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What is an SSCC?
Logistics and the SSCC
SSCCs in the Logistics Process
The SSCC and Traceability
What is an SSCC?
The SSCC or Serial Shipping Container Code is an 18 digit number allocated to uniquely identify a logistics unit. That logistics unit could be anything established for the purpose of transport and/or storage i.e. it could range from an outer case to a pallet, to a container or to an entire shipment. The SSCC is constructed around the GCP - Global Company Prefix - issued to each company that applies to GS1 for a prefix for bar coding purposes.
Logistics and the SSCC
The purpose of IT is to enable more efficient and effective management of operations i.e. to improve speed, increase accuracy and to make available up-to-date information for decision making purposes. With the growing pressure globally to cut costs and maximise margins, efforts are concentrated on finding better ways to handle goods, inventory, raw materials and to process information, the length and breadth of the supply chain. Companies are increasingly striving to strike a balance between maintaining customer satisfaction (offering shorter lead times for delivery, maximising product availability) and reducing both stocks and the costs associated with transport, storage and administration.
These aims are only achievable if the flow of data moves in tandem with the physical movement of goods. This must occur not only within a company but between trading partners. Each company must also recognise that is it not only a player in a single supply chain but part of a network of chains with common points of interconnection.
The GS1 System has a selection of tools that companies can utilise to facilitate the efficient flow of both goods and data. These tools include GTINs, SSCCs, bar code symbols and electronic messages.
The first step on the path to more efficient supply chain management is the unique identification of every product, in each one of its constituent packaging configurations. A product may not only be a finished good, but can also be a raw material, an ingredient or a work in progress. The unique identification of each of these items enables the recording of their movements and of their consumption.
A GTIN, or Global Trade Item Number, is used to identify items throughout the supply chain. The SSCC or Serial Shipping Container Code is an additional form of identification, typically used on outer cases and pallets (traded units) and is used to record and track the movement of these shipping containers. The SSCC can be allocated to both homogeneous pallets or to mixed pallets built to meet a specific order. The SSCC is a unique reference number used to access supplementary information about a container which is stored on a database.
The unique nature of the SSCC facilitates its use as a reference number by all parties in the supply chain from the original manufacturer, to logistics carriers, to distributors and on to retailers. The SSCC, when coupled with electronic messages (EDI) the SSCC enables the implementation of applications which support shipping & receiving operations, automatic inventory updating, order sortation, stock rotation and purchase order reconciliation.
SSCCs in the Logisitcs Process
The SSCC is used to uniquely identify goods on their way from the sender to the final recipient. Each shipping container, at the time of its creation is uniquely identified by the sender with an SSCC. The Serial Shipping Container Code is a unique 18 digit reference number. See the attached document below for details of the number structure.
The SSCC is created from the Global Company Prefix (GCP), a prefix allocated to a company for bar coding purposes. In addition to this prefix, an extension digit, typically the digit 3 and a serial reference are added, bringing the total complement of digits to 17. The standard modulo 10 algorithm is then used to calculate the check digit.
A label encoding the SSCC in the GS1 128 bar code symbology is applied to each shipping container.
Prior to shipment, the sender sends the recipient a Despatch Advice Message(DESADV) which includes the SSCC of each shipping container and all other relevant information such as the date and time of shipment, expected date and time of arrival, carrier information, customer purchase order number, details of the product(s) sent, quantities best before dates etc. The recipient stores this information in a computer database in anticipation of the delivery. Upon the arrival of the order the SSCCs are scanned and the order information held on file is uploaded to the appropriate in-house application e.g. inventory updated.
Where EDI is not available this shipping information can be bar coded onto the pallet label in addition to the SSCC to enable the information to be scanned and uploaded into an application without the need for manual data entry.
The SSCC and Traceability
Use of the SSCC lies mainly in the area of traceability, i.e. the tracking and tracing of shipping containers. The use of the SSCC is invaluable in each of the following scenarios
- When important variable product characteristics need to be associated with a particular shipping container for efficient handling and processing (e.g. best before dates or expiry dates, batch numbers, customer purchase order number, etc.
- When handling patterns are facilitated by use of the serial identification (e.g. cross-docking in warehousing operations)
- When the contents of the container are variable i.e. mixed shipping containers which cannot be identified by a single GTIN
- Where additional controls and the tracking of the container is necessitated due to regulatory concerns (e.g. lotbatch tracking) or value of the contents.
- The SSCC is particularly suited to the identification and tracking of customer specific product mixes i.e. where cases andor pallets are assembled in a non-standard format. In this scenario both the cases and pallets are identified with SSCCs.
