NETTO Sp. z o.o. (NETTO), together with the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing (ILiM), has undertaken the implementation of a logistics label standard, compliant with the global GS1 system, for logistics units delivered to its distribution centers.
The primary goal of introducing the label was to accelerate and automate the receipt of external deliveries, which was reduced to scanning the supplier-generated label using a radio terminal equipped with a barcode scanner and automatically entering the read data into the SAP IT system used at NETTO.
Efficient generation of the logistics label by suppliers was possible provided it was properly designed, its application rules were defined, and suppliers were adequately prepared from a technical and organizational perspective. To this end, the NETTO chain turned to the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing – the Polish GS1 national organization, which first identified all possible label variants resulting from their configuration methods and the types of goods placed on pallets, and then undertook the task of implementing the label among suppliers, taking into account NETTO’s expectations and compliance with global GS1 system standards. The logistics label designed and implemented by ILiM has universal features and can be used in broad logistics operations, in deliveries to other recipients, and also, which is very important, to improve internal warehouse and distribution processes at suppliers.
Some suppliers decided to implement the logistics label on their own, carrying out this project either with their own logistics and IT departments or by engaging external companies. In many cases, it turned out that this approach is not effective because both the suppliers themselves and the companies serving them do not have sufficient knowledge and competence in this area. The Institute of Logistics and Warehousing – GS1 Poland, while analyzing such labels, found various types of errors, which can generally be divided into two categories – technical and substantive errors.
Examples of technical errors include:
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the barcode used was not a standard GS1-128 code, but for example a regular code 128 (code 128). In short, the difference is that the GS1-128 code is a special variant of the 128 code. The GS1-128 code is used in conjunction with standard Application Identifiers to represent the data required on a GS1 logistics label. The GS1-128 barcode is distinguished from the 128 code by the use of the special Function 1 (FNC1) character at the first position in the 128 code symbol, immediately after the Start character. If the FNC1 character is not used at the beginning of each symbol, the barcode does not meet the requirements of the GS1 system.
Below is an enlarged section of the first part of the GS1-128 barcode, showing the Function 1 character in blue. All data in each GS1-128 code is represented using GS1 Application Identifiers (AI), which unambiguously define the format of the data that follows them. This data can be numeric, alphanumeric, of fixed or variable length. In a regular 128 code, data is represented in an arbitrary manner, usually dependent on internal arrangements. More detailed information on the GS1-128 code is contained in the document “GS1 General Specifications”, in chapter 5.3.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 6/2009.