Glossary
Advance shipping notice
Also called: ASN
An advance shipping notice is a message from a supplier saying what they have dispatched and when it should reach you.
It arrives before the van does. That is the entire value.
What a useful one contains
- The purchase order it relates to
- What is on the van, line by line, with quantities
- How many cartons or pallets
- The expected date
The line detail is the part that matters. “Your order has shipped” is not an ASN, it is an email.
What it changes
You know a 400-unit delivery is coming on Thursday, so somebody is rostered to count it. Without that, deliveries land whenever they land, and receiving happens whenever there is a gap between customers.
A good ASN also tells you early that only half the order shipped. You can chase the rest before it becomes a part delivery nobody followed up.
Where it goes wrong
The ASN is trusted instead of counted. It says sixty jackets, so sixty jackets are booked in, and the four that were never packed become somebody’s problem in November.
An ASN tells you what to expect. It never tells you what arrived. Count the boxes against the purchase order, every time.
Related terms
Purchase order
Also called: PO
A purchase order is the document you send a supplier to order stock. It lists what you want, how many, and what you agreed to pay.
Receiving
Also called: Goods in
Receiving is checking a delivery against what you ordered, then telling your system what actually arrived.
Lead time
Lead time is how long it takes for stock to arrive after you place the order, measured from your side of the transaction.