Why Shipping Labels Matter
Major retailers require GS1-128 shipping labels on every carton you ship. These labels contain an SSCC-18 barcode — a unique 18-digit identifier for each carton — that the retailer's warehouse scans during receiving. The SSCC-18 on the physical label must exactly match the SSCC-18 in your ASN (856 document). Any mismatch triggers a compliance chargeback.
Generating SSCC-18 Barcodes
When you add cartons to a shipment in RetailReady, each carton needs an SSCC-18 barcode. You have two options:
- Auto-generate: Click the “Generate” button next to the SSCC-18 field. RetailReady creates a valid SSCC-18 using your GS1 Company Prefix, a unique serial number, and the correct check digit.
- Manual entry: If you already have SSCC-18 numbers from your warehouse system, enter them directly. RetailReady validates the format (exactly 18 numeric digits with a valid check digit).
Printing Labels
After creating a shipment with cartons, you can print shipping labels directly from RetailReady:
- Open the order and go to the Ship tab.
- Expand the shipment details to see the carton list.
- Click the “Print Labels” button.
- RetailReady generates a PDF with one label per carton in standard 4×6 inch format, compatible with thermal label printers.
Each label includes:
- Ship-to address — The retailer's warehouse or DC address from the purchase order.
- Ship-from address — Your company address.
- PO number — The retailer's purchase order number.
- Carrier information — Carrier name and tracking number.
- Carton count — e.g., “Carton 1 of 5.”
- SSCC-18 barcode — A scannable GS1-128 barcode encoding the carton's unique SSCC-18 identifier.
GS1 Company Prefix
To generate valid SSCC-18 barcodes, you need a GS1 Company Prefix. This is a unique number assigned to your company by GS1 US (or your country's GS1 organization). If you don't have one yet, you can register at gs1us.org. Your GS1 Company Prefix is configured in your Company Profile settings.
Retailer Requirements
Most major US retailers require SSCC-18 barcodes:
- Walmart — Mandatory on every carton and pallet. Must not repeat within 2 years.
- Amazon — Required for carton and pallet tracking at receiving.
- Target — Accepts SSCC-18, GTIN-14, or UPC-A (must be consistent). Requires formal label approval before first shipment.
- Home Depot — Required on all inbound shipments.
- Best Buy — Required on every carton. SSCC-18 values must not repeat within 18 months per RDC receiving guide.
Critical: The SSCC-18 printed on your physical label must exactly match what is in your ASN. RetailReady ensures this automatically — when you print labels from the same shipment you used to generate the ASN, the numbers always match.