Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC)

21. November 2024

Each shipping unit, which can be a pallet or a box, automatically receives a “Serial Shipping Container Code”. This is a globally unique and unmistakable sequence of numbers that makes it possible to track shipments from the sender to the recipient across companies.

It is 18 digits long, is usually required for identification in goods receipt, and may be requested or used by all parties involved in the respective transport chain. This ensures that everyone can track the transport, delivery or traceability of the shipment. It may also be used for any recalls.

Important: Using the SSCC as the central access key to packages in electronic data interchange, or EDI for short, ensures that an ID for a package is assigned at all levels of the supply chain. The machine-readable version of the SSCC is represented in the GS1-128 barcode.

The 18 digits are distributed as follows:

The first two digits in parentheses describe the application identifier. They determine the meaning, structure and function of the individual data elements.
one reserve digit
a seven- to nine-digit base number (assigned by GS1 itself),
a seven- to nine-digit serial number (assigned by the sender)
and a check digit.

For more information, see GS1 128 Identifier Standard.