An Advance Shipping Notice (ASN) is a pre-notification of the delivery of goods or the delivery of a payment. It is used to inform recipients about upcoming deliveries or incoming payments at an early stage and enables better planning and coordination of logistical or financial processes.

In the business environment, notification is used particularly in logistics and finance. Companies use it to optimize their internal processes, avoid bottlenecks and ensure efficient use of resources. Notification is also beneficial for customers or business partners, as it creates transparency and facilitates the traceability of goods or payments.

Notifications can take various forms – in writing by letter or email, electronically via special interfaces or automated systems, but also by telephone. In modern logistics, electronic notifications are particularly common because they enable fast and direct transmission of information.

Depending on the context, notifications can include different types of content, including information on quantity, type and expected delivery or payment date. In some industries, they are not only helpful, but essential to ensure smooth processing.

Advance Shipping Notice in goods traffic

Due to the close connection between warehouse management and a higher-level commercial level, there is usually advance information about incoming goods – a notification. Before the goods are received, advance information is provided in a so-called delivery notification, such as:

• Article quantity
• Article number
• Article weight or volume
• Time of goods receipt

A notification is not the same as delivery documents. Delivery documents arrive at the same time as the goods, but a notification arrives before that. A notification is used to create a bridge to the ERP system.

A notification also serves to enable shipment tracking in cooperation with the freight forwarder or parcel service. The shipment or package data must then be notified to the affected carriers by remote data transmission if necessary. In the event that goods arrive late at the warehouse, the warehouse resources should be planned in such a way that equipment or personnel bottlenecks are avoided and the goods that are delivered late can be processed directly. The notification makes precise planning possible.
When the goods leave the goods issue, a shipping notification is enclosed.

Notifications in payment transactions

In payment transactions, there is a payment advice note and an invoice advice note.

The payment advice note informs the recipient that a payment will be received. It lists all the details relating to the payment. This is usually information about:

• Date of invoice
• Invoice number
• Payment amount
• Any cash discount
• Any credit memo

The invoice notification announces an invoice to the recipient. The contents are usually the same as those in the payment advice note.

For more information on goods receipt, see Goods Receipt Basics.

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