> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.owlery.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Reading Retailer Orders

> How retailer purchase orders, changes, and cancellations become and update Owlery orders.

This page is for **Shippers**: teams that quote, tender, and pay for freight in Owlery. If the person you're helping isn't a shipper, this page doesn't apply to them.

A retailer's purchase order creates an order in Owlery automatically. Nobody has to key it in. Each message from the retailer shows as a row in **Retail Status**, such as *Order received* or *Change received*.

## What Owlery Reads

| Document | Code | What Owlery does |
| - | - | - |
| Purchase order | 850 | Creates the order, or updates it if it already exists. |
| Grocery purchase order | 875 | Same as a purchase order, for grocery retailers. |
| Purchase order change | 860 | Updates or cancels an existing order. |
| Text message | 864 | Alerts the Owlery team, who reviews the message. |

## When a Purchase Order Arrives

**1. Owlery Confirms Receipt**

Owlery tells the retailer the document arrived and could be read. This happens for every document.

**2. Owlery Maps It to an Order**

Each retailer has its own mapping. It fills in the PO number, ship-from and ship-to locations, dates, line items, and references.

**3. Owlery Matches the Items**

Retailers send their own item codes, such as UPCs or GTINs. Owlery matches each one to an item in your [Item Master](/shippers/item-master.md).

**4. Owlery Creates or Updates the Order**

Orders are matched by PO number. If the retailer resends a PO, Owlery updates the existing order instead of creating a duplicate. A resent PO that hasn't changed is skipped.

**5. Owlery Acknowledges the PO (Optional)**

If it's turned on for that retailer, Owlery sends a PO acknowledgment. See [ASNs & Invoices](/shippers/retail-wholesale/writing-back.md#po-acknowledgments).

## Changes and Cancellations

* **Change orders**: applied to the original order. They can add lines, change quantities, or change the ship-to address.
* **Cancellations**: the order's status becomes **Cancelled**. Its lines stay on the order for your records.
* **Several versions of the same PO**: some retailers send an original, then a replacement, then a cancellation, all with the same PO number. Owlery applies them in the order the retailer sent them, not the order they arrived. An older version never overwrites a newer one.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Owlery doesn't pass retailer changes on to your warehouse automatically. If the warehouse already has the order, click **Update Order** on the pickup stop. See [Sending Orders to Your Warehouse](/shippers/orders.md#sending-orders-to-your-warehouse).

## If an Order Didn't Come Through

See [Troubleshoot Retail Order Messages](/shippers/troubleshoot-retail-orders.md#a-retailers-order-or-change-never-showed-up).

> **[Next: ASNs & Invoices](/shippers/retail-wholesale/writing-back.md)**
>
> See what Owlery sends your retailers, and when.


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