Shares real-time or near-real-time inventory levels, on-hand quantities, and availability data with trading partners - the foundation of drop-ship eCommerce fulfillment, vendor-managed inventory (VMI), and 3PL visibility programs.
The EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry / Advice is a bidirectional inventory communication - it can be sent either as an inquiry (a buyer asking "what do you have in stock?") or as an advice (a supplier proactively broadcasting their current inventory levels). In practice, the advice mode is far more common: suppliers and 3PLs push 846 inventory updates to their customers and trading partners on a scheduled basis (often daily, sometimes hourly or real-time), so those partners can make purchase decisions, set website availability flags, and trigger replenishment orders.
For drop-ship programs - where a retailer sells items on their website that are actually fulfilled directly from a supplier's warehouse - the 846 is the lifeblood of accurate product availability. If a retailer's eCommerce platform shows an item as "In Stock" but the supplier's 846 indicates 0 available, customers get a bad experience (order placed, then cancelled). Retailers typically require suppliers to send 846 updates at least daily; for fast-moving items, some programs require feeds every 4 hours or via near-real-time API integration.
In VMI (vendor-managed inventory) programs, the supplier receives point-of-sale or warehouse consumption data (often via an 852 Product Activity Data) and uses it to manage the buyer's inventory levels automatically. The 846 closes the loop - the supplier sends inventory advices so the buyer can confirm the VMI replenishment is keeping shelves stocked. The 846 data feeds replenishment algorithms that determine when and how much to ship next.
Online retailers (Amazon Vendor Central, Wayfair, Overstock, Target+) require 846 inventory feeds from all drop-ship suppliers. The 846 data populates the retailer's website inventory count and controls whether an item shows "In Stock," "Limited Availability," or "Out of Stock." Stale 846 data directly causes oversell incidents and customer service escalations.
In VMI programs at retailers like Home Depot, Best Buy, or Bed Bath & Beyond, suppliers receive 852 POS data and respond by shipping replenishment quantities. The 846 confirms to the retailer what the supplier currently has available to ship - if a supplier's 846 shows insufficient stock, the retailer's replenishment team can escalate before shelves go empty.
Wholesale distributors use 846 to share warehouse stock levels with their sales network, key accounts, and ERP-integrated customers. When a distributor's customer has a reorder point integration, the 846 feeds available quantity data that triggers automatic PO generation without human involvement - the customer's ERP orders automatically when the distributor's 846 shows stock is available.
Third-party logistics providers send 846 inventory advices to their clients on a scheduled or event-driven basis, reporting what's on-hand, in-transit, on-hold for QC, and damaged at each warehouse location. The 846 is the primary tool clients use to reconcile their ERP inventory records against what the 3PL actually holds - discrepancies trigger cycle count investigations.
Opens the 846. BIA01 = transaction set purpose code (00 = original, 05 = replace). BIA02 = report type code: 00 (inventory inquiry), DO (inventory advice - on-order), OH (on-hand inventory advice), AV (available inventory advice). BIA03 = reference identification (document ID). BIA04 = date. BIA05 = time. The report type code tells the receiver what kind of quantity to expect - on-hand, on-order, or available-to-promise (on-hand minus open orders).
Identifies each inventory item being reported. LIN02/LIN03 = primary product identifier. Common qualifier pairs: UP (UPC, 12-digit), UI (GTIN-14 case code), VN (vendor's item number), BP (buyer's item number), SK (stock keeping unit). Including both the supplier's item number and the buyer's item number avoids the lookup step in the buyer's receiving system and speeds auto-matching of inventory data to internal item records.
Reports inventory quantities by type. QTY01 = quantity qualifier: OH (on hand), OO (on order from supplier), AS (available to ship), SU (on backorder), QC (quality hold), DA (damaged). QTY02 = quantity amount. QTY03 = unit of measure (EA, CA, PL). Multiple QTY segments per LIN report different quantity buckets simultaneously - a buyer needs to see not just on-hand but also what's committed, what's damaged, and what's on order.
Used in warehouse/3PL implementations to carry detailed inventory status. W0401 = number of units, W0402 = unit of measure, W0403 = weight qualifier, W0404 = weight, W0405 = weight unit code, W0406 = item ID (SKU or UPC). W04 segments within a W03 warehouse ID loop enable multi-location reporting - the same SKU can appear multiple times with different W04 quantities for each warehouse or zone, enabling location-level inventory visibility.
Timestamps the inventory snapshot. DTM01 = 007 (effective date - when the inventory count was taken), DTM01 = 036 (expiration - when this snapshot expires and should be refreshed). Also used to carry expected availability dates: DTM01 = AAA (expected availability date for backordered items). Buyers use this date to determine how stale the 846 data is - a 48-hour-old inventory snapshot may not be reliable for fast-moving items.
Identifies the warehouse or distribution point from which inventory is available. N101 = SE (selling party / supplier warehouse), N102 = warehouse name, N103/N104 = ID qualifier and value (DUNS, GLN, or partner-assigned location code). For suppliers with multiple fulfillment locations (East Coast DC and West Coast DC), separate N1/LIN/QTY blocks report inventory at each location, allowing buyers to route orders to the nearest fulfillable source.
The 852 carries POS sales and inventory movement data from buyer to supplier - the demand signal that complements the 846 supply signal. In VMI programs, the supplier receives 852 POS data and sends 846 inventory advices in response, creating a closed-loop replenishment conversation between buyer and supplier systems.
The 846 inventory signal often directly triggers purchase order generation. In automated replenishment systems, when a supplier's 846 shows available inventory and the buyer's system is below its reorder point, an 850 PO is automatically generated without human intervention - the 846 availability is a prerequisite for this automation.
In 3PL relationships, the client sends a 940 Warehouse Shipping Order directing the 3PL to pick and ship. Before sending the 940, the client confirms there is sufficient inventory available by checking the 3PL's most recent 846 advice. The 940 and 846 work together to manage outbound fulfillment from third-party warehouses.
After a 3PL ships, the 945 confirms what was actually picked and shipped. Each 945 causes the 3PL to reduce their available inventory count, and this updated position is then reflected in the next 846 inventory advice sent to the client - completing the outbound inventory management cycle.
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