What is an Advanced Shipping Notification?
An Advanced Shipping Notification (or Advanced Shipment Notification), ASN for short, is a proactive email or SMS message that tells customers their order has shipped.
An ASN communicates essential shipment information, including:
Tracking number
Carrier
Items expected
Delivery instructions
Expected delivery date
Many ASNs contain a real-time tracking link, so customers can monitor the location of their package and see if there are any issues. ASNs pull this data from several different sources, including warehouse management systems (WMS) and transportation management systems (TMS).
ASN vs basic order confirmation
ASN and basic order confirmation emails/SMS messages serve different communication purposes.
An order confirmation acknowledges a purchase and provides invoice details. It is sent immediately after purchase. An ASN tells customers their order has physically shipped and gives shipment-specific tracking details. It is sent when fulfillment is complete and the carrier has the package.
Both are important. The order confirmation reassures customers that their purchase was successful, while the ASN provides delivery transparency and enables proactive package tracking.
What are the benefits of Advanced Shipping Notifications?
An ASN improves the customer experience. These notifications reduce customer anxiety by proactively communicating shipment status, and the transparency increases trust in your business.
From a business perspective, an ASN reduces customer service inquiries because customers can see at a glance where their shipment is. It also gives businesses the opportunity to upsell related products and request feedback.
Visibility meets execution
How technology supports Advanced Shipping Notifications
An ASN is only as good as the data behind it. An Order Management System (OMS) triggers the notification when fulfillment is complete and fills it with accurate shipment details from the systems that hold them.
An OMS supports advanced shipping notifications by:
Triggering notifications automatically when an order ships, rather than relying on manual updates
Collecting tracking, carrier and delivery data from warehouse, transportation and carrier systems
Normalizing data that arrives in different formats, such as EDI, CSV, JSON and XML, so every message is consistent
Giving customers and service agents the same real-time order status from placement through delivery
Flagging delays and exceptions early, so teams can contact customers before they ask