
EDI 940 Warehouse Shipping Order
The EDI 940 is the order a supplier sends to its warehouse or 3PL to pick, pack and ship. This page covers the W05, W01 and W76 segments, a sample that releases 36 units for one retail purchase order, the envelope, the 945 that answers it, Kroger's 940, and where the 940 comes from in your ERP.
Updated
What is an EDI 940?
The EDI 940 is the X12 Warehouse Shipping Order. The depositor, the company that owns the goods in a warehouse, sends it to the warehouse to make a shipment: which items, how many, to which address, on which date, with which carrier. X12 gives it three more uses: to confirm a shipment, to modify a shipping order or to cancel one. The warehouse answers with the 945 warehouse shipping advice.
The 940 is not a retail document. A retailer sends the supplier an 850; the supplier, when a 3PL holds its stock, turns that order into a 940. The buyer never sees the 940, but everything the buyer receives afterwards, the 856 and the 810, depends on what the warehouse reports back.
Where the 940 sits in the order-to-cash flow
| Step | Document | From and to | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 850, 860 | Buyer to supplier | Order and its changes |
| 2 | 940 warehouse shipping order | Supplier to warehouse | Releases the order for picking |
| 3 | 945 shipping advice | Warehouse to supplier | Reports what shipped, per line |
| 4 | 856 ship notice | Supplier to buyer | Built from the 945 |
| 5 | 214 shipment status | Carrier to supplier or warehouse | Transit and delivery |
| 6 | 810 invoice | Supplier to buyer | Bills what the 945 confirmed |
The functional identifier of the 940 is OW, of the 945 SW. In the EDI document map both sit in the warehouse group, next to the 943 stock transfer and 944 receipt documents that move inventory into the warehouse.
The segments of a 940
| Segment | Name | What it carries | What goes wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| W05 | Shipping Order Identification | W0501 order status code, W0502 depositor order number, W0503 PO number | The PO number left out, so the 945 cannot be matched to the buyer's order |
| N1, N3, N4 | Name and address | ST ship to, BT bill to, SF ship from, with IDs | A retailer DC sent as a street address without its location code |
| N9 | Reference Identification | Department, combined shipment, associated POs | References the 856 needs later, missing from the 940 |
| G62 | Date/Time | 10 requested ship date, 02 delivery requested, 37 and 38 ship not before and not later than | A ship window the warehouse reads as a single date |
| NTE | Note/Special Instruction | Free text, such as labeling or dock instructions | Rules in free text that the warehouse system ignores |
| W66 | Warehouse Carrier Information | W6601 payment (PP prepaid, CC collect), W6602 method, W6610 SCAC | A carrier the retailer's routing guide does not allow |
| LX | Assigned Number | Line loop number | Line numbers that do not map back to the PO lines |
| W01 | Line Item Detail - Warehouse | W0101 quantity, W0102 unit, W0103 case code or W0104 and W0105 item ID, W0106 and W0107 second ID | Eaches sent where the warehouse picks cases |
| G69 | Line Item Detail - Description | Item text, up to 45 characters | Text cut at 45 characters |
| W76 | Total Shipping Order | W7601 total quantity, weight and volume | A hash total that does not match the lines |
W05 order status codes
W0501 has 12 codes in X12 004010. Five cover most warehouse traffic.
| Code | Meaning | Warehouse action |
|---|---|---|
| N | Original | Create a new shipping order |
| R | Change | Update an order not yet picked |
| F | Cancel | Cancel the order |
| B | Backorder original | Ship when stock arrives |
| T | Resubmission | The same order again, to replace a lost or rejected file |
A sample 940, with delimiters
After the 860, PO 4500018236 holds 24 and 12 units. The supplier releases sales order SO-88104 to its 3PL on 30 September as shipping order SO-77120.
ST*940*0001~
W05*N*SO-77120*4500018236~
N1*ST*HARBOR RETAIL DC 07*92*0007~
N3*1200 DOCK STREET~
N4*COLUMBUS*OH*43215*US~
N9*DP*042~
G62*10*20261002~
G62*02*20261006~
W66*PP*M********ABCD~
LX*1~
W01*24*EA**UP*614141104826*VN*10482~
G69*WALL ANCHOR KIT 50 PC~
LX*2~
W01*12*EA**UP*614141104994*VN*10499~
G69*CABLE CLIP 8MM 100 PC~
W76*36*18.4*LB~
SE*17*0001~
W05 is an original order with the supplier's shipping order number as depositor order number and the buyer's PO number beside it. The ship-to is the DC from the 850, with the buyer's location code 0007, and N9 repeats department 042, which the 856 has to carry. G62 10 asks for shipment on 2 October, G62 02 for delivery on 6 October. W66 says freight is prepaid by the shipper, by motor carrier, with SCAC ABCD in W6610 after seven empty elements. The lines are 24 plus 12, which is 36 units, and W7601 is that hash total, 36, with an estimated 18.4 pounds. There are 17 segments from ST to SE, so SE01 is 17.
The warehouse answers with a 945. In this order it shipped complete, on 3 October, a day after the requested ship date:
W06*F*SO-77120*20261003*SH0004821**4500018236~
W12*CC*24*24*0*EA**VN*10482*********PL*000001~
W12*CC*12*12*0*EA**VN*10499*********PL*000002~
W12 gives ordered, shipped and difference per line: 24 minus 24 is 0 and 12 minus 12 is 0, so both lines are CC, shipment complete. W06 returns the depositor order number SO-77120, the actual ship date, the shipment ID SH0004821, which the supplier's 856 uses in BSN02, and the PO number. The full 945 is on the 945 page.
The envelope around it
ISA*00* *00* *ZZ*NORTHFIELD *ZZ*LAKESIDE3PL *260930*1405*U*00401*000000456*0*P*>~
GS*OW*NORTHFIELD*LAKESIDE3PL*20260930*1405*456*X*004010~
ST*940*0001~
SE*17*0001~
GE*1*456~
IEA*1*000000456~
The supplier is the sender, so its ID is in ISA06 and GS02, and the control number continues its own outbound sequence: 455 on the 855 of 29 September, 456 here, 457 on the 856 of 3 October. GS01 is OW. ISA13 has to equal IEA02, GS06 GE02, ST02 SE02, and SE01 has to be the real count of 17. ISA15 is P for production and T for test. A supplier that releases 250 orders a day to one 3PL can send them in one file with GE01 of 250, or in 250 files; a single bad set in a file of 250 can be rejected on its own, as a 997 with partial acceptance reports, but a wrong GE01 rejects the whole group.
Who sends the 940: Kroger's version
Kroger publishes a 940 map as the party that sends it, for its retail warehouse shipping order, in its EDI guide set (version 5010, modified 17 March 2025, checked on 3 October 2026).
| Element | Kroger 940 | What it means for the mapping |
|---|---|---|
| W05 | W0501 N, W0502 and W0503 both the order number | Depositor order and PO number are the same value |
| N1 | ST ship to, BT bill to, VN vendor, with DUNS+4 (qualifier 9) | Locations matched on 13-digit DUNS+4 codes |
| N9 | AN associated POs, CB combined shipment, SI shipper's ID, ZA supplier | Several POs shipped as one order |
| G62 | 02 delivery requested, 04 PO date, 10 requested ship date | Ship and delivery date both given |
| W66 | W6601 such as PB customer pick-up/backhaul, W6602 ZZ | The customer collects the load |
| W01 | Quantity in cases (CA); W0103 case code or W0104 UK with a GTIN-14; W0106 PL with the PO line | Case picking, items in two possible ID formats |
The sample in the map lists three associated POs under one 940, and lines of 15, 25 and 10 cases, 50 cases in total. Like Kroger's 852, the map shows samples with all, none and some items converted to GTIN-14, so the item lookup has to accept a 12-digit case code and a 14-digit GTIN for the same product. Kroger lists the 940 on its EDI requirements page; more under EDI with Kroger.
What goes wrong between ERP and warehouse
- Units. The ERP sells eaches, the warehouse picks cases. A W01 of 24 EA for an item stocked in cases of 12 is 2 cases; sent as 24 CA it is 288 units.
- Lost or duplicate orders. A 940 that is not acknowledged is not known to be in the warehouse. Resent without W0501 T, it can be picked twice. The depositor order number has to be unique and checked on both sides.
- Changes after release. An 860 that lowers a line after the 940 went out needs a 940 with W0501 R before picking starts. After picking, the shipment goes out as released and the difference becomes a return or a credit.
- Short shipments. The 945 reports 10 of 12 shipped with a status such as PR, partial shipment. The 856 and 810 have to be built from the 945, not from the 940, or the buyer receives a notice for 12 and a carton with 10.
- Retailer rules missing. Routing, labels and the SSCC per carton are the retailer's rules; the warehouse only applies them when the 940 carries them, in N9, W66 or NTE, or when they are set up per ship-to in the warehouse system.
Where the 940 comes from in the ERP
The 940 is generated from a sales order or a delivery, at the moment the order is released for shipping.
| ERP data | 940 field | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Shipping order or delivery number | W0502 | Unique per release; links back to the sales order |
| Customer PO number | W0503 | Copied from the 850's BEG03 |
| Ship-to address and location code | N1 ST, N3, N4 | Retailer location code in N104 |
| Requested ship and delivery dates | G62 10 and 02 | From the 850 DTM segments |
| Carrier and freight terms | W66 | From the retailer's routing rules |
| Order lines | LX, W01, G69 | Quantity converted to the warehouse's unit |
On the way back, the 945 updates the same order: shipped quantities, shipment ID, carrier and date. That update starts the 856 to the buyer and the invoice.
We build the 940 and 945 as part of an EDI integration between your ERP and your warehouse: orders released with the retailer's references and units the warehouse picks in, confirmations matched back to the order, and the ship notice and invoice built from what actually shipped. Short shipments and orders the warehouse has not confirmed show up in the dashboard. The same order flow serves orders from your webshop. Tell us which warehouse ships for you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an EDI 940 and a 945?
The 940 is the instruction: the depositor tells the warehouse what to ship, to whom and when. The 945 is the result: the warehouse reports what it actually shipped, per line, with the date, the carrier and the shipment ID. X12 says the 945 is used "to reconcile order quantities with shipment quantities".
What is a depositor in an EDI 940?
The owner of the goods stored in the warehouse, usually the supplier or brand that uses a 3PL. W0502 holds the depositor order number, the depositor's own reference for the shipping order, and the 945 has to return it so the shipment can be matched.
Can a 940 cancel or change a shipping order?
Yes. X12 allows the 940 to "modify or cancel a previously transmitted shipping order". W0501 says which: N original, F cancel, R change, and further codes for backorders and resubmissions. Whether the warehouse accepts a change depends on whether the order was already released to picking.
Is there an EDIFACT equivalent of the 940?
No pairing is established. The X12 to EDIFACT pairs that sources agree on cover the order, acknowledgment, ship notice, invoice, remittance, stock and sales documents; the 940 is not among them, and neither standards body publishes a crosswalk.
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