November 3rd, 2021

What Is a DESADV?

The DESADV message is an electronic dispatch advice message in accordance with the EDIFACT standard for electronic document exchange. It’s sent by the supplier or warehouse to the buyer as confirmation that their order is on its way (and so much more). The DESADV typically serves as a follow-up to the order response (ORDRSP) message and virtually guarantees that the order will be delivered on time and as promised. 

Common Substitutes for DESADV

In Europe, many use the terms DESADV and dispatch/despatch advice interchangeably. When referring to the same EDIFACT “DESADV” message in North America, it’s more common to refer to the message as an advanced shipping notice (ASN) or EDI 856 ship notice/manifest, both of which are more in line with regional preferences and ANSI X12 transaction sets. 

In a basic sense, DESADV = dispatch/despatch advice = EDI 856 = ship notice/manifest = advanced shipping notice (ASN). Five ways of referencing a single document that contains useful information about a shipment. From a technical perspective, however, the DESADV format differs from that of an EDI 856 (EDIFACT vs. ANSI X12). The EDIFACT DESADV may also reference a specific version of the message, one of the most common of which is DESADV D.96A. 

What’s Included in a DESADV?

Regardless of how the data is structured or which version is used, the document will always contain some variation of the following shipment-identifying information:

  • Order(s) shipped
  • Individual line item shipped quantity
  • Product descriptions
  • Carrier information and tracking number
  • Estimated delivery date and time
  • Packaging description
  • Barcode labels for receiving (if applicable)
  • Pallet codes (if applicable)

Interested in learning more EDIFACT messages like the DESADV? Visit our glossary. 

 

You Might Also Like...