Loblaws EDI Integration for Grocery & CPG Suppliers

Loblaws Companies Limited is Canada's largest grocery retailer — 2,400+ stores across 20+ banner brands including No Frills, Zehrs, Real Canadian Superstore, and T&T. SBSA Technology handles full EDI compliance for all Loblaws supplier fulfillment paths: Distribution Centre, banner store, and direct-to-consumer drop ship.

Your Loblaws Fulfillment Path

Select your ship-to destination to see requirements

1
Receive EDI 850 Purchase Order

Loblaws issues 850 POs identifying the destination DC. Banner-specific POs carry the relevant store chain identifiers in the buyer ID segment.

2
Send 855 acknowledgment within 24 hours

All POs must be acknowledged within 24 hours of receipt. Late or missing 855s are flagged on your supplier scorecard.

3
Ship complete — confirm fill rate in 855

Loblaws tracks On-Time In-Full (OTIF). Partial shipments must be declared in your 855 with revised quantities and estimated ship dates.

4
Transmit 856 ASN before shipment departs

Shipments arriving at a Loblaws DC without an advance ship notice already on file can be refused at the dock. SBSA automates this at time of carrier tender.

5
Invoice via EDI 810 — one per PO

One invoice per PO. GTIN and UPC on the invoice must match the product data pool record exactly.

1
850 identifies specific banner and store

Ship-to on the 850 will be a specific banner store address (e.g. Zehrs, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore). Treat each banner as a distinct trading partner profile.

2
Same 855 / 856 / 810 rules apply

ASN timing, acknowledgment, and invoicing requirements are identical to DC shipments. GS1-128 labels required on every carton.

3
Item-level ship dates required in 855

Loblaws requires confirmed ship dates per SKU — not just at the order header level — to manage shelf replenishment timing.

4
GTIN must match 1WorldSync / GS1 Canada registry

All case and inner-pack GTINs in your ASN must match your active product data pool records. Mismatches trigger chargebacks.

5
Loblaws-branded packing slip required

Store deliveries require Loblaws-format packing documentation generated from the ASN data — produced automatically by SBSA.

1
850 includes end-customer delivery address

For drop ship orders, the 850 carries the consumer's shipping details. Your facility ships directly on Loblaws' behalf — the customer should not see your brand.

2
Loblaws-branded packing slip mandatory

All drop ship parcels must include a Loblaws-format packing slip generated from ASN data. No supplier branding on the outer package.

3
Tracking number required in the ASN

For parcel shipments, the carrier tracking number is mandatory in the 856. For freight, a BOL or PRO number is required.

4
One ASN per shipment, one destination

Do not combine multiple consumer orders into a single ASN. Each shipment to a unique address requires its own 856.

5
SBSA bridges drop ship to your ERP or WMS

Consumer-level order volume demands full automation. SBSA routes Loblaws drop ship POs directly into your fulfillment system and returns ASNs and tracking automatically.

Which Type of Loblaws Supplier Are You?

Loblaws onboards suppliers across several categories — from national CPG brands to regional food producers and non-food general merchandise vendors. Your supplier type determines which EDI documents and data requirements apply to your trading relationship.

Branded Food & Beverage

Large-format branded suppliers shipping to national DCs. Full EDI suite required from day one including 850, 855, 856, and 810. GTIN registration in GS1 Canada mandatory.

National CPG Brand

Local Food Producer

Regional food and beverage producers supplying specific banner clusters or geographic store zones. EDI compliance is still required — Loblaws does not support paper POs for new suppliers regardless of volume.

Regional & Local Supplier

Non-Food & Health & Beauty

General merchandise, health and beauty, and seasonal suppliers typically ship to DCs or via drop ship through the PC Express online channel. Retailer-specific UPC and PLU assignments are common in this category.

General Merchandise / HBC
2,400+ Corporate & franchised store locations across Canada
20+ Banner brands under the Loblaws umbrella
24 hrs 855 acknowledgment window from PO receipt
100% ASN required before physical shipment arrives at DC

How You Connect to Loblaws

Loblaws supports three EDI transmission protocols. SBSA Technology manages all setup, certificate provisioning, and ongoing compliance for each — you never configure the connection yourself.

SFTP

Secure File Transfer

SFTP is commonly used by regional suppliers and those migrating from FTP-based legacy systems. SBSA manages the SFTP polling schedule to meet Loblaws' 24-hour 855 window without manual intervention.

  • Protocol: SSH-secured file transfer
  • Polling: Configurable — SBSA manages schedule
  • Best for: Regional and mid-volume suppliers
  • Migration path: Easy upgrade to AS2 when volumes grow

VAN

Value-Added Network

VAN connectivity via INOVIS, TrueCommerce, or other clearing networks is supported for suppliers already operating on a VAN. SBSA can bridge your existing VAN to Loblaws' preferred endpoint.

  • Networks: INOVIS, TrueCommerce, OpenText
  • Mailbox: SBSA manages VAN mailbox polling
  • Best for: Suppliers with existing VAN relationships
  • Note: Higher per-transaction cost vs AS2

Loblaws EDI Integration EDI Transaction Set

SBSA Technology supports core and supplemental Loblaws EDI Integration EDI documents. Critical transactions are highlighted because they carry the highest compliance risk when transmitted incorrectly or late.

850

Purchase Order

Loblaws sends a PO for each replenishment order. Contains ship-to (DC, store, or consumer address), line items, GTINs, and requested ship window.

Inbound
855

PO Acknowledgment

You must acknowledge every 850 within 24 hours, confirming quantities, ship dates, and any line-level changes. Silence is treated as non-compliance.

Outbound 24-hour window — SBSA automates this
856

Advance Ship Notice

Sent when your shipment is tendered to the carrier — not when it arrives. Must include GTIN, case count, pallet config, and carrier tracking or BOL number.

Outbound ust precede physical arrival at DC
810

Invoice

One EDI 810 invoice per PO. Unit prices, GTINs, and allowances must match the Loblaws cost file exactly. Discrepancies trigger automatic deductions.

Outbound
997

Functional Acknowledgment

Loblaws returns a 997 to confirm receipt of your outbound documents. SBSA monitors all 997s and flags rejected transactions before they become compliance misses.

Inbound
860

PO Change Request

Loblaws may issue a 860 to modify quantities or ship dates on an open PO. Your 855 response must reflect the updated terms.

Inbound
824

Application Advice

Used by Loblaws to notify suppliers of business-rule violations in submitted documents — such as GTIN mismatches or pricing discrepancies on an 810.

Inbound
832

Price / Sales Catalog

Electronic transmission of your current cost file to Loblaws. Enables automated price matching against your 810 invoices and reduces deduction disputes.

Outbound

Connect Loblaws EDI to Your ERP System

SBSA Technology integrates your Loblaws EDI flow directly into your ERP, WMS, or accounting platform — so Loblaws POs become sales orders, your shipments generate ASNs automatically, and invoices post without manual re-entry.

QuickBooks Online

Loblaws 850 POs flow into QuickBooks Online as sales orders. Invoices post automatically on shipment. SBSA's certified QuickBooks Online integration eliminates double-entry and syncs inventory levels in real time.

QuickBooks Enterprise

For higher-volume suppliers on QuickBooks Enterprise, SBSA provides full EDI-to-ERP mapping including advanced inventory, multi-location warehousing, and custom field preservation across all Loblaws transaction sets.

SAP

SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA integration for enterprise-scale Loblaws suppliers. SBSA maps Loblaws EDI documents to SAP IDocs, purchase orders, delivery notes, and SD invoicing workflows.

NetSuite

Native NetSuite connector maps Loblaws 850s to Sales Orders, generates 856 ASNs from Item Fulfillments, and creates 810 invoices on posting — no manual steps in your order-to-cash cycle.

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain integration routes Loblaws POs to your sales order queue and returns ASNs and invoices through standard D365 document flows.

Custom & Legacy Systems

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.

What SBSA Automates for Loblaws Suppliers

Manual EDI handling — checking portals, copying order data, uploading ASN files — is where compliance errors happen. SBSA eliminates the manual steps entirely, running your Loblaws EDI workflow end-to-end without human intervention on routine transactions.

Auto-acknowledge 850 POs — 855 transmitted within minutes of PO receipt, never missing Loblaws' 24-hour window

ERP order creation — Loblaws PO becomes a sales order in your system automatically, with banner and DC identifiers mapped to your internal codes

ASN generation on carrier tender — 856 transmitted the moment your 3PL or WMS confirms the shipment, not after the truck leaves

GTIN cross-reference validation — every line on the 856 is checked against your GS1 Canada registry before transmission to catch mismatches before Loblaws does

Auto-invoicing on shipment — 810 posted to Loblaws as soon as the 856 confirms, eliminating invoice-to-shipment timing gaps

997 monitoring and error alerting — SBSA watches all functional acknowledgments and routes rejections to your team with plain-English explanations

Chargeback pre-detection — SBSA flags OTIF risk, price mismatches, and ASN timing gaps before they generate deductions on your remittance

Loblaws EDI FAQ

Common questions from grocery and CPG suppliers beginning their Loblaws EDI compliance journey.

Loblaws Companies Limited operates over 20 banner brands including Loblaws, No Frills, Zehrs, Real Canadian Superstore, Provigo, Maxi, Independent Grocer, Fortinos, Valu-mart, and T&T Supermarket. Each banner uses the same X12 EDI transaction sets (850, 855, 856, 810), but issues POs under a distinct trading partner ID. SBSA configures a single integration that routes all banner POs into your ERP correctly, with banner-level identifiers preserved for reporting and replenishment planning.

Loblaws enforces strict ASN-first receiving. Any inbound shipment arriving at a Distribution Centre without a valid EDI 856 already on file can be refused at the dock and returned to you at your cost. This is one of the most expensive compliance failures a supplier can experience. SBSA transmits the 856 automatically when your shipment is tendered to the carrier — not when it departs — giving Loblaws advance notice before the truck is on the road.

Yes. All products supplied to Loblaws must be registered in the GS1 Canada product data pool (typically via 1WorldSync) with accurate GTINs at the case and inner-pack level. Your EDI 856 ASN and 810 invoice must reference these exact GTINs. A mismatch between the GTIN on your EDI document and the GS1 Canada registry is one of the most common chargeback triggers. SBSA validates all GTINs against your registry records before transmitting any document to Loblaws.

Loblaws tracks On-Time In-Full (OTIF) performance and expects complete shipments. If you cannot fulfil certain items, you must declare this in your EDI 855 PO Acknowledgment — updating the quantity and providing a revised ship date or noting the availability issue at line level. Communicating a fill-rate shortfall in your 855 protects your OTIF score; shipping short without acknowledgment does not. SBSA automates the 855 with the correct response codes when your WMS or ERP confirms available inventory.

As an Intuit Silver Partner for both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Enterprise, SBSA provides a certified, maintained integration between Loblaws EDI and QuickBooks. Loblaws 850 POs arrive in QuickBooks as sales orders automatically. When you ship and confirm the order, SBSA generates the 856 ASN and submits it to Loblaws. The 810 invoice is created in QuickBooks and transmitted to Loblaws without manual re-entry. All banner-level and DC-level details are preserved in your QuickBooks order records for margin and fill-rate analysis.

Yes. PC Express is Loblaws' online grocery and home delivery platform, and it issues drop ship 850 POs with consumer delivery addresses alongside standard DC replenishment orders. SBSA handles both PO streams simultaneously — routing PC Express drop ship orders to your pick-and-ship workflow, generating Loblaws-branded packing documentation, and returning ASNs with carrier tracking numbers. Both channels are managed through SBSA's unified platform with separate compliance monitoring for each.

Ready to Become Loblaws EDI Compliant?

Tell us your supplier type, fulfillment path, and ERP system — and we'll build a complete Loblaws integration plan for you.