Walmart EDI requirements, in plain English
You won the Walmart contract; then the EDI compliance packet arrived. Here's what it actually asks of you, without the vendor scare-marketing.
The four documents you must exchange
| Document | Direction | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 850 | Walmart → you | The purchase order. Read one free here. |
| 855 | You → Walmart | PO acknowledgment — confirm (or flag exceptions) quickly |
| 856 | You → Walmart | Advance Ship Notice — must arrive before the truck. Full guide. |
| 810 | You → Walmart | Invoice — must match the PO and the ASN |
Walmart also sends a 997 (receipt acknowledgment) for files you submit, and an 824 when something you sent is rejected — read those; they're how you find out before a chargeback does.
Which X12 version?
Walmart's store supply chain runs X12 004010 — a deliberately stable, decades-old release. Note the nuance: import programs and Walmart.com use005010. Confirm which program your PO belongs to before mapping anything.
How you connect: WebEDI vs AS2 vs VAN
| Path | Cost | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| WebEDI (in Retail Link) | Free | Browser portal. Key documents manually field-by-field, or upload EDI files you generated elsewhere and download the 997 response. Fine below ~5,500 documents/year. |
| VAN | ~$30–60/mo | A third-party network relays files for you. The middle option. |
| AS2 | Provider fees | Direct encrypted connection — what full-service EDI providers set up. Required as volume grows. |
Testing before go-live
Walmart requires test transactions for each document type before you ship — structure, required fields, and timing are all validated, and failures must be corrected and retested. Budget 2–4 weeks for this phase of onboarding and treat it as free QA: it's Walmart telling you exactly what it will reject, before money is on the line.
Chargebacks: where the money leaks
Compliance failures become deductions from what Walmart pays you (tracked in SQEP and the ASN dashboard in Retail Link). The most common triggers are ASN problems: late transmission, carton/SSCC mismatches, and quantity inconsistencies between the 850, 856, and 810. One mis-keyed ASN can cost more than a year of good tooling.