If you're an importer, receiving is where speed matters most. A container sitting at the dock costs money—demurrage fees, tied-up capital, delayed sales. Yet many importers still receive shipments with paper manifests, manual counts, and spreadsheet reconciliation.
Advanced Shipping Notices (ASNs) paired with a modern WMS transform receiving from a bottleneck into a competitive advantage. This guide shows importers how to leverage ASN-based receiving for faster container processing, fewer errors, and automated putaway.
What Is ASN-Based Receiving?
An Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN) is an electronic document sent by the supplier before goods arrive. It contains:
- Purchase order reference
- Item details (SKU, quantity, lot numbers)
- Packaging information (cartons, pallets, weights)
- Expected arrival date
- Container/tracking numbers
Without ASN: Truck arrives → Check paper manifest → Count everything → Enter data → Investigate discrepancies → Putaway
With ASN: ASN received electronically → Pre-populated in WMS → Truck arrives → Scan and confirm → Exceptions only → Automated putaway
The difference? Hours saved per container and dramatically fewer errors.
The Cost of Slow Receiving for Importers
Receiving delays compound quickly:
Direct costs:
- Container demurrage: $150-300/day after free time
- Chassis rental: $50-75/day
- Overtime labor to clear containers
- Expedited freight if you need to rush goods to customers
Indirect costs:
- Inventory not available for sale
- Stockouts while goods sit in receiving
- Customer order delays
- Cash tied up in unreceived inventory
Example:
- Demurrage: $450
- Chassis: $225
- Overtime: $600
- Lost sales (conservative): $2,000
- Total: $3,275 per container
At 50 containers/year, that's $160,000+ in avoidable costs.
Example Workflow: ASN Receiving in Action
Here's how a WarePulse-powered importer receives a container:
Day -3: ASN received
- Container: TGHU1234567
- 800 cartons, 40 pallets
- 15 SKUs, full item details with lot numbers
- ETA: Thursday 9:00 AM
WMS creates expected receipt, pre-allocates putaway locations.
Thursday 8:45 AM: Truck arrives
- Dock door 5 assigned
- Receiving team notified via mobile device
9:00 AM: Unloading begins
- Scan: Matches ASN line 1 – Widget-A, Lot 2024-Q4, Qty 200 ✓
- System confirms and advances to next expected item
9:15 AM: Discrepancy detected
- System flags exception
- Receiver photos the carton, notes wrong item shipped
- Continues receiving, exceptions logged for resolution
10:30 AM: Receiving complete
- 792 cartons received (8 short – flagged)
- 1 SKU substituted – flagged for supplier
- Total receiving time: 90 minutes
10:35 AM: Putaway tasks generated
- Pallet 1-10: Reserve locations R-03-01 through R-03-10
- Cases of high-velocity items: Forward pick locations P-02-045
- Receiver sees tasks on mobile, executes putaway
11:30 AM: Inventory available
- 792 cartons now in system, available for allocation
- 8 carton shortage logged against supplier
- Discrepancy report auto-generated for procurement
Total time from dock to available inventory: 2.5 hours vs. typical 6-8 hours with manual receiving.
Barcode Scanning Strategies
Efficient receiving requires smart scanning:
License plate receiving (pallet level)
- One scan per pallet
- System knows pallet contents from ASN
- Fastest method for bulk receiving
Carton-level scanning
- Scan each carton
- System matches to ASN carton details
- More granular, catches carton-level errors
Unit-level scanning
- Scan each unit individually
- Captures serial numbers for warranty/returns
- Slowest but most accurate
Hybrid approach (recommended for importers):
- Pallet scan for bulk commodities
- Carton scan for standard goods
- Unit scan for serialized/high-value items
Configure your WMS to recognize barcode types and apply appropriate receiving workflows.
Handling Discrepancies
Discrepancies are inevitable in importing. Handle them efficiently:
Quantity shortages
- Log the shortage with evidence (photos)
- Complete receiving with actual quantities
- System automatically creates shortage report
- Procurement follows up with supplier
Quantity overages
- Log the overage
- Decide: Receive and pay, or refuse?
- If receiving, putaway the extra
- Procurement negotiates with supplier
Wrong items
- Flag the wrong SKU received
- Quarantine until resolved
- May need to return or accept substitution
- Don't let it block the rest of the receipt
Damaged goods
- Receive into quarantine location
- Document damage with photos
- File freight claim if carrier damage
- File supplier claim if packaging damage
Lot/expiry mismatches
- For FEFO items, expiry date matters
- If shorter than expected, may refuse or discount
- Update lot master in WMS
The key: Don't let exceptions stop the flow. Log them, continue, resolve later.
Automated Putaway Suggestions
Once received, inventory needs a home. Smart putaway:
Rule-based location assignment
- By velocity: A-items to forward pick, B/C to reserve
- By product type: Hazmat to designated area
- By client: 3PL operations segregate by owner
- By lot/expiry: FEFO items organized by date
Capacity checking
- System only suggests locations with available capacity
- Prevents overstuffing or invalid placements
Travel optimization
- Suggest locations near unloading dock
- Group putaways by zone to minimize forklift travel
Example putaway logic for importer: 1. Check if SKU has existing inventory in a location 2. If yes, suggest same location (consolidate) 3. If no, find reserve location in appropriate zone 4. Check capacity constraints 5. Assign nearest available qualifying location
WarePulse generates putaway tasks immediately upon receipt completion, with mobile-optimized task lists for forklift operators.
Getting ASNs from Suppliers
The challenge: Getting suppliers to send ASNs consistently.
Scoped data exchange
- Define file format, validation rules, owner, and retry process
- Treat automated supplier feeds as implementation work, not a default connector
Supplier portal
- Supplier logs in, enters shipment details
- Pre-populated from your PO
- Lower barrier than a custom data exchange project
Excel upload
- Provide template
- They email completed file
- You upload to WMS
Mandatory ASN policy
- Include in vendor agreements
- Apply receiving delay penalties for missing ASNs
- Offer early payment incentives for timely ASNs
Most suppliers will comply if you make it easy and tie it to payment.
Speed Up Your Receiving
For importers, receiving speed directly impacts profitability. ASN-based receiving with a modern WMS delivers:
- 60-70% reduction in receiving time per container
- Near-zero data entry errors
- Immediate putaway task generation
- Automatic discrepancy documentation
Stop treating receiving as a manual, paper-based process. The technology exists to make it fast, accurate, and automated.
Read our detailed guide on ASN receiving best practices for implementation tips. Or book a demo to see how WarePulse handles import receiving workflows.