An advance ship notice (ASN), also referred to advance shipping notice, is a notice of pending deliveries, comparable to a packing list. It is usually sent in an electronic format and is a common EDI-Electronic Data Interchange document. ASN could be used to list the contents of a shipment of goods as well as additional information relating to the shipment.  This could include order information, product description, physical characteristics, markings, carrier information, and the configuration of goods. The ASN allows the sender to describe the contents and configuration of a shipment in various levels of detail and provides flexibility to convey information. The ASN has a process which the manufactures or distributors could follow. First, a shipment authorization is made to the manufacturers or distributors in the form of a purchase order, planning schedule, or shipping schedule.  Second, the supplier sends the ASN to the receiving organization at the time of shipment. Third, ASN is verified in Receiving. Fourth is the arrival of the products, which the ASN would use a receipts window in order to create receipts.  Fifth, shipment-vs.-receipt quantities are compared during the receipt transaction process. If discrepancies are detected in shipment vs. receipt, an Application Advice is sent to the supplier.  

Source: docs.oracle.com