What is an SSCC label and do retailers require one?

An SSCC is a unique 18 digit number issued under GS1 standards and printed as a barcode on the logistics label of a case, pallet or parcel. Some retailers require it: Ocado's supplier manual says suppliers must send SSCC labels as part of their ASNs to identify pallets delivered to its CFCs.

How long does retail EDI onboarding take?

The provider set-up is the short part; the retailer's test cycle and message spec set the overall pace. Transalis tests every new connection in parallel to your live system before switch-on. In one case study, a drinks brand had two of its twelve trading partners onboarded within four weeks, with extended testing before launch.

What is the fastest way for a small supplier to become EDI compliant?

A managed web EDI portal is the simplest route for a first retail relationship. Transalis Web EDI lets you receive orders, send invoices and print SSCC pallet labels in a browser, with no ERP integration and no software to install. You can move to integrated EDI later on the same network.

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You won the retail contract. Now they want EDI: the supplier's playbook (2026)

What a UK retailer asks for once you win the contract: the EDI documents, TRADACOMS and EANCOM, GLNs and SSCC labels, the onboarding and testing steps, and Ocado's published manual as a worked example.

Transalis15 October 2026

The contract is signed. Then the onboarding pack lands with the condition every supplier to the big retailers knows: you must trade by EDI.

What does a UK retailer require when it asks a supplier for EDI?

When a UK retailer asks a new supplier for EDI, it wants to send you purchase orders electronically and receive your invoices and despatch advice (ASNs) back the same way, in its required format. UK trading partners mainly use EDIFACT and TRADACOMS. Expect to provide a Global Location Number (GLN), GS1 barcodes and, where asked, SSCC pallet labels.

The requirements are predictable. With a managed provider, you need no EDI expertise and no software to run.

What does a retailer mean by trading over EDI?

It means the retailer's systems will send you orders as structured data and expect your invoices, and usually your delivery notes, back the same way. Transalis's UK EDI directory puts it plainly: "Many UK retailers mandate EDI for orders and invoices."

The retailer's reasons are operational. Ocado's supplier manual says EDI is "the most efficient way for a supplier to not only receive their order but also invoice Ocado", and names the main benefit as "the reduction in time taken to pay invoices." Ocado also says advance shipping notices "improve receipt accuracy, reduce invoice matching queries".

Being compliant means your documents arrive in the retailer's format and on schedule, and match what was ordered and delivered.

Which EDI documents do UK retailers require from suppliers?

The usual starting set is two documents: the purchase order the retailer sends you and the invoice you send back. Despatch advice (the ASN), order responses, credit notes and product data follow as the relationship grows.

Document	What it does for the retailer	TRADACOMS file
Purchase order	Tells you what to deliver, where and when	Order File
Order response	Confirms whether you can fulfil the order	Set in the retailer's spec
Despatch advice (ASN)	Tells the depot what is arriving, before it arrives	Delivery Notification File
Invoice	Bills against the order and delivery	Invoice File
Credit note (where the retailer supports it)	Corrects or reverses an invoice	Credit Note File
Product and price data	Keeps item and price details in step	Product Information File, Price Information File

Requirements grow after go-live. In a 2020 Transalis case study, Morrisons told Shaken Udder, which already exchanged orders and invoices, to add ASNs, purchase order responses and electronic proof of delivery. The ASN "needs to contain product details, such as; shelf-life dates, quantity and weight". The case study adds that the change "will be a requirement for all new fresh food trading connections." The ASN guide covers despatch advice in depth.

What are the EDI requirements to supply Tesco?

Tesco does not publish its EDI specification publicly. Like other UK retailers, it sets out the message detail in a Message Implementation Guide during onboarding, and your provider obtains it through your contact at Tesco and tests against it before go-live. Many UK retailers mandate EDI for orders and invoices, so plan for those first; the spec sets the rest. Transalis's Tesco page covers the connection itself.

Which EDI standard do UK retailers use: TRADACOMS or EANCOM?

UK trading partners mainly exchange EDI in EDIFACT and TRADACOMS, and many UK retailers use one or both. TRADACOMS is the long-standing UK retail standard, introduced in 1982 and maintained by what is now GS1 UK. EANCOM is, in GS1's words, "a GS1 subset of the UN/EDIFACT standard". Message names differ too: the despatch advice EDIFACT calls DESADV is the delivery notification in TRADACOMS.

Does a supplier need to care which one a retailer uses? Not if the provider translates. Transalis maps between TRADACOMS, EANCOM, EDIFACT and X12, so "You never need to know which standard each partner uses."

Which identifiers, barcodes and labels will the retailer ask for?

Expect four things: a Global Location Number, a Supplier Number, barcodes that scan and, where asked, pallet labels.

Global Location Number (GLN). A GS1 number that identifies your company and its locations. You obtain it through GS1. UK locations and products carry GS1 UK numbers, prefix 500 to 509.
Supplier Number. The retailer assigns this once you have arranged to trade by EDI.
Product barcodes. Ocado requires barcodes to follow GS1 UK's "Bar Coding - Getting it Right", and says they "should always be checked for scanning prior to a product's first arrival at Ocado".
SSCC pallet labels. The Serial Shipping Container Code is "a unique 18 digit number issued under GS1 standards and printed as a barcode on the logistics label". It identifies a case, pallet or parcel. Ocado has the SSCC sent within the ASN so it can match it with the physical pallet.

How does retailer EDI onboarding and testing work?

Onboarding runs in five steps, and the retailer's own test cycle sets the pace.

Gather your details. Share your GLN, the Supplier Number the retailer assigns you, and your contact at the retailer with your provider.
Get the retailer's spec. Each retailer's Message Implementation Guide (MIG) sets out the detail of every message. Ocado's manual says the MIG "will be sent to suppliers during EDI set up", and your provider can obtain it through your retailer contact.
Set up the connection. Your provider configures your messages to the retailer's format, either through a web portal or wired into your own system.
Test in parallel. At Transalis, "Any new EDI solution is set-up and tested parallel to your live system to ensure there will be no issues once live".
Go live and hand over. Once live, Transalis's Operations team hands over to Technical Support and Customer Experience.

How long does it take? The provider set-up is the short part; the retailer's test cycle and spec decide the rest. TRIP, a drinks brand with twelve trading partners including Sainsbury's and Waitrose, had two partners onboarded within four weeks, with extended user acceptance testing before launch. When the retailer is already on the provider's network, onboarding is "enablement, not construction", as the connect-once guide explains.

What do grocery and FMCG suppliers need? Ocado's manual as an example

Grocery and FMCG suppliers should plan for the full set. As Transalis's food and drinks guide puts it, brands supplying large retailers "must meet strict EDI requirements for orders, acknowledgements, shipping notices and invoices". Ocado's published Supplier Manual v3.0 (September 2023) shows what that means in practice.

Orders "are transmitted to suppliers using EDI or email via Olive".
ASNs. Ocado "advises suppliers to send Advanced Shipping Notices (ASNs) via EDI for every delivery". The ASN "must not be sent until the actual loading procedure has been completed and no later than twenty minutes after the delivery has been shipped".
SSCC labels. "As part of ASNs, suppliers are required to send Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) labels to identify the pallets that are delivered to our CFCs."
Invoices. EDI invoices for deliveries to its CFCs go to Ocado's Head Office ANA Code.

On deliveries, Ocado notes that "80% of customer orders are sold in advance of the physical arrival of stock on site." Deliveries must arrive within 30 minutes either side of the booked slot, and Ocado says it "will work with a supplier to help resolve any issues resulting in late deliveries wherever possible before charges are raised."

What are your options to get EDI compliant?

Transalis offers three routes, and "All three are fully managed."

Web EDI. "A managed web portal to receive orders, send invoices and manage compliance in a browser", with automated SSCC pallet-label printing built in. It suits a first retail EDI relationship and teams with no IT support.
Integrated EDI. EDI wired directly into your ERP, accounting or warehouse system, so orders, invoices and despatch notes flow automatically.
Enterprise EDI. Built for organisations trading with thousands of trading partners.

Building it in-house is the other route, and it carries the maintenance. Retailers update their validation rules regularly; the chargebacks story shows what happens when an in-house build misses one.

What should a retail supplier look for in an EDI provider?

Look for five things: coverage of your retailers, standards translation, speed on spec changes, document visibility and predictable pricing.

Coverage. Your retailers should already be on the provider's network, so set-up is a connection, not a build.
Translation. The provider handles TRADACOMS, EANCOM and each retailer's MIG for you.
Speed on spec changes. Cecily Adams, Customer Experience Manager at Transalis, advises suppliers to ensure their provider "is agile and willing to quickly react to changing mandated requirements".
Visibility. Transalis DataTrack™ shows whether your orders, confirmations or shipping notes are delivered, pending or failed.
Predictable pricing. At Transalis, the price stays the same all year, and updating a map does not trigger an extra invoice.

How does Transalis help retail suppliers get compliant?

Transalis is a managed outcomes provider for B2B integration, EDI and eInvoicing. Its network covers 98% of the UK's electronically-trading retail market, and one connection reaches 15,000+ organisations across 50+ countries.

Transalis has connection pages for more than 200 retailers, ERPs and marketplaces, including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Ocado, Aldi, Booker, Harrods, Next and Selfridges. Each one gives you a secure EDI web portal to receive orders and send invoices, a real-time view of every EDI document, and your complete product catalogue in one place.

The contract is the hard part, and you have already won it. The rest is a connection. Validate your supplier readiness in a 30-minute call, with no obligation.

Frequently asked questions

What EDI documents do UK retailers require from suppliers?: The usual starting set is the purchase order the retailer sends you and the invoice you send back. Retailers then add despatch advice (ASNs), order responses, credit notes, and product and price data. In 2020, Morrisons told one fresh food supplier to add ASNs, order responses and electronic proof of delivery.
Which EDI standard do UK retailers use?: UK trading partners mainly exchange EDI in EDIFACT and TRADACOMS. TRADACOMS is the long-standing UK retail standard, introduced in 1982. EANCOM is GS1's subset of the UN/EDIFACT standard. A managed provider such as Transalis translates between the formats, so a supplier never needs to know which standard each retailer uses.
What are the EDI requirements to supply Tesco?: Tesco does not publish its EDI specification publicly. The message detail for each retailer, Tesco included, comes in its Message Implementation Guide, which your provider obtains through your retailer contact during set-up. Transalis's Tesco connection page offers a secure web portal to receive orders, send invoices and manage your product catalogue.
What is an SSCC label and do retailers require one?: An SSCC is a unique 18 digit number issued under GS1 standards and printed as a barcode on the logistics label of a case, pallet or parcel. Some retailers require it: Ocado's supplier manual says suppliers must send SSCC labels as part of their ASNs to identify pallets delivered to its CFCs.
How long does retail EDI onboarding take?: The provider set-up is the short part; the retailer's test cycle and message spec set the overall pace. Transalis tests every new connection in parallel to your live system before switch-on. In one case study, a drinks brand had two of its twelve trading partners onboarded within four weeks, with extended testing before launch.
What is the fastest way for a small supplier to become EDI compliant?: A managed web EDI portal is the simplest route for a first retail relationship. Transalis Web EDI lets you receive orders, send invoices and print SSCC pallet labels in a browser, with no ERP integration and no software to install. You can move to integrated EDI later on the same network.

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