EDI 846 Inventory Advice: Sharing Stock Levels by EDI
Stock levels shared by EDI: how much of each item is available, so retailers and marketplaces don’t sell what you can’t ship.
- Document
- X12 846: Inventory Inquiry/Advice
- Sent by
- Supplier (or 3PL)
- Sent to
- Buyer (or supplier)
- In NetSuite
- Item availability by location
(01)What it is
The 846 shares inventory. Suppliers send it to retailers that sell their products online or drop-ship them, so the retailer only sells what the supplier has. 3PLs also send it to suppliers to report what is in the warehouse.
It is usually sent on a schedule, often daily or several times a day. The value of the document depends on how fresh and how accurate the quantity is.
Retailers that drop-ship (sell online and have the supplier ship to the consumer) depend on it most: their website shows your 846 quantity as stock. Some partners also ask for future availability, such as quantities arriving on open purchase orders and their dates.
(02)What it carries
- 01Items, by UPC, SKU or the buyer’s item number
- 02Quantity available, and sometimes quantity on order or expected dates
- 03The location or warehouse the quantity applies to
- 04The date and time the quantities were taken
In plain language. Each trading partner’s implementation guide sets the exact fields it requires.
(03)Where it fits
Documents usually exchanged before and after the 846.
(04)In NetSuite
Build the outbound 846 from NetSuite available quantities (on hand minus committed) for the locations that serve that partner, minus any safety stock you hold back. An inbound 846 from a 3PL should be compared with NetSuite and the differences reviewed, not used to overwrite NetSuite silently.
(05)Common mistakes
- 01Sending on-hand instead of available quantity, so stock already committed to other orders is sold twice.
- 02Sending an 846 too rarely for fast-moving items, so the retailer oversells between updates.
(06)Questions
What is an EDI 846?
The EDI 846 is the X12 inventory inquiry/advice: a report of item quantities available, used by suppliers, retailers and 3PLs to share stock levels.
How often should an 846 be sent?
As often as the trading partner asks, typically daily for store replenishment and more often for drop-ship and ecommerce, where overselling is costly.
(07)More catalog & inventory documents