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The SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code) is an 18-digit GS1 number identifying one logistic unit, such as a pallet, carried on the logistics label in a GS1-128 barcode. The number is unique to that unit: when a pallet is rebuilt or goods are repacked, a new unit exists and a new SSCC is needed, and the old number may not be reused. The consignee compares scanned SSCCs with the ASN (advance shipping notice); a number missing from the ASN is a ground for rejecting the delivery. The OTSL warehouse in Milton Keynes prints labels from the partner's data and GS1 prefix, not from its own.
Why does a rebuilt pallet need a new SSCC?
An SSCC describes a specific logistic unit: that pallet, with that content, in that configuration. When a pallet is rebuilt, split into two, merged with another, or the goods change their outer packaging, the unit described by the old number ceases to exist. If the old SSCC stayed on the new pallet, the consignee's system would assign it content that is no longer there, or reject the pallet at the unit count. So the GS1 rule is simple: new unit, new number, and the old number does not return to circulation.
This has a consequence for the ASN. The consignee receives an electronic despatch notification listing the SSCCs it expects and scans the labels at the gate. If a pallet carries a number that is not in the ASN, the gate will not recognise it; if the ASN lists a number that is on no pallet, the count will not reconcile. Every pallet rebuild therefore requires two things at once: a new label on the pallet and an ASN update before delivery.
Where do the numbers come from, and who assigns them?
SSCCs are generated from the GS1 company prefix of the shipper or the owner of the goods. The OTSL warehouse does not assign numbers from its own prefix, because the unit would then formally be an OTSL unit rather than yours or your customer's. The partner gives us a pool of numbers or ready label data, and we print GS1-128 labels, apply them as the consignee requires and check them against the unit list before dispatch.
Label requirements (position, number of labels per pallet, text fields, additional barcodes) and ASN requirements are set by each consignee in its supplier specification. Retailers and Amazon have their own manuals; before printing we need that document or the consignee name. A label format that passed at one retailer will not necessarily pass at another.
Relabelling after repacking step by step
- Data from the partner. We receive a pool of SSCCs from the GS1 prefix of the shipper or owner, or ready label files, together with the consignee specification.
- Rebuild and count. The pallet is built again, units are counted and the composition of each new pallet recorded: SKU, carton count, batch, date.
- Number assignment. Each new pallet receives its own SSCC; old labels are removed or covered so that the gate does not scan two numbers.
- Print and apply. The GS1-128 label is printed and applied where the consignee requires; the barcode is test-scanned after application.
- Unit list for the ASN. A list of new SSCCs with the content of each pallet goes to the partner, who updates the ASN in the consignee's system.
- Check before dispatch. Numbers on the pallets are compared with the unit list and the delivery documents; a discrepancy stops the dispatch.
Definitions
- SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code): an 18-digit GS1 number identifying one logistic unit; unique and never reused.
- GS1-128: the barcode used on logistics labels, in which the SSCC is encoded with application identifier (00).
- GS1 company prefix: the number allocated to a company by GS1, from which its SSCC, GTIN and other numbers are formed.
- ASN (Advance Shipping Notice): the electronic despatch notification listing the units and their SSCCs, sent to the consignee before delivery.
- Logistic unit: an item transported and stored as a whole, such as a pallet or outer case, described by one SSCC.
- GS1 logistics label: the standardised label carrying the SSCC in GS1-128, text fields and any additional barcodes the consignee requires.
Checklist before printing labels
- SSCC pool from the shipper's or owner's GS1 prefix, or ready label files.
- Consignee label specification: position, number of labels, text fields, additional barcodes.
- Composition of each new pallet after the rebuild: SKU, carton count, batch, date.
- Who updates the ASN and in which consignee system.
- What to do with the old labels: remove or cover.
- Delivery date, so that the ASN reaches the consignee before the truck does.
When is a new SSCC not needed?
A new number is not required when a pallet returns to its original state without a change of content: the same carton count, the same composition, only the wrapping corrected or the layers straightened. The logistic unit then remains the same unit and the old label stays valid, unless the consignee's specification demands a new label after any intervention. Whether a change is cosmetic or creates a new unit depends on whether the content described by the old number is still true.
The OTSL role
The OTSL warehouse in Milton Keynes carries out labelling, pallet rebuilds and counts, printing GS1-128 labels from the partner's data as part of secure transloading, and for Amazon-bound goods under Amazon UK delivery. The basics of GS1 codes for retail are covered in our article on re-labelling and GS1/SSCC for UK retail, bundles and kits in co-packing, kitting and bundling, and the food-grade warehouse in repacking services in the UK. See also: Pallet restacking to RDC standard: what the retailer gate checks.
