ASN | Enspan.io

ADVANCED SHIPPING NOTICE (ASN)

What is ASN?

An ASN is usually used by a supplier and customer to give advanced notice to the customer that the parts they ordered have been shipped and are on the way.Typically, this information is not known until the parts hit the customer's dock and are received into inventory.

What does it contain?

An ASN is an electronic signal that contains all of the order information: header data including customer P.O. Number, Sales Order Number, date shipped etc. It also contains line item data with part, batch, serial numbers of each item as well as quantity and other part data. Some ASNs also contain digital documents which may be scanned images of Delivery Notes, Certificates of Conformity (C of C) and other technical certificates from the supplier's raw material provider like Physical Chemistry Reports, raw material C of Cs, Mill Certs etc. All of this is critical for a quality delivery.

What value does ASN provide?

Supplier

Reduced labor during the shipping process
Remove all paper from the shipping process
Know exactly when the customer has received the order via electronic Delivery Note
Project a sophisticated image to customers
Be easier to do business with

Distributor

Reduce receiving labor 10x by automatically triggering ERP receiving transactions without re-keying order data
Improved first-pass quality by inspecting documents digitally before the parts arrive
Increased lead time to fix documentation errors
Predict when parts will arrive
Ability to pass on electronic documentation to customers

End Customer

Multi-Tier visibility helps predict when parts will show up and is a critical element in the planning and forecasting function
Increased lead time to solve critical parts problems, like manufacturing delays
Ability to mitigate sourcing risks and seek alternate source of supply should something go wrong
Improve receiving efficiency 10X via electronic ASN to ERP connection

With over 98% of manufacturers being small and medium sized entities, it follows that the majority of the manufacturing supply chain cannot produce an ASN. This has serious implications for the larger players.

How to connect

If you can produce a delivery note, then you can create an ASN on our platform. We offer simple flat file (.csv) asynchronous uploading of shipping data to our platform as well as direct connection via our open APIs. A one-time investment in connecting will give you the ability to offer digital ASN to all your customers as well as move the problem of connecting to different customers with different data requirements to us. Contact us to learn more.