Troubleshooting Failed Documents — EDI Documentation

When an EDI document shows a Failed status, it means the document could not be transmitted to your trading partner. Unlike a rejection (where the document was delivered but had content issues), a failure means the document never arrived. The good news is that most failures are temporary and easy to resolve.

Common Reasons Documents Fail

Connection timeout: The trading partner's system did not respond in time. This often happens during peak periods or scheduled maintenance windows.
Invalid or expired credentials: Your AS2 certificate, SFTP password, or API key may have expired or been changed on the retailer's side.
Document validation errors: The document failed RetailReady's internal validation before it was even sent. This means required fields are missing or data does not match expected formats.
Partner system unavailable: The retailer's EDI system is down for maintenance or experiencing an outage.
Network issues: A temporary internet connectivity problem prevented the transmission.
File size limits: In rare cases, very large documents (e.g., an ASN with hundreds of cartons) may exceed the partner's size limits.

Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Guide

Follow these steps in order when you encounter a failed document:

Read the error message. Open the failed document in RetailReady and look at the error details. The error message is your most important clue. It will usually tell you whether the problem is a connection issue, validation error, or something else.
Check your trading partner's connection status. Go to Trading Partners and look at the connection indicator for the relevant retailer. If it shows as disconnected or has a recent error, the problem may be on the connection level, not the document level.
Try resending the document. If the error message suggests a temporary issue (timeout, network error, partner system unavailable), click the Retry button on the failed document. Many failures resolve themselves on a second attempt.
Check if it is a validation error. If the error mentions validation, missing fields, or invalid data, the document itself has a problem. Open the document, review the flagged fields, correct them, and try sending again.
Verify your credentials have not changed. If you are seeing authentication errors, check with your retailer to make sure your connection credentials are still valid. Certificates and passwords sometimes expire without warning.
Check the retailer's maintenance schedule. Some retailers have planned maintenance windows (often weekend nights). If your document failed during one of these windows, simply retry after the maintenance is complete.
Contact RetailReady support. If you have tried the steps above and the document still will not send, reach out to support. Include the document ID and the error message — this helps the team diagnose the issue quickly.

When Retries Are Exhausted

RetailReady automatically retries failed transmissions up to three times with increasing delays between attempts. If all retries are exhausted and the document still has not been delivered, it moves to a permanent Failed status. At this point:

Check the full error history on the document detail page. Each retry attempt logs its own error, and the pattern can reveal the root cause.
Verify the trading partner connection is active. A persistent failure across multiple retries usually indicates a configuration problem, not a temporary outage.
Manually retry after fixing the issue. Once you have identified and resolved the root cause, use the Retry button to send the document again. This resets the retry counter.
Contact support if the cause is unclear. Include the document ID and all error messages from the retry history.

Troubleshooting Decision Tree

Use this quick-reference flow to find the right fix:

Is the error message about authentication or credentials?
- Yes → Verify your connection credentials in Trading Partners. Contact the retailer if certificates have expired.
- No → Go to step 2.
Is the error message about connection timeout or network?
- Yes → Wait a few minutes and retry. Check if the retailer's system is in a maintenance window.
- No → Go to step 3.
Is the error message about validation or missing data?
- Yes → Open the document, fix the flagged fields, and resend.
- No → Go to step 4.
Is the trading partner showing as disconnected?
- Yes → The problem is at the connection level. Check connection settings and test the connection.
- No → Go to step 5.
Has this document failed more than twice?
- Yes → Contact RetailReady support with the document ID and error message.
- No → Retry one more time. If it fails again, contact support.

Preventing Future Failures

While you cannot prevent every failure, these habits will reduce them significantly:

Send documents during business hours when possible. Retailer systems are most reliably available during their normal operating hours.
Do not wait until the last minute. If an ASN is due the day of shipment, send it as soon as the carrier picks up, not at the end of the day.
Monitor your Trading Partner connection status regularly. If you see a connection issue before you need to send a document, you can address it proactively.
Keep your product catalog up to date. Many validation errors come from outdated UPCs, item numbers, or pricing that does not match what the retailer expects.