Apparel Suppliers
Women's, men's, and plus-size apparel. Size/color breakdown required at PO line level. Hangtag and ticketing specs may apply.
Bluestem Brands, Inc. operates one of the largest direct-to-consumer retail portfolios in North America — Fingerhut, Blair, Haband, and more. SBSA Technology delivers full EDI compliance for suppliers across every Bluestem brand, managing purchase orders, acknowledgments, ASNs, and invoices end to end.
Select your program type to see EDI requirements
Fingerhut sends 850 POs for general merchandise, electronics, apparel, and home goods. Direct-to-consumer shipping details embedded in the PO.
Acknowledge each PO promptly. Delayed acknowledgments affect your vendor scorecard and future order allocations.
All cartons require GS1-128 compliant labels. Label data must match the ASN exactly to avoid receiving chargebacks.
The ASN must reach Bluestem before physical goods arrive. Late or missing ASNs result in compliance chargebacks.
Submit one invoice per purchase order. SBSA generates and transmits 810s automatically on confirmation of shipment.
Blair and Haband operate as separate brand labels within Bluestem but share the same EDI infrastructure and routing.
The 850 PO for apparel includes size/color breakdowns at line level. The 855 must confirm at the same granularity.
All GS1-128 label, 856 ASN, and 810 invoice rules are identical across Blair, Haband, and Draper's & Damon's.
Blair apparel programs often include specific ticketing, hangtag, and poly-bag specifications. Confirm during onboarding.
Apparel attributes require structured ERP mapping. SBSA handles the full attribute translation layer automatically.
Appleseed's, Bedford Fair, Old Pueblo Traders, Regal, and others all operate under Orchard Brands. Separate POs per brand label.
Orchard Brands issues POs aligned to catalog seasons. Acknowledge quickly — catalog sell-through creates tight fulfillment windows.
High return rates are normal in catalog DTC. Coordinate with your Bluestem contact on EDI 180/820 remittance and return flows.
855, 856, 810, GS1-128 labels, and compliance scoring are identical across all Orchard Brands labels.
SBSA maps all Orchard Brands labels through one integration, reducing your setup time and ongoing maintenance overhead.
Bluestem's multi-brand portfolio spans apparel, footwear, home goods, general merchandise, and electronics. SBSA works with suppliers across all of these categories to achieve and maintain EDI compliance.
Women's, men's, and plus-size apparel. Size/color breakdown required at PO line level. Hangtag and ticketing specs may apply.
Shoes, slippers, and comfort footwear. Width and size matrix fulfillment with attribute-level ASN confirmation required.
Bedding, kitchen, bath, and decorative accessories. Consumer-ready packaging and branded packing slips required for DTC orders.
Electronics, tools, toys, and seasonal goods. High SKU count programs with DTC drop-ship capability. SBSA automates order routing.
Fashion jewelry, watches, and accessories. Catalog-season driven with tight fulfillment windows and strong return rate management needs.
Personal care, wellness, and beauty products. DTC packing compliance with Bluestem-branded packaging inserts where required.
Bluestem Brands supports three EDI connectivity methods. SBSA handles full setup, testing, and monitoring for all three — you choose the method that fits your existing infrastructure.
Applicability Statement 2
The preferred direct connection method for Bluestem EDI. AS2 delivers real-time encrypted document exchange with MDN receipts — eliminating transmission delays and providing instant confirmation of delivery.
Secure File Transfer
SFTP provides a file-based EDI exchange over a secure SSH connection. A reliable option for suppliers who already use SFTP with other trading partners or whose ERP natively outputs flat EDI files.
Value-Added Network
VAN connectivity routes EDI documents through a third-party network hub. Suitable for suppliers already enrolled in a VAN (such as TrueCommerce, SPS Commerce, or DiCentral) who prefer to route Bluestem traffic through their existing network.
SBSA Technology supports core and supplemental Bluestem Brands EDI Integration EDI documents. Critical transactions are highlighted because they carry the highest compliance risk when transmitted incorrectly or late.
Bluestem sends you POs for each brand. For DTC brands, the 850 includes the end consumer's shipping address and contact details. For apparel, size/color breakdowns appear at line level.
InboundMust be transmitted within 24–48 hours of PO receipt. Confirm, reject, or modify quantities and ship dates at line level. Missing or late 855s affect your vendor compliance scorecard.
Outbound 24–48 hr window — time-criticalMust be sent before physical goods arrive at the Bluestem DC or at the consumer's door. The 856 drives GS1-128 label generation and receiving. A missing ASN triggers chargebacks.
Outbound Must precede physical arrivalSubmit one EDI 810 invoice per purchase order. SBSA auto-generates the 810 on shipment confirmation and transmits it immediately — no manual invoicing required.
OutboundA 997 must be returned for every inbound transaction set received from Bluestem. SBSA generates and transmits 997s automatically — this happens in the background with no action required from your team.
OutboundBluestem may send EDI 820 remittance advice with payment details. SBSA maps remittance data to your accounts receivable system for automatic reconciliation.
InboundBluestem may issue 860 PO change requests for quantity adjustments or date revisions. SBSA monitors for inbound 860s and routes change notifications to your team automatically.
InboundSome Bluestem programs use 846 for inventory visibility — particularly for drop-ship suppliers. SBSA can automate inventory feed transmissions to Bluestem on a scheduled basis.
OutboundSBSA bridges Bluestem Brands EDI directly to your ERP, WMS, or accounting system — eliminating manual data re-entry across the full purchase-to-pay cycle.
SBSA is an Intuit Silver Partner for QuickBooks Online. Bluestem purchase orders flow directly into QuickBooks as sales orders or purchase bills, shipment confirmations trigger invoice creation, and payment remittances auto-reconcile in your accounts receivable register.
For higher-volume Bluestem suppliers using QuickBooks Enterprise, SBSA delivers the same deep integration with additional support for advanced inventory, multi-warehouse tracking, and batch order processing at scale.
SBSA integrates Bluestem EDI with NetSuite ERP via SuiteScript or REST APIs, mapping POs to sales orders, fulfillments, and invoices with full two-way data flow.
Full Bluestem EDI integration for Dynamics 365 Business Central and Finance & Operations, with automated purchase order processing, inventory updates, and invoice transmission.
SBSA connects Bluestem EDI to SAP environments via IDocs or REST, supporting high-volume apparel and general merchandise suppliers with complex multi-brand order routing.
Integration with Oracle Fusion Order Management and Inventory. SBSA maps Bluestem 850s to Oracle sales orders and returns 856/810 from Oracle confirmations.
For brands using Shopify as their OMS or third-party WMS platforms (ShipBob, 3PL Central, Logiwa, etc.), SBSA provides API-based integrations that route Bluestem orders into your fulfillment workflow.
If your ERP or WMS isn't listed, SBSA builds a custom integration. We've connected EDI to hundreds of systems — flat-file imports, AS/400 mainframes, proprietary ERPs, and everything in between.
Bluestem's DTC model generates consumer-level order volumes across multiple brand labels. Manual EDI processing at this scale creates errors and chargebacks. SBSA removes the human bottleneck.
Inbound 850 POs parsed and pushed to your ERP as sales orders — no manual entry
855 acknowledgments generated and transmitted within minutes of PO receipt — well inside the 24–48 hr window
856 ASN built from your WMS ship confirmation and transmitted before goods arrive at Bluestem or at the consumer's door
GS1-128 carton labels generated and printed from ASN data — label content always matches the EDI document
EDI 810 invoices created automatically on shipment confirmation and transmitted to Bluestem for payment processing
997 functional acknowledgments returned automatically for every inbound transaction — no manual action required
Inbound 860 PO change requests flagged and routed to your team with side-by-side change summary
820 remittance advice matched to open invoices in your ERP for automatic AR reconciliation
Compliance scorecard monitoring with proactive alerts before chargebacks are issued
Multi-brand label routing — SBSA identifies the brand from the PO and applies the correct label template automatically
Common questions from apparel, home goods, and general merchandise suppliers beginning their Bluestem Brands EDI compliance journey.
Bluestem Brands, Inc. operates a portfolio of direct-to-consumer retail labels primarily serving value-oriented shoppers. Key brands include Fingerhut (general merchandise with consumer credit), Blair (women's apparel and home), Haband (value apparel), Draper's & Damon's, Appleseed's, Bedford Fair, Old Pueblo Traders, and Regal. Each brand may issue separate purchase orders with different item and routing requirements, but all brands route through the central Bluestem EDI infrastructure. SBSA's single integration supports all labels simultaneously.
Bluestem requires the EDI 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment to be transmitted within 24 to 48 hours of PO receipt. This is one of the most important compliance metrics in the Bluestem vendor scorecard. Delayed or missing acknowledgments contribute to scorecard deductions that affect your vendor rating and future order allocations. SBSA generates and transmits 855s automatically within minutes of receiving an 850 — keeping you well inside the compliance window regardless of time zone or business hours.
The EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice must precede the physical arrival of goods — whether at a Bluestem DC or at a consumer's address for DTC orders. An ASN that arrives after the goods (or a missing ASN) typically results in a compliance chargeback. In DTC programs, a missing ASN can also delay parcel tracking visibility for the consumer, which reflects on Bluestem's service metrics. SBSA transmits the 856 automatically the moment your WMS or shipping system confirms the shipment, preventing this scenario.
Yes. All shipments destined for a Bluestem DC must include GS1-128 (UCC-128) compliant carton labels. The label data — including PO number, item numbers, quantities, and carton contents — must match the EDI 856 ASN exactly. Any discrepancy between the physical label and the ASN can result in receiving chargebacks or delays. SBSA generates GS1-128 labels directly from ASN data, ensuring label and EDI document are always in sync.
Yes — and this is one of SBSA's key advantages for multi-brand Bluestem suppliers. A single SBSA integration can handle purchase orders from Fingerhut, Blair, Haband, and all Orchard Brands labels simultaneously. SBSA's routing layer identifies the brand from the PO and applies the correct label template, packing slip format, and compliance rules for each brand automatically. You manage one integration; SBSA manages the brand-level nuances behind the scenes.
Yes. SBSA Technology is an Intuit Silver Partner for both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Enterprise. We map Bluestem purchase orders directly into QuickBooks as sales orders or bills, push ship confirmations back to EDI to trigger the 856 and 810, and sync payment remittances to your accounts receivable register — eliminating manual data entry across the full order-to-cash cycle. This integration works for both standard DC replenishment programs and high-frequency Fingerhut DTC orders.
Tell us which Bluestem brand you're supplying and your fulfillment model — DC, DTC, or both — and we'll build a complete integration plan for you.