Title: SSCC Serial Shipping Container Code
1SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code)
2Format of GS1 standards
- All GS1 numbers (UPC, GTIN, SSCC, GLN)
essentially have 3 parts - Company Prefix a number assigned and managed by
GS1 that uniquely identifies a company from any
other company across the globe. - Reference Number assigned by the owner of the
Company Prefix to identify what is being numbered
(e.g. a pallet, a case, an item, a location,
etc.) - Check Digit an algorithm that serves as a
checks and balances to ensure preceding digits
were entered correctly.
NOTE All three parts must not be separated in
order to maintain uniqueness
3GS1 Data Structures
GTIN 14 digits
SSCC 18 digits
GLN 13 digits
UPC 12 digits
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Item/Case
Item
Location
Pallet
NOTE The Company Prefix can vary from 6 digits
to 9 digits. As such, the reference will also
vary depending on the size of the Company Prefix.
4SSCC (Serial Shipping container code)
- 18 digits long
- Each SSCC is unique
- Used for pallet identification only
- Each and every pallet has a UNIQUE SSCC to track
that unique pallet throughout its life
5SSCC Diagram
18 DIGITS LONG
Position 18 Packaging Type For simplicity
sake, recommendation is to use a 1 , which is
fully within the expanded list of guidelines
issued by GS1.
Position 17 0 showing Company Prefix was
assigned in the U.S. or Canada
Position 2 - 16 Combination of Company Prefix
and Serial
Position 1 Check Digit
 IF  Length of Company Prefix    THEN   Length
of Serial Number                      Â
6 digits                     9
digits                       7
digits                       8
digits                      8
digits                         7
digits                      9
digits                           6 digits
It is for this reason that the Company Prefix is
said to be variable-length.
6Example SSCC encoded in a 128 Barcode
(00) 1 0 6 1 4 1 4 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1
Check Digit
Company Prefix
Pallet Reference Number (i.e. Serial Number)