SSCC

What it means

GS1 is the standards body behind the SSCC. Its global site describes the SSCC as a code companies use to identify a logistic unit, which can be any combination of trade items packed together for storage or transport, for example a case, pallet or parcel.^[3] GS1 US calls it a license plate for the unit, used to track shipments through the supply chain, and notes that many major retailers and logistics partners require SSCCs on pallets and packages.^[1]

Each SSCC belongs to one physical unit, not to an order and not to a product. Ten identical pallets in one order get ten different SSCCs. GS1 US says the SSCC is used only in the distribution or warehouse environment and is not used at the point of sale.^[2]

How the 18 digits are built

In a barcode, the SSCC follows Application Identifier (00). The AI is a prefix that tells the scanner an SSCC comes next. It is not one of the 18 digits.^[2]

GS1 US advises assigning serial references in sequence with no built-in meaning, because a numbering scheme that means something today stops making sense after a reorganization or a merger.^[2] GS1 UK adds that the company assigning the SSCC is responsible for its uniqueness, and that an SSCC can be reassigned one year after it was created and last used in communications.^[4]

The SSCC label and where it goes on a pallet

The SSCC label is the GS1 logistic label. GS1 UK describes three sections: a top section with free-form company information, a middle section with the SSCC and other data in human-readable text, and a lower section with GS1-128 barcodes. The SSCC always sits in the lowest barcode on the label.^[4] Many companies use an A5 label (148 by 210 mm, about 5.8 by 8.3 inches), but the GS1 General Specifications do not set a standard size.^[4]

• How many labels. At least one barcode per pallet. GS1 US recommends a second one on the adjacent side, because a pallet is often turned sideways in a truck or on a warehouse rack.^[2]
• Height. GS1 US places labels with barcodes 16 to 32 inches from the base of the pallet.^[2]
• Edge clearance. At least 2 inches from a vertical edge of the pallet.^[2]
• Visibility. GS1 Sweden says the pallet label should always be visible and must never be covered with plastic or another label.^[5]

Why it matters

The SSCC is what lets a retailer receive a pallet without counting it. GS1 US explains that one scan of the SSCC at a receiving bay can be linked to the electronic advance ship notice sent earlier, which lists the contents, to speed up receiving, reconciliation and put-away.^[2] That is also why the product's GTIN is not part of the SSCC. The product detail lives in the ASN, and the SSCC is the key to it.^[2] When a scanned SSCC does not match the ASN, the pallet stops being automatic and has to be handled as an exception, which is one way labeling errors turn into rejected freight.

SSCC vs. license plate number (LPN) vs. tracking number

All three are numbers that follow freight around, so they get mixed up. The difference is who issues them and who can read them.

GS1 itself calls the SSCC a license plate, and GS1 US notes it is fully compatible with ISO/IEC 15459, the standard for unique identifiers for transport units that is often called the ISO License Plate.^[2] An LPN is the same idea kept inside one building: a warehouse management system puts its own label on a pallet or carton so it can track put-away and moves. GS1 US says the SSCC can also do that internal job.^[2] The practical gap is reach. An SSCC built on a GS1 prefix is globally unique and can be matched by any trading partner, while an internal LPN usually means nothing outside the warehouse that printed it.

A carrier tracking number, or PRO number, belongs to the trucking company and follows the shipment through its terminals. It does not replace the SSCC. A retail DC that receives against an ASN matches the SSCCs on the pallets, not the carrier's number.

Example

Illustrative only. A vendor ships four pallets of the same item to a retailer DC. Each pallet gets its own SSCC label on two adjacent sides, and the vendor's ASN lists all four SSCCs with the cases on each. At the dock, the receiver scans each label and the system pulls the matching pallet from the ASN, so nobody has to count cases.

Now suppose one pallet arrived at a cross-dock leaning and had to be rebuilt onto two pallets. The old SSCC no longer describes a real unit. The two new pallets each need a new SSCC, and the ASN has to show them, or the DC scan will not match.

When a pallet needs a new SSCC

The rule follows the unit, not the paperwork. GS1 US says that if a logistic unit with an SSCC is broken down and repacked, a new SSCC has to be assigned to the new unit.^[2] GS1 Sweden covers the other side: if the unit is already marked with an SSCC, no new one should be created, and the existing code should be read and used again on the transport label.^[5]

• Same pallet, same contents: keep the SSCC, even if the carrier changes.
• Pallet rebuilt or cases moved between pallets: each new pallet gets a new SSCC. See repalletizing.
• Label damaged or unreadable, unit unchanged: reprint the same SSCC so it still matches the ASN.
• New SSCCs after rework: the ASN has to carry the new numbers, or the receiving scan will not match. This is usually where relabeling for retail compliance comes in.

Frequently asked questions