What information does the pallet barcode hold?
· Toni Martir, arquitecto de software
A pallet of yoghurts leaves the manufacturer's warehouse for a supermarket chain's distribution centre. Two of its sides carry the same label, with several barcodes and, under each one, digits preceded by numbers in brackets: (00), (02), (37)… It is the GS1 logistic label, defined by GS1, the organisation that publishes the barcode standards used in trade.
The only mandatory element on it is the SSCC, an 18-digit number that identifies that pallet and no other. Everything else is optional: if every case is the same product, the label can say which one, how many, the batch and the date; on a mixed pallet it carries only the SSCC, and the contents travel separately, in the despatch advice. And that is not the only label on the pallet: every case and every unit carries its own barcode.
The labels on a pallet of yoghurts, and what each barcode says
The case and the unit have different numbers: every packaging level that is sold gets its own GTIN, the product number. So the same yoghurt shows up on the pallet with two different barcodes.
The SSCC, the pallet's number plate
According to the GS1 General Specifications, each pallet is given a number that stays with it for its whole life, and that number is the key to its data in the supplier's and the customer's systems. In the example (00) 3 9524141 000000012 2, the 3 is an extension digit, which the company uses to get more numbers; 9524141 is the company prefix assigned by GS1 (GS1 keeps the 952 range for examples); 000000012 is a serial number the company chooses, sequential for instance; and the final 2 is a check digit.
According to the logistic label guideline, the prefix makes the number unique worldwide but says nothing about where the pallet comes from. The SSCC is assigned by the company that builds the pallet, which must not reuse it until a year after shipment.
The rest, only if the whole pallet is the same
The numbers in brackets are Application Identifiers: they say which piece of data follows. They are printed under the bars but not encoded in them. (02) is the GTIN, the product number, of the cases on the pallet, and the GS1 Application Identifier reference allows it only together with the SSCC and (37), the number of cases. After them can come the batch (10) and a date, such as best before (15) or expiry (17).
The guideline keeps (02) for pallets whose cases all carry the same GTIN. On a mixed pallet the label carries only the SSCC, and GS1 recommends sending the contents in an electronic message linked to the SSCC: the despatch advice, which the customer should receive before the goods arrive.
A GS1‑128 barcode holds at most 48 characters, so a label with a lot of data splits it across more than one barcode, and the SSCC barcode always goes at the bottom.
More than one label on the same pallet
GS1 recommends two identical pallet labels on adjacent sides, and its standard sets the height of the barcodes: between 400 and 800 millimetres from the base. Inside, every case carries its own barcode with its GTIN, in EAN‑13, ITF‑14 or GS1‑128, among others; GS1‑128 can add the batch and the date. Every unit also carries its own, the one scanned in the shop. And when several pallets are wrapped together, each keeps its SSCC and the group gets another one, on a label on the outside.
So what information does it hold?
Always the SSCC, the number that identifies that pallet. If every case on it is the same product, also which product, how many cases, the batch and the date; on a mixed pallet, the contents go in the despatch advice. The cases and the units carry their own barcodes separately, with their product number.
Report Manager prints GS1‑128 and EAN‑13 barcodes from a field or an expression (barcode component). How to design the pallet label is the subject of my next article.
Sources
- GS1, GS1 General Specifications, release 26.0, ratified January 2026. Section 2.2.1: «Each individual logistic unit is allocated a unique number, which remains the same for the life of the logistic unit. When assigning an SSCC, the rule is that an individual SSCC number must not be reallocated within one year of the shipment date from the SSCC assignor to a trading partner.» and «the SSCC provides a unique reference number that can be used as the key to access information regarding the logistic unit in computer files». Prefix table: «952 Used for demonstrations and examples of the GS1 system». Section 4.14: «although parentheses are not encoded in the barcode, parentheses SHALL surround AIs in HRI». Section 5.4.1: «The maximum number of data characters in a single symbol is 48.» Section 6.6.3: «The SSCC is the single mandatory element for all GS1 Logistic Labels.» Section 6.6.4.1.1: «the GS1-128 barcode encoding the SSCC SHALL be placed in the lowest portion of the label». Section 2.1.7: «each of the packaging types in Table 2-13, if traded, is assigned a separate GTIN». Section 2.1.7.2, on trade item groupings: the GTIN in EAN-13, in ITF-14 or in «A GS1-128 barcode or GS1 DataBar barcode with GS1 Application Identifier (01)», «particularly relevant if there is a need to encode attribute information in addition to the identification number». Section 6.2: «Trade items intended to be scanned at a POS SHALL be marked with an EAN-13, UPC-A, EAN-8, UPC-E, GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional, GS1 DataBar Stacked Omnidirectional, GS1 DataBar Expanded or GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked barcode.» Section 6.7.1.1: «all GS1 barcodes SHALL be positioned in a space between 400 millimetres (16 inches) and 800 millimetres (32 inches) from the base of the pallet». Section 6.7.2: «For pallets (logistic units identified with an SSCC) it is recommended that two identical logistic labels are placed on adjacent sides.»
- GS1, GS1 Logistic Label Guideline, release 1.3, ratified July 2019. Section 3.1, on the company prefix: «It makes the SSCC unique worldwide but does not identify the origin of the unit.»; rule [3-2]: «The SSCC should be assigned by the company that is creating the logistic unit, using its own GS1 Company Prefix.» Section 4.1: «For heterogeneous logistic units it is not possible to include trade item information on the logistic label and therefore the use of electronic messaging is strongly encouraged to support the exchange of data linked with the SSCC.» Rule [4-1]: «When the logistic unit is homogeneous, and is not a trade item, the contents of the pallet may be defined using AI (02) CONTENT». Rules [8-7] and [8-8], on stacked pallets: «each pallet should be identified with a unique SSCC» and «an additional SSCC should be assigned to the stacked pallet group». Rules [9-19] and [9-34]: «The Despatch Advice / ASN should specify for each logistic unit the SSCC and the contained trade items.» and «The Despatch Advice / ASN should be received and processed into the receivers system before the goods arrive.» Section 10.6, mixed pallet: «Mandatory data SSCC with AI (00) Optional data none».
- GS1, GS1 Application Identifiers (official reference, also as JSON-LD): (00) «Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC)», N2+N18; (02) «Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) of contained trade items», which requires (00) and (37); (37) «Count of trade items or trade item pieces contained in a logistic unit»; (10) «Batch or lot number»; (15) «Best before date (YYMMDD)»; (17) «Expiration date (YYMMDD)».
- Report Manager, barcode component: «Code128A, Code128B, Code128C, Code128 Code 128 family», «To generate GS1 barcodes, the FNC1 char must precede the barcode, it's represented by the ¿ char», «CodeEAN8, CodeEAN13 European EAN barcodes» and «The value of the barcode is obtained evaluating this expression».
Toni Martir, arquitecto de software · · sources checked on