Acknowledging Orders (855)

What Is an Acknowledgment?

An 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment is your formal response to a retailer's purchase order. It tells the retailer: "I received your order, I've reviewed it, and here's what I can do." It's the EDI equivalent of replying to an email with "Got it — I'm on it."

This might seem like a small formality, but it's one of the most important steps in the EDI process. Skipping it or sending it late can have real financial consequences.

Why Acknowledgments Matter

Retailers use your acknowledgment to plan their inventory and logistics. Without it, they don't know if you've even seen the order, let alone whether you can fill it. Here's why it's critical:

• Compliance requirement — Most retailers require acknowledgment within 24 to 48 hours of receiving the purchase order. This deadline is non-negotiable.
• Chargeback risk — A late or missing acknowledgment is one of the most common reasons for chargebacks. These financial penalties typically range from $50 to $500+ per occurrence, depending on the retailer.
• Communication — If you can't fulfill part of the order, the acknowledgment is how you tell the retailer. This gives them time to source those items elsewhere.

Your Three Options

When you acknowledge an order in RetailReady, you have three choices for each line item:

1. Accept — You can fulfill the item at the requested quantity and price. This is the most common response and what retailers expect.
2. Reject — You cannot fulfill this item at all. Perhaps it's discontinued, out of stock with no restock date, or there's a pricing disagreement. Provide a reason when rejecting.
3. Modify Quantity — You can partially fulfill the item. For example, the retailer ordered 500 units but you only have 350 in stock. You can accept 350 and note the shortage.

Tip: If you need to reject or modify items, contact your buyer at the retailer to discuss it. The acknowledgment communicates the change formally, but a phone call or email goes a long way toward maintaining a good relationship.

How to Acknowledge in RetailReady

Here's the step-by-step process:

1. Open the order from your Orders dashboard.
2. Click the "Acknowledge" button at the top of the order.
3. Review each line item. By default, all items are set to "Accept." Change any items you need to reject or modify.
4. If modifying a quantity, enter the quantity you can actually ship.
5. Review the summary to confirm everything is correct.
6. Click "Submit Acknowledgment."

RetailReady generates the 855 EDI document and sends it to the retailer automatically. The order status changes from "New" to "Acknowledged," and you can see the acknowledgment details in the order's history.

Good to know: RetailReady automatically selects the correct EDI acknowledgment code for each line item based on your response — accepted items use code IA, rejected items use IR, backordered items use IB, and items with modified quantities use IC (accepted with changes). You do not need to select these codes manually. If you need to change your acknowledgment after sending it, you can edit and resend it from the order's Confirm tab.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Waiting too long — Acknowledge orders as soon as you've reviewed them. Don't let them sit in "New" status overnight if you can help it.
• Accepting what you can't fulfill — It's tempting to accept everything and figure it out later, but shipping short or late is worse than communicating upfront.
• Ignoring price discrepancies — If the PO price doesn't match your agreement, resolve it before acknowledging. Don't assume it will get fixed later.

Preflight Checks for Acknowledgments

Before RetailReady sends your 855 acknowledgment, it runs a series of preflight checks to catch common issues. If any check fails, you will see an error message explaining what needs to be fixed.

Order Not Found

The order could not be found. It may have been deleted or the order ID is incorrect.

PO Number Required

The PO Number is required to send an acknowledgment. This should have been populated from the original 850 purchase order. Check the order details.

No Line Items

At least one line item is required. Make sure items have not been removed from the order.

UPC Code Required

This retailer requires UPC codes on every line item. Go to the Products page and add the UPC for the item in question.

ASIN Required

This retailer (typically Amazon) requires an ASIN for each product. Go to the Products page and add the ASIN.

Invalid Quantity

The acknowledged quantity must be greater than zero. Check the line item quantities.

Acknowledged Exceeds Ordered

You cannot acknowledge more items than were originally ordered. Reduce the acknowledged quantity to match or be less than the ordered quantity.

Partial Acknowledgment Warning

Not all ordered items are being acknowledged. This is a warning, not an error. The retailer will be notified of the shortfall. Review whether partial acknowledgment is intentional.

No Trading Partner

No trading partner is linked to this order. Go to Trading Partners to set up the connection for this retailer.

855 Document Validation

After preflight checks pass, RetailReady validates the generated 855 EDI document structure:

• Document Type Mismatch (ST) — The transaction set type does not match 855. This is an internal error; regenerate the document.
• Missing BAK Segment — The BAK (Beginning Segment for PO Acknowledgment) is required. It identifies which purchase order is being acknowledged. Regenerate the document.
• BAK Segment Incomplete — The BAK segment needs at least 4 data elements. Regenerate the document.
• BAK01 Purpose Code Invalid — The purpose code must be a valid value (00 for Original, etc.). This is set automatically during generation.

Acknowledgment Reason Codes

When you acknowledge an order, each line item can have a reason code that explains your response: