More and more trade partners require shipments to be marked externally with barcodes digitally linking them to shipping notices and thus enabling a far easier and faster goods receival processes. In this case, shipping notices must include a “shipment hierarchy” that identifies every transport unit (pallet, carton, etc.) using a unique transport unit identifier. The identification system used is usually SSCC (Serial Shipment Container Code)

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Examples

Below, you can see how to build the “shipment hierarchy” for different shipment scenarios.

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Single package

A single package will have a transport label printed on the physical package and list a single transport unit in digital form. Physical Single SSCC on package Single SSCC on package Digital 
{
	"transportUnits": [
		{
			"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365376",
			"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
			"unitType": "CARTON",
			"items": [...] // line items contained in package
		}
	]
}

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Multiple packages

A shipment with multiple package will have a transport label printed on every package and one transport unit listed per package in digital form. Physical One SSCC on every package One SSCC on every package Digital 
{
	"transportUnits": [
		{
			"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365376",
			"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
			"unitType": "CARTON",
			"items": [...] // line items contained in package
		},
		{
			"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365377",
			"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
			"unitType": "CARTON",
			"items": [...] // line items contained in package
		},
		{
			"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365378",
			"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
			"unitType": "CARTON",
			"items": [...] // line items contained in package
		}
	]
}

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Single pallet (homogeneous or mixed content)

A shipment that consists of a single pallet will have a single transport label printed on the pallet shrink wrap. In digital form, a single transport unit is listed and the amount of cartons on the pallet is communicated via the containedTradeUnitCount parameter. Physical Single SSCC on pallet Single SSCC on pallet Digital 
{
	"transportUnits": [
		{
			"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365376",
			"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
			"unitType": "EURO_PALLET",
			"containedTradeUnitCount": 12, // Amount of cartons on the pallet
			"items": [...] // line items contained in packages on the pallet
		}
	]
}

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Sandwich pallet (homogenous pallets stacked)

A pallet that is made up of multiple homogeneous “layers” (sandwich pallet) receives N+1 transport labels. One label on the shirk wrap of the whole stacked pallet and one label per layer. The same is true for the digital form: Transport units describing the different “layers” are contained within a wrapping transport unit describing the whole stacked pallet. Physical One SSCC on the shrink wrap of the stacked pallet One SSCC on the shrink wrap of the stacked pallet One SSCC on each sandwich layer One SSCC on each sandwich layer Digital 
{
	"transportUnits": [
		{
			"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365376",
			"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
			"unitType": "EURO_PALLET",
			"transportUnits": [ // further transport units contained within
				{
					"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365377",
					"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
					"unitType": "EURO_PALLET",
					"containedTradeUnitCount": 12, // Amount of cartons on the pallet
					"items": [...] // line items contained in packages on the pallet
				},
				{
					"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365378",
					"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
					"unitType": "EURO_PALLET",
					"containedTradeUnitCount": 6, // Amount of cartons on the pallet
					"items": [...] // line items contained in packages on the pallet
				},
				{
					"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365379",
					"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
					"unitType": "EURO_PALLET",
					"containedTradeUnitCount": 24, // Amount of cartons on the pallet
					"items": [...] // line items contained in packages on the pallet
				}
			]
		}
	]
}

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Multiple pallets (homogeneous or mixed content)

Shipments that consist of multiple pallets of either homogeneous or mixed content are handled similar to multiple packages. One transport label is attached to every physical pallet and in digital form one transport unit is used for every pallet. Physical One SSCC on every pallet One SSCC on every pallet Digital 
{
	"transportUnits": [
		{
			"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365376",
			"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
			"unitType": "EURO_PALLET",
			"containedTradeUnitCount": 96, // Amount of cartons on the pallet
			"items": [...] // line items contained in packages on the pallet
		},
		{
			"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365377",
			"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
			"unitType": "EURO_PALLET",
			"containedTradeUnitCount": 96, // Amount of cartons on the pallet
			"items": [...] // line items contained in packages on the pallet
		},
		{
			"unitIdentifier": "340000000037365378",
			"unitIdentiferDomain": "GS1",
			"unitType": "EURO_PALLET",
			"containedTradeUnitCount": 96, // Amount of cartons on the pallet
			"items": [...] // line items contained in packages on the pallet
		}
	]
}

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Other scenarios

Please contact us if you are unsure or require different scenarios (containers, etc.).