What Is an EDI 945?
The EDI 945 Warehouse Shipping Advice is an electronic confirmation a warehouse or 3PL sends back to the depositor (the brand or seller) to prove that a shipment has been completed. It tells the depositor exactly what left the building - item by item, package by package, with carrier, tracking, and weight - so the brand can update its orders, notify its customers, and invoice accurately. In a typical 3PL integration, the 945 is the final event in the fulfillment loop: 940 (ship order) -> warehouse picks/packs -> carrier picks up -> 945 (we shipped this).
EDI 940 vs. 945: How the Warehouse Pair Works
The 940 and 945 are two sides of the same transaction. One is the ask, the other is the answer. Together they create an auditable, real-time record of what the warehouse was told to ship and what it actually shipped.
- 940 (Warehouse Shipping Order) - depositor asks the warehouse to ship an order.
- 945 (Warehouse Shipping Advice) - warehouse tells the depositor what actually shipped, including any variances.
- 997 (Functional Acknowledgment) - confirms the 940 and 945 were received and parsed.
- 846 (Inventory Inquiry/Advice) - warehouse pushes updated on-hand counts back to the depositor.
- 947 (Warehouse Inventory Adjustment Advice) - warehouse reports discrepancies, damages, or cycle-count adjustments.
Key Data Elements in an EDI 945
An X12 945 is structured from the W06 shipment header down through line-item loops. The segments that matter most in day-to-day operations:
- W06 - warehouse order number, purpose code (original, change, delete), and shipment reference.
- N1/N3/N4 - ship-from warehouse, ship-to consignee, and bill-to addresses (must match the 940).
- N9 - reference numbers tying the 945 back to the original 940, PO (850), sales order, or customer ID.
- G62/DTM - actual ship date, must-arrive-by date, and pickup windows.
- LX + W01 + W12 - each line: product ID (UPC/GTIN/SKU), quantity ordered, quantity shipped, quantity backordered, unit of measure, lot, and serial.
- W76 - total weight, total units, total pallets, and shipment totals for carrier rating.
- W27 - carrier SCAC, bill of lading number, trailer number, and mode of transport.
Short Ships, Backorders, and Substitutions on the 945
The most important job of the 945 is honesty: it must report when reality does not match the 940. A perfect 945 ships exactly what the 940 requested. A real-world 945 often contains variances that require immediate action.
- Short ship - W12 shows quantity shipped is less than quantity ordered. The difference is backordered or cancelled depending on trading partner rules.
- Backorder - warehouse could not fill the line in full; remaining quantity is promised for a future ship date.
- Substitution - warehouse ships a different SKU or lot than requested, usually flagged in N9 or PID segments.
- Split shipment - one 940 results in multiple 945s when inventory is pulled from different warehouses.
- Rejected line - W12 quantity shipped is zero; WMS could not allocate stock and the line is cancelled.
How 3PLs Generate and Send EDI 945s
When a warehouse finishes picking and packing, their WMS generates the 945 automatically. The process is usually event-driven: a carrier scans the last carton onto the truck, the WMS marks the shipment as 'shipped,' and the 945 is generated and transmitted within minutes. Most Tier 1 3PLs (DHL Supply Chain, GEODIS, NFI, ShipBob) integrate directly with carrier APIs to pull tracking numbers, so the 945 arrives with live tracking before the carrier's own website updates.
EDI 945 Timing and SLAs
Most depositor-3PL contracts include strict SLAs for 945 delivery. Typical requirements:
- 945 must be sent within 1 to 24 hours of physical shipment, depending on the trading partner.
- Amazon FBA and large retailers often require the 945 within 4 hours of carrier pickup.
- 997 acknowledgment of the 940 should arrive within minutes; 945 should follow within hours.
- If a 945 is missing after 24 hours, the depositor should flag it as a potential lost or stuck shipment.
Common EDI 945 Errors
These are the 945 issues Yoke sees most often when integrating a new 3PL or onboarding a new depositor:
- Missing tracking numbers on W27 when the carrier integration fails silently.
- Quantity shipped on 945 does not match quantity on 940 with no W12 backorder explanation.
- Wrong product IDs on W01 (UPC vs. SKU mismatch between warehouse and depositor item masters).
- N9 reference numbers do not match the original 940, making reconciliation impossible.
- Late 945s that arrive after the customer has already complained about a missing delivery.
- Duplicate 945s sent for the same shipment, causing double invoicing or duplicate customer notifications.
How Yoke Handles EDI 945 for You
Yoke receives 945s from every 3PL and warehouse in your network, validates them against the original 940 to catch short ships and mismatches in real time, extracts tracking numbers and pushes them to your OMS or customer notification system automatically, and alerts you when a 945 is late, missing, or contains variances that need action. When a 3PL changes their 945 spec or reference-number format, we update the map so your reconciliation stays accurate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions buyers and suppliers ask most about this transaction.
- What is an EDI 945? An EDI 945 is the Warehouse Shipping Advice: an X12 transaction set a warehouse or 3PL sends back to the depositor to confirm exactly what was shipped, when, with which carrier, and what tracking numbers apply.
- What is the difference between an EDI 940 and an EDI 945? The 940 is the instruction from the depositor to the warehouse to ship an order. The 945 is the warehouse's response confirming exactly what shipped, including any short ships, backorders, or substitutions.
- Who sends the EDI 945? The warehouse or 3PL sends the 945 back to the depositor (the brand or seller that owns the inventory). It is generated automatically by the warehouse management system when the shipment is completed and handed to the carrier.
- What is a short ship on an EDI 945? A short ship happens when the warehouse ships fewer units than the 940 requested. The 945 reports the actual quantity shipped in W12, and the difference is either backordered for a future shipment or cancelled depending on the trading partner's rules.
- What should I do if the EDI 945 never arrives? If a 945 is missing more than 24 hours after the expected ship date, check the 997 acknowledgment of the 940 first - the 940 may have been rejected. If the 940 was accepted, contact the 3PL directly to verify the shipment status, or use a platform like Yoke that monitors SLA compliance and auto-alerts on missing 945s.