SSCC & GS1-128 Pallet Labels: A First-Time B2B Shipping Guide
First-time B2B shippers often find pallet labeling requirements seem familiar but operate differently from carton labeling. While GS1-128 carton labels identify individual cases, pallet labels use SSCCs to uniquely identify specific pallets for receiving and tracking.
What is an SSCC (and why distributors care)
A GS1-128 pallet label identifies the pallet itself as a logistics unit. Instead of describing the product, it uses an SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code) to uniquely identify that specific pallet for receiving, tracking, and reconciliation against the Advance Ship Notice (ASN).
Distributors like KeHE use SSCCs to:
- Track pallets through receiving
- Match physical pallets to ASNs (EDI 856)
- Reduce receiving errors and manual research
That's why they typically require:
- A GS1-128 barcode
- An SSCC
- The purchase order number printed on the label
Do SSCCs come from EDI?
This is where a lot of first-time wholesale shippers get stuck. SSCCs are not inherently created by EDI alone. In practice, this depends on how EDI is implemented.
In most real-world setups, the warehouse or shipping process generates the SSCC. SSCCs follow a GS1-defined structure and must be globally unique. Suppliers generate SSCCs:
- Using their GS1 Company Prefix
- With a sequential serial reference
- At the time of packing or palletizing
Labeling best practices for KeHE and similar distributors
While requirements can vary slightly by trading partner, distributors like KeHE generally expect a GS1-128 barcode with:
- (00) SSCC
- Human-readable SSCC text
- Purchase order number printed on the label
- Label placed consistently on the pallet (usually multiple sides)
The important thing is consistency between:
- What's on the pallet label
- What's in the ASN
- What arrives physically at the dock
Where teams run into trouble
For first-time wholesale shipments, issues usually come from:
- SSCCs being created manually without a clear sequence
- Labels printed correctly, but SSCCs missing from the ASN
- EDI handled in one system, shipping handled in another, with no clean handoff
How eZCom helps simplify this
With Lingo, teams can:
- Keep shipment identifiers aligned across systems
- Generate SSCCs and control how cartons are assigned to pallets
- Ensure those SSCCs flow correctly into pallet labels and ASNs
- Reduce last-minute fixes during packing and shipping
- Support distributor requirements like KeHE without custom workarounds
Final takeaway
If this is your first direct B2B delivery, here's the simple version:
- SSCCs are created operationally, not magically by EDI
- EDI's role is to communicate them accurately
- Consistency matters more than tooling
Get that foundation right early, and future shipments get much easier.
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