Inventory Inquiry, Advice

What is the Purpose of The EDI 846 - Inventory Inquiry, Advice?

The EDI 846 helps retailers track inventory availability by allowing them to request current and future stock levels from their suppliers. This document is particularly essential for dropshipping and direct-to-consumer fulfillment operations.

What are the important elements of The EDI 846 - Inventory Inquiry, Advice?

The EDI 846 (Inventory Inquiry/Advice) is a standardized electronic document used to communicate inventory levels and status information. Here are the key elements: 1. Header Information: - Document Reference Number - Transaction Date/Time - Purpose Code (Inquiry/Response) - Type of Inventory Report - Report Period - Currency Code - Activity Date 2. Partner Information: - Reporting Party (name, ID, address) - Requesting Party - Warehouse Location - Inventory Owner - Additional Trading Partner IDs 3. Inventory Details: - Product Identifiers - Item Descriptions - Quantities on Hand - Unit of Measure - Location Information - Product Status - Available Quantities - Reserved Quantities 4. Stock Information: - Beginning Balance - Ending Balance - Minimum Stock Levels - Maximum Stock Levels - Safety Stock Levels - On-Order Quantities - In-Transit Quantities 5. Location Details: - Warehouse Locations - Storage Areas - Bin Locations - Zone Information - Facility Identifiers - Department Codes 6. Product Status: - Condition Codes - Quality Status - Hold Status - Aging Information - Lot Numbers - Serial Numbers - Expiration Dates 7. Reference Numbers: - Purchase Order Numbers - Sales Order Numbers - Customer Numbers - Supplier Numbers - Contract References - Batch Numbers 8. Additional Elements: - Special Instructions - Storage Requirements - Handling Instructions - Temperature Requirements - Quality Requirements - Reporting Requirements 9. Control Segments: - Transaction Set Control Numbers - Segment Counts - Hash Totals - Control Totals The EDI 846 is essential for maintaining accurate inventory records and enabling efficient supply chain management between trading partners.

What are the potential issues with The EDI 846 - Inventory Inquiry, Advice?

Here are the potential issues that can occur with EDI 846 (Inventory Inquiry/Advice) transmissions: 1. Inventory Data Problems: - Incorrect stock levels - Wrong available quantities - Invalid allocated amounts - Missing on-order quantities - Wrong reserved quantities - Incorrect in-transit amounts - Invalid backorder information 2. Product Identification Issues: - Wrong product identifiers - Invalid item descriptions - Missing SKU information - Incorrect UPC/EAN codes - Wrong pack sizes - Invalid unit of measure - Missing product attributes 3. Location Information Problems: - Invalid warehouse locations - Wrong storage areas - Missing bin locations - Incorrect facility codes - Wrong zone information - Invalid department codes - Missing location hierarchies 4. Status and Condition Issues: - Wrong inventory status - Invalid condition codes - Missing quality status - Incorrect hold codes - Wrong aging information - Invalid lot status - Missing disposition codes 5. Date and Time Problems: - Wrong as-of dates - Invalid reporting periods - Missing timestamp information - Incorrect aging dates - Wrong expiration dates - Invalid manufacture dates - Missing receipt dates 6. Reference Number Issues: - Missing lot numbers - Invalid serial numbers - Wrong batch references - Incorrect order numbers - Missing purchase order references - Wrong contract numbers - Invalid control numbers 7. Format and Structure Issues: - Missing mandatory segments - Invalid segment sequence - Wrong element usage - Incorrect qualifiers - Version/release mismatches - Character set problems - Wrong hierarchical structure 8. System Integration Challenges: - WMS system incompatibilities - ERP integration problems - Translation errors - Interface failures - Database synchronization - Data transformation errors - Mapping discrepancies 9. Business Rule Violations: - Invalid minimum/maximum levels - Wrong safety stock rules - Incorrect reorder points - Missing required fields - Invalid inventory policies - Wrong valuation methods - Incorrect ABC classifications These issues can impact inventory management accuracy and require robust validation and error handling procedures.