Well-organized IT is a prerequisite for effective logistics. This aspect is recognized by large retail chains, which—by their very nature of working with a large number of suppliers of diverse goods—are forced to implement modern logistics solutions supported by sophisticated IT techniques.
The trading company NETTO Sp. z o.o. (NETTO), together with the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing (ILiM), has undertaken the implementation of a global logistics label standard compliant with the GS1 system in the supply chain to its distribution centers. There would be nothing particularly exciting about this—after all, one reads about various automatic identification system implementations from time to time—were it not for the fact that a uniform pallet identification system is being implemented in parallel in over 300 companies that are suppliers to the NETTO chain. This event constitutes one of the first such undertakings on a national and European scale, because the solution proposed by ILiM – GS1 Poland is an open system, forming the basis of a Polish, integrated system for tracking the movement of logistics units, which also functions outside the NETTO supply chain, not only in Poland but across the entire European Union market, as well as in global markets. The project for the implementation of the standard GS1 logistics label, carried out by NETTO and implemented by ILiM – GS1 Poland, will lead to the effective introduction of an automatic identification system based on global GS1 system standards on a wider scale in all Polish enterprises and its utilization in supply chains.
Logistics label in deliveries to NETTO
The logistics label is an information carrier in the supply chain, in which all participants (manufacturer, carrier, distributor, retailer) communicate using a common language. This communication is possible thanks to the use of global GS1 system standards.
A logistics unit is created by combining (grouping) goods into a handling unit, mainly using pallets, but also crates, containers, trolleys, and other load carriers. Such a unit facilitates operations in the supply chain—in the process of warehousing and transport.
The logistics label contains encoded and human-readable information describing the contents and logistics parameters of each individual logistics unit, for example, a pallet. The GS1 logistics label consists of three parts:
SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code)—the most commonly used identifier for a logistics unit assigned using the GS1 standard. This number consists of 18 digits and is preceded by Application Identifier (AI) 00.
GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is a unique number for a trade item (product or service). The name GTIN collectively defines the entire family of identifier structures developed by GS1. These identifiers can consist of 8, 12, 13, or 14 digits (GTIN-8, GTIN-12, GTIN-13, and GTIN-14).
AI – Application Identifier: in the GS1 system, this is a designation that identifies (uniquely defines) the type and format of the information that follows it. In other words, the AI indicates what type of information is contained in the code immediately following it. For example, AI 00 is followed by the SSCC number, AI 01 by the GTIN number, AI 10 by the production batch designation, AI 15 by the minimum durability date, AI 37 by the number of trade units in the logistics unit, etc. The AI informs what the data is, what its format is, and the length of the code that records it. The data following the AI may contain alphabetic and/or numeric characters of a strictly defined or variable length, but up to a specified maximum number of characters.
In deliveries to the NETTO chain, specific types of logistics units and—consequently—logistics labels are used. This results from the packaging forms that constitute the ordering unit. It can therefore be either an entire pallet or its contents (box, tray, shrink-wrap, or individual piece).
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 5/2009.