Suppliers and logistics providers use this transaction set to notify buyers and freight handlers that goods have been shipped. The sender—typically a vendor, manufacturer, or third-party logistics provider—transmits it to the receiver, usually a retailer, distributor, or end customer. While not always sent in direct response to a purchase order, the PRF (Purchase Order Reference) segment allows senders to link the shipment to a specific order when applicable. The BSN (Beginning Segment for Ship Notice) provides essential shipment metadata such as document type and dates, while the HL (Hierarchical Level) loop structures the shipment into logical groupings—shipment header, package, and item levels—allowing detailed tracking of what is being shipped. The LIN (Item Identification) segment and optional PID (Product/Item Description) segments identify individual line items within each shipment.

Consider a scenario where electronics distributor TechSupply ships a mixed order to RetailChain. TechSupply creates an 856 transaction set, using the BSN segment to record the shipment date and unique manifest number. Within the HL loop, it structures the data hierarchically: a shipment-level HL record identifies the overall shipment, followed by package-level HL records for each carton, and item-level HL records listing the specific products (for example, model numbers and quantities). Using the TD1 segment, TechSupply documents total weight and piece count, and with TD5, it specifies the carrier and expected delivery date. The N1 loop captures the shipping destination address and RetailChain’s location code. Once RetailChain receives the 856, warehouse staff can match incoming boxes to expected items and begin receiving processes with confidence in what should arrive.