What is an SSCC? The pallet label code UK retailers ask for

The request usually lands in a retailer's onboarding pack, next to the Global Location Number and the barcodes on your products. A UK retailer that receives pallets wants each one to carry a number its warehouse can scan and look up. That number is the SSCC.

What does SSCC stand for, and what does it identify?

SSCC stands for Serial Shipping Container Code. GS1 defines it as "the GS1 identifier for an individual logistics unit, established for transport and/or storage that needs to be managed through the supply chain."

A logistic unit is whatever you build to move or store. GS1's examples are "a case, pallet or parcel". A pallet of mixed lines counts, and so does a single case sent on its own.

The code names that one unit, not the products inside it. A GTIN identifies a product line, and every unit of that line shares it. An SSCC identifies one specific pallet, case or parcel, and "remains the same for the life of the logistic unit to which it is assigned."

GS1 states that the SSCC is fully compatible with ISO/IEC 15459 part 1, the standard for unique transport-unit identifiers often called the ISO licence plate. The number travels with the pallet. Most of what a warehouse needs to know about it is looked up from that number.

How are the 18 digits of an SSCC built?

An SSCC is always 18 digits long, in four parts.

1. Extension digit. The first digit, from 0 to 9. It is set by the company that constructs the SSCC and is "used to increase the capacity of the serial reference". It carries no other meaning.
2. GS1 Company Prefix. The number block your business receives from GS1. It makes the SSCC unique worldwide, but it does not identify where the pallet came from.
3. Serial reference. Your own running number for each unit. Its structure is at the discretion of the owner of the GS1 Company Prefix.
4. Check digit. The 18th digit, calculated from the first 17.

The prefix and the serial reference share 16 digits between them.

When an SSCC is printed as text on a label, GS1 says the data title "SSCC" should be used.

How is the SSCC check digit calculated?

The 18th digit is a check digit, calculated from the first 17 by multiplying them alternately by 3 and 1. The check digit "helps to detect and reject incorrectly composed values", such as a digit mistyped during manual entry.

The method, from the GS1 General Specifications:

1. Take the first 17 digits.
2. Multiply them alternately by 3 and 1, starting with 3 on the first digit.
3. Add the results.
4. Subtract the sum from the nearest equal or higher multiple of ten. The answer is the check digit.

GS1's own example: 37610425002123456 sums to 101, so the check digit is 9. The full SSCC is 376104250021234569. This is GS1's illustration, not a live number.

GS1 lists a check digit calculator on its SSCC page, which is handy for testing a single number. GS1 says checking the digit "must be carried out in the application software". For live pallets, let the same system that prints your labels calculate it, rather than anyone working it out by hand.

What is an SSCC label?

An SSCC label is a GS1 logistic label, and "the SSCC is the single mandatory element for all GS1 Logistic Labels." Everything else on it depends on what your trading partners ask for.

The label is built in three blocks:

• Top. Free text and graphics, such as your company name and logo.
• Middle. Text with data titles, such as "SSCC", for people to read.
• Bottom. The barcodes. "Only the bottom building block is mandatory."

The SSCC is encoded in a GS1-128 barcode, where Application Identifier (00) tells the scanner that the data that follows is an SSCC. GS1 is precise about position: "the GS1-128 barcode encoding the SSCC SHALL be placed in the lowest portion of the label". Other barcodes, such as the consignee's GLN in AI (410), sit above it.

Size is up to you. GS1 says the labeller decides the dimensions, and most users are served by A6 (105 mm x 148 mm) or A5 (148 mm x 210 mm). A6 suits a label that carries the SSCC and little else.

GS1 describes several ways to produce the label, including these two. A picked pallet label is printed and applied when the pallet is picked for a customer. A pre-printed SSCC-only label goes on first and is scanned, then linked electronically to the products on the pallet. GS1 suggests that option when there is no print and apply capability.

Where does the SSCC label go on a pallet?

GS1 sets the height. All GS1 barcodes on a pallet should sit "between 400 millimetres (16 inches) and 800 millimetres (32 inches) from the base of the pallet". On a pallet under 400 mm high, place them as high as possible.

Keep the barcode, with its quiet zones, at least 50 mm from any vertical edge so it is not damaged in handling. GS1 recommends labelling two sides of a pallet with the same data, so one label is always visible.

Who allocates an SSCC, and can it be reused?

The physical builder or the brand owner of the pallet allocates its SSCC. In practice that is usually the supplier or its warehouse. GS1's guideline says SSCCs should be generated from the logistics management system, such as the warehouse management system or ERP, and that "the shipper should use its own GS1 Company Prefix to generate the SSCC."

A carrier is the exception. When no label is present at collection, the carrier may generate an SSCC from its own GS1 Company Prefix.

Reuse is tightly limited. In GS1's words, "an individual SSCC number must not be reallocated within one year of the shipment date from the SSCC assignor to a trading partner", and regulatory or industry rules may extend that period. Treat it as at least one year after shipment, and archive the SSCCs you create so a pallet can be traced later.

How do I get SSCC numbers in the UK?

You register through GS1 UK. Registration gives your organisation a GS1 prefix, and every SSCC you create is built from it. The same prefix is where your GLN and your GTINs come from. If you registered with GS1 UK for those, you usually already have it.

Once you have the prefix, numbering is yours to manage. Pick an extension digit, give each unit its own serial reference and let your system calculate the check digit.

We do not quote a price or a prefix size here. Check the current registration terms with GS1 UK directly. If you are unsure which of your GS1 numbers a retailer is asking for, our guide to EDI numbers sets out each one.

How does the SSCC link to the ASN?

The SSCC links the physical pallet to the information about it that trading partners exchange by EDI. The digital supply chain runs the physical supply chain, and the SSCC is where the two meet.

The despatch advice, or ASN, travels ahead of the goods. GS1's guideline says "the Despatch Advice / ASN should specify for each logistic unit the SSCC and the contained trade items." In an EANCOM despatch advice (DESADV), the GIN segment carries each pallet's SSCC.

At goods-in, the warehouse scans the label. When the scanned SSCC matches the ASN, the received quantity can be added to stock automatically, without anyone counting cases by hand.

For what the ASN contains and when to send it, read our guide on how and when to send an ASN.

What do UK retailers ask for on pallet labels?

Most retailers share their message specification during onboarding, so the exact rules arrive with your set-up pack. Ocado Retail is one that publishes its position. Its Supplier Manual states: "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." It adds: "The SSCC barcode is also sent within the ASN EDI message to enable Ocado to match it with the physical pallet."

For grocery, the industry baseline comes from GS1 UK's Perfect Order programme. Its minimum requirements for in-bound logistics, an industry-approved minimum written with retailers and suppliers in 2016, state: "Each pallet shall be identified with a unique 18-digit tracking number called a Serial Shipping Container Code or SSCC." The same document asks for:

• two identical labels per pallet, one on a short side and one on a long side
• only one version of a pallet label for each pallet
• the SSCC barcode as the lowest barcode on the label
• AI (00) to denote the SSCC, shown only in GS1-128 barcodes

The programme describes these as a minimum that participants work towards. Your retailer's own specification takes priority, so read it alongside the EDI requirements for retail suppliers.

What goes wrong with SSCC labels?

The first set of problems is physical. Wrinkled, misplaced or wrapped-over labels are among the problems GS1 lists. Its guideline also suggests:

• printing labels one at a time when they are applied by hand, to limit the risk of applying the wrong one
• black barcodes on a white background
• avoiding thermal paper that changes colour when exposed to heat or sun
• dropping extra labels that repeat information already on another label, which can cause non-scans or confusion
• scanning only loaded pallets, so the ASN describes what actually left the dock

The rest are data problems. A wrong SSCC on a pallet label can cause a warehouse to reject an entire delivery rather than just the affected line. Keying SSCC numbers into an ASN by hand is slow and error-prone at exactly the point where accuracy matters most. Reusing a number too soon breaks traceability.

GS1 suggests checking labels at three levels during implementation: a visual check, the information on the label, and barcode symbol verification. The peak season EDI checklist turns that into a scan test before your busiest weeks.

How does Transalis Web EDI handle SSCC labels?

Transalis Web EDI is a managed web portal with automated pallet-label (SSCC) printing for retailer compliance built in. You use it in a browser to receive orders and send invoices, and to manage compliance. There is no ERP integration and no software to install. It suits a first retail EDI relationship and teams with no IT support.

Suppliers that connect their own systems take a different route. Once the ERP or warehouse management system is integrated, the ASN is triggered automatically by picking and packing confirmations, with SSCC labels generated and applied to pallets as part of the same process. Transalis OpenEDI™ supports that route and the browser route on the same connection.

Transalis is a managed outcomes provider for B2B integration, EDI and eInvoicing. Connect once and reach 15,000+ connections across 50+ countries.

Secure your connection in a call with the team, your retailer's label specification in hand.