EDI Requirements

Kohl’s EDI Requirements

Kohl’s runs traditional retail EDI on ANSI X12 4010 (VICS) for its first-party apparel, home, and direct-import vendors, plus a separate drop-ship program. Orders fan out across Kohl’s network of distribution centers, and the 856/ASN — tied to compliant GS1-128 carton labels — is the single most chargeback-sensitive document.

Required EDI documents

Document	Name	Notes
EDI 850	Purchase Order
EDI 855	PO Acknowledgment
EDI 856	Advance Ship Notice (ASN)	most compliance-sensitive; carrier BOL + authorization number, unique shipment ID
EDI 810	Invoice	must reconcile to the PO and ASN
EDI 860	PO Change	conditional
EDI 820	Remittance Advice	conditional / inbound
EDI 846	Inventory Advice	conditional
EDI 852	Product Activity Data	conditional
EDI 816	Organizational Relationships	conditional (location data)
EDI 864	Text Message	conditional
EDI 997	Functional Acknowledgment

Labeling & packaging

GS1-128 (UCC-128) carton/shipping labels with a unique SSCC-18; the SSCC-18 in each pack-level loop of the 856 must match the physical barcode exactly.
NRF standard color and size codes are reported to be required on apparel; floor-ready / pre-ticketing rules apply to applicable categories.
Kohl’s runs a barcode certification step during onboarding — carton labels are validated before go-live. Placement and packaging follow Kohl’s routing/shipping guide.

Connection & portal

Traditionally VAN-based on ANSI X12 4010 VICS; AS2 is available through EDI providers (SPS, TrueCommerce, Cleo, and others broker connectivity).
The Kohl’s vendor/partner portal handles certification, routing-guide access, and day-to-day compliance visibility; EDI still carries the actual transactions.
Drop-ship vendors are onboarded through a separate program (reported to run on a third-party drop-ship platform) with its own document and label rules — confirm which lane applies to you.

Onboarding & testing

Reported 4–8 weeks before production cutover, partner-controlled. Certification testing is required for each transaction set — including GS1-128 label validation — before go-live. Typical flow: vendor setup → portal registration → provider + VAN/AS2 connection → mapping → certification (documents + labels) → production.

Compliance & chargebacks

• Chargeback exposure is reported as high, with deductions for ASN, label, and routing-guide non-compliance — confirm current figures against Kohl’s routing guide and your vendor agreement.
• Late or missing ASNs and carton-count / UPC / SSCC mismatches against the physical shipment are the most common triggers; the ASN must transmit on or before release of the shipment to the carrier.
• The 810 invoice must reconcile exactly to the PO and the ASN — mismatches are a reported deduction source.

Worth knowing

• Department-store vendor base spanning apparel brands, home, and direct import, shipping into a multi-DC network — carton labeling and ASN accuracy carry most of the compliance weight.
• Kohl’s runs a separate drop-ship program alongside first-party EDI; requirements differ, so confirm which model you’re onboarding under.

How EndlessEDI helps with Kohl’s

Kohl’s deducts for late ASNs and any mismatch in carton counts, UPCs, or SSCCs. EndlessEDI builds the 856 from pick/pack, matches every SSCC to its carton, and reconciles the invoice to the PO and ASN before it sends — NRF color and size codes carried through.

Explore EndlessEDI

Kohl’s EDI FAQ

What EDI documents does Kohl’s require?

Core documents are the 850 (PO), 855 (PO acknowledgment), 856 (ASN), 810 (invoice), and 997, on ANSI X12 4010 (VICS), with 860, 820, 846, 852, 816, and 864 conditional. The 856 with compliant GS1-128 carton labels is the most compliance-sensitive.

What labeling does Kohl’s require?

GS1-128 (UCC-128) carton labels with a unique SSCC-18 that must match the 856 exactly, plus NRF color/size codes reported for apparel and floor-ready rules for applicable categories. Labels are certified during onboarding.

Is Kohl’s drop-ship the same as Kohl’s EDI?

No. Kohl’s runs a separate drop-ship program alongside its first-party EDI relationship, with its own onboarding and document/label requirements — confirm which lane applies before you build.

EDI requirements and penalty schedules change and vary by program. Figures marked “reported” come from third-party sources, not the retailer’s published fee schedule — always confirm against the retailer’s current routing guide and your vendor agreement.