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Start
Up & Overview
1.
Before data transmissions to Kroger EDI can be
initiated, the Kroger Logistics Requirements must be met.
These requirements must be reviewed and confirmed with the
Distribution Center. After the Kroger Distribution
Center has signed off on the requirements, they will
contact Kroger EDI.
2.
When Kroger EDI contacts the vendor, the vendor can
begin EDI communication with Kroger. The vendor must meet
the Kroger EDI 856 Standard before implementation from
test to production.
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Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the
computer- to -computer exchange of business documents
between companies, using a public standard format. Rather
than preparing paper and sending it through the mail, or
using other communications methods such as FAX, EDI users
exchange business data directly between their respective
computer systems.
At The Kroger Co., UCS (Uniform
Communication Standard) transaction set 856 is the EDI
standard used to receive Ship Notice/Manifest documents
from suppliers. This is the electronic data interchange
standard used by the grocery industry and other
retail-oriented industry sectors. Note: While EDI
Standards refer to the 856 as "Ship
Notice/Manifest," the traditional name for the 856
EDI document has been "Advance Ship Notice." As
such, both names, as well as the acronym, "ASN,"
will be used interchangeably within this guide.
There are a number of benefits for both
The Kroger Company and its suppliers in using EDI for Ship
Notice/Manifest business transactions. The benefits
include decreased unloading time, expedited and more
accurate receiving at the warehouse, faster pallet put
away by retaining a vendor's license plate (bar coded
labels applied to pallets), advance notification of
exceptions to an order, and a foundational building block
for RFID technology. All of these reduce the time needed
to restock store shelves, consequently improving product
turns.
The intent of this document is to specify
the basic components of an Advance Ship Notice required by
Kroger. These specifications establish the model for an
ASN that will interface with the initial implementation of
a new Warehouse Management System (WIN) at Kroger
Marketing Areas (KMA). The Kroger Co. recognizes the
commitment, investment and effort required by our vendors
to implement systems that generate and apply bar coded
labels to pallets, capture and upload detailed information
from their shipping areas, build the Advance Ship Notice,
and transmit it in a timely fashion. For these reasons,
Kroger intends at this time to concentrate on the
fundamentals that provide the majority of the anticipated
benefits, through an ASN that directly interfaces into our
new WIN system. Kroger expects its vendors to provide the
required data, with 100% accuracy and the necessary
timeliness, and to establish procedures that ensure the
continued reliable delivery of their ASN. These are the
primary goals for successful initial implementation of
this document.
The following summarizes the conceptual
components of the model ASN described within this
document, its use within Kroger, and the procedures
controlling its implementation and flow.
The basic model for the ASN to be sent to
Kroger by suppliers has the following attributes:
Note: items
highlighted, underlined, and noted below in italics are
requirements that Kroger would like to receive for however
will be flexible on.
1.
The Shipment, Order, Tare, and Pack levels of the
ASN Hierarchy are REQUIRED
2.
Required Shipment level data: Standard
Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC), Bill of Lading Number, Trailer
Number, Ship-To DUNS + 4, Ship-From DUNS + 4,
and Date Shipped
3.
Required Order level data: the Kroger Purchase
Order number
4.
Product is shipped in unitized loads (pallets, slip
sheets, etc.); no ASN is defined for non-unitized, floor
loaded shipments at this time
5.
Shipping labels with unique "license
plates" (UCC/EAN-128 Serial Shipping Container Code
Format (SSCC-18) bar codes) are to be applied to unitized
loads, according to specifications published in the Kroger
Shipping Container Marking Guidelines & Requirements
document
6.
Required Tare level data: the license plate
(SSCC-18), pallet TI-HI (blocks and tiers)
7.
Every license plate used in the shipment is to be
transmitted within the 856 document
8.
A unique license plate (SSCC-18) is
to be sent at every Tare level of the ASN
9.
The U.P.C./EAN Case Code (2-5-5) is required at the
Pack level
10.
Exactly one U.P.C./EAN Case Code is to be
associated with each unique license plate; this implies
exactly one Pack level is to be sent under each Tare level
within the ASN
11.
Required Pack level data: U.P.C./EAN Case Code,
quantity shipped, and Production or Expiration Date (if
one applies)
12.
The U.P.C. Shipping Container Code (SCC-14) is NOT
required in the ASN at this time
13.
Item level information is not used at this time,
and will be ignored if sent
Suppliers will establish procedures to
gather information about shipments after unitized loads
are loaded onto a truck. This underscores the importance
to Kroger of the transportation information: SCAC, Bill of
Lading Number, and Trailer Number.
One of the goals of the receiving process,
and of the specifications in the Kroger Shipping Container
Marking Guidelines & Requirements document, is to
maximize the retention of the license plate applied by the
supplier with the pallets that are put away in a Kroger
warehouse. Kroger stores one item (identified by U.P.C./EAN
Case Code) per pallet (identified by license plate) in its
warehouse slots. If the supplier follows the requirement
of exactly one U.P.C./EAN Case Code per unique license
plate, applying labels accordingly, then his license plate
may be retained as mixed pallets are broken down to one
pallet per item.
Suppliers must send an ASN in EDI Standard
format. Kroger will initially accept ASN's whose format
complies with Standards version,&127; 004010UCS.
Kroger will return a 997 Functional Acknowledgment EDI
document in response to each group of ASN's sent. Any
violations of EDI Standards will be detailed in the 997.
In addition to compliance with EDI
Standard formats, suppliers must send an ASN that complies
with these published Kroger requirements. That is, the
specified hierarchical structure, and all data identified
as required by Kroger, must be present within each ASN.
Kroger will perform edits to all ASN's that pass EDI
Standards, and reject any ASN that fails to meet Kroger's
specifications. Kroger will return 824 Application Advice
EDI documents, detailing the results of these edits, in
response to all ASN's passing EDI Standards. Any
violations of Kroger requirements will be detailed in the 824
Application Advice, by associating error codes with an
ASN. The supplier may then look up in this manual the
explanation corresponding to each error code. Note: Each
supplier is expected to perform appropriate monitoring
functions, concerning the 997 and 824 documents returned
to him, to ensure the uninterrupted flow of syntactically
correct and complete ASN's to Kroger.
Kroger considers it to be the supplier's
responsibility to look for an 824 document referencing
every ASN that passed EDI Standards edits (that is, for
which Kroger indicated acceptance in a 997). Since the 824
is thus considered a "return" document, to be
anticipated by the supplier, Kroger does not require, nor
will it monitor for, return of a 997 Functional
Acknowledgment in response to a group of 824 documents. If
the supplier's system generates and sends a 997, in
response to a group of Kroger 824 documents, then Kroger
will accept and process it as usual.
Once an ASN passes EDI Standards and
Kroger requirements edits, it may be loaded into our WIN
system. It is at this time that edits are performed to
validate U.P.C./EAN Case Codes and Kroger Purchase Order
Numbers. Note: the 824 does not report data value errors
of this type. When the shipment arrives, receiving is
performed against an expectation of Purchase Orders,
license plates, U.P.C./EAN Case Codes and quantities, sent
via the ASN. Exceptions to this expectation are noted
within the WIN system. The Site ASN Coordinator at each
warehouse will monitor loading and receiving exceptions.
This person will notify suppliers of problems encountered
and scorecard performance.
Kroger expects to "certify" the
accuracy of a supplier's ASN's, during an Evaluation Phase
in which manual verification of license plates, U.P.C./EAN
Case Codes and quantities is performed. Upon satisfactory
demonstration of sufficient accuracy, and following a
supplier's assurance that his ASN generating capabilities
have stabilized, a supplier is "certified,"
after which manual verification may be bypassed, and the
accuracy of the items and quantities associated with
license plates is assumed. This is when the maximum
benefit of ASN's is achieved. Certified suppliers will be
subject to periodic random audits to maintain their
certification status.
Kroger will perform evaluation and
certification by vendor Ship-From location, identified by
the DUNS + 4 sent in the ASN. This is expected to be the
appropriate level for expected ASN reliability, and should
allow the maximum potential for certification as suppliers
implement their ASN capabilities. Each Site ASN
Coordinator at the KMA will determine their own criteria
for certification. Certification by one KMA does not
necessarily imply certification by any other, but is quite
helpful.
Kroger will establish inbound ASN
processing schedules to ensure that, for all KMA's, an ASN
is loaded into our WIN system less than 90 minutes after
the supplier sends it. Given this "under 90
minute" assumption, suppliers will generate and send
an ASN to Kroger quickly enough after the truck is loaded,
that the ASN is in Kroger's WIN system before the truck
arrives. To achieve this, suppliers must consider all
minimum delivery times from each of their Ship-From
locations, to each Kroger warehouse. Failure to reliably
provide an ASN, in enough time to be used, will adversely
affect certification.
Special mention must be made of
“shipper” or “module” pallets These terms refers
to various bundled quantities of multiple retail items,
which are sold as a single unit to Kroger, often for
promotional purposes. It is presumed that such a unit has
a unique U.P.C./EAN Case Code assigned to it by the
supplier, and that a Kroger Purchase Order exists which
reflects a quantity of this U.P.C./EAN Case Code. From the
perspective of the ASN, therefore, these units are simply
represented at the PACK level by a quantity of that U.P.C./EAN
Case Code, which is associated with one or more license
plates (from the TARE level), just like any other standard
shipping container (case) of product.
From the hierarchical structure of the ASN,
it is implied that multiple Kroger Purchase Orders may be
specified as part of the same shipment, and that each tare
level applies to exactly one Kroger Purchase Order. Note
that, for consolidated or public warehouses, the multiple
purchase orders in one shipment may apply to multiple
Kroger vendors. Multi-vendor ASN's are supported in this
initial implementation. Within WIN, the vendor will be
determined by the Kroger Purchase Order Number.
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