ASN 856 Procedures

Vendor Requirements

1. The vendor will develop the procedures and data processing capability to:
   1. Apply bar coded shipping labels to unitized loads, based on the KrogerShipping Container Marking Guidelines & Requirements document;
   2. Generate a Ship Notice/Manifest, EDI document 856, in accordance with the ASN specifications in this manual.
2. The vendor will contact the Kroger EDI Coordinator to begin the Testing Phase. The Kroger EDI Coordinator will obtain the vendor's Communications ID and Qualifier, and a list of Ship-From locations (DUNS + 4) for the DC's from which the vendor wishes to generate test ASN's.
3. The vendor will estimate, for each DC, the minimum shipping times from the DC to the KMA warehouse, and the maximum time it may take them to send an ASN from the DC after the truck departs. A preliminary analysis will occur to identify those Ship-From locations for which it seems feasible to attempt to implement ASN's. Some Ship-From locations may initially be excluded from testing, depending on these times from the vendor, and Kroger's 90 minute processing. Those initially excluded Ship-From locations may require special reengineering of processes by the vendor, or Kroger, to ensure that the ASN is in WIN before the truck arrives. These will be dealt with as they are encountered.
4. After performing the necessary EDI Partner Definition functions, and identifying the list of Ship-From locations to be tested, the Kroger EDI Coordinator will instruct the vendor to begin test transmissions of ASN's corresponding to shipments. Tests are sent, and dialogs held between the vendor and the Kroger EDI Coordinator, until the following occurs:
   1. The Kroger EDI Coordinator confirms a successful transmission (that is, an ASN that passes EDI Standards and Kroger requirements edits);
   2. The vendor confirms receipt of 997 and 824 documents, both indicating acceptance of an ASN.
   3. The Site ASN Coordinator confirms proper application and content of the bar coded shipping labels on unitized loads, based upon Kroger's Shipping Container Marking Guidelines & Requirements document.

   At this time the Testing Phase ends, and the Evaluation Phase begins.

5. During the evaluation Phase, the Site ASN Coordinator will monitor for the loading of ASN's into the WIN system, will watch for the arrival of trucks corresponding to the ASN's, and will evaluate the accuracy of the ASN's as the shipments are received. Problems found during loading the ASN into the WIN system will be investigated, and the results communicated to the vendor. Any needed corrective action will be taken by Kroger and/or the vendor. The accuracy of successfully loaded ASN's during receiving will be evaluated.
6. Kroger will consider certifying a vendor's Ship-From location for accuracy sufficient to bypass manual verification, after all of the following minimum conditions are met:
   1. The Kroger EDI Coordinator finds no new errors reported via 997 or 824;
   2. The Site ASN Coordinator confirms continued proper application and content of the bar coded shipping labels on pallets of product
   3. The vendor assures that his ASN generating capabilities have stabilized;
   4. The vendor confirms regular receipt and monitoring of 997 and 824 documents, through his production system;
   5. The ASN consistently loads into the WMS system with no problem;
   6. The ASN is 100% accurate with respect to license plates, U.P.C./EAN Case Codes, quantities, Expiration /Production Dates, etc.:
   7. The ASN is consistently sent at least 90 minutes before the truck arrives.
7. Once a vendor's Ship-From location has been certified, the maximum benefit from the use of ASN's will be realized. At this time the Evaluation Phase ends, and the Production Phase begins. Certified vendors will be subject to periodic random audits, passing of which is necessary to remain in the Production Phase.
8. A vendor will continually monitor for return of the 997 and 824 documents for each group of ASN's sent. When a rejected ASN is detected, via the 997 or 824, the vendor will immediately undertake investigative and corrective action. The vendor is to call the Kroger EDI Coordinator if an expected 997 or 824 are not received within 12 hours after the ASN's were sent (a UCS Guideline for the 997). In the future, Kroger expects to reduce this length of time to as short as 3 hours. This vendor monitoring will serve to ensure the uninterrupted flow of syntactically correct and complete ASN's to Kroger, and minimize any "ASN outage" while in production. EDI Versions Supported.