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GS1 Label Barcodes & SSCC

Julie Houlton
Julie Houlton
  • Updated

The Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) is a GS1-specific number used on GS1 label barcodes in RyderShip to uniquely identify packages. SSCC numbers are used for traceability purposes.

In this article:

SSCC components & requirements

SSCC numbers are composed of various parts. See the diagram below.

GS1-barcode-SSCC.png

SSCC has a total of 20 digits including the Check Digit.

SSCC must be unique: 

  • Per customer & retailer (full 20 digits unique)
  • For 3 years
Digit component Starting digit
position 		Digit length Notes
Application Identifier 1 2 00 by default, unless the customer requests to use a different value by retailer
Extension Digit 3 1 0 by default, unless the customer requests to use a different value by retailer
GS1 Company Prefix 4 Min: 7
Max: 10		 Most common:  7 digits
Value provided by the customer
Serial Number Min: 11
Max: 14		 Min: 6
Max: 9
  • Can start at digit positions 11, 12, 13, or 14, depending on the length of the GS1 prefix
  • Most common: 9 digits
Check Digit 20 1  
Combination of GS1 Prefix & Serial Number 4 16

The combined value of the GS1 Prefix & Serial Number. The Serial length will depend on the length of the GS1 Prefix

See the example in the grey box below for more information.
Full SSCC-18 1 20  


The SSCC’s first 19 digits are the combined length of:

  • Extension Digit
  • GS1 Company Prefix (varies in length)
  • Serial Number (varies in length)

The SSCC combined length will always total 19 digits. When the Check Digit is added in, the total becomes 20 digits.

Warning.pngThe SSCC number is fluid and can change based on the needs of the customer, such as when a customer switches 3PLs or when a customer uses multiple 3PLs to ship the same stock to the same retailer.

Example: Customer uses two different 3PLs to ship Product A. Both 3PLs want to start Product A’s serial numbers at 1, but the SSCC numbers must be unique across all Product A stock to allow for easy traceability.

To ensure the SSCC numbers are unique, the customer assigns different GS1 Company Prefixes to each 3PL:

  • ABC 3PL is given a 7-digit prefix, so the serial number will start with three zeros
  • XYZ 3PL is given an 8-digit prefix, so this serial number will start with the last digit in the prefix followed by two zeros

See the SSCC components & requirements section for more details on how the GS1 Company Prefix and Serial Number lengths can vary.

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Important notes about RyderShip & SSCC

  • RyderShip uses a SSCC on its GS1 label barcodes.
  • The SSCC is generated by RyderShip with input from customers shipping to retailers with EDI. The GS1 Company Prefix and the Extension are both provided by the customer.
  • RyderShip supports 7-digit GS1 Company Prefixes. If your prefix is longer than 7 digits, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager.
  • RyderShip uses Check digit calculator - Services | GS1 to calculate the Check Digit for the SSCC.

Lightbulb-1.pngIt’s important to use the correct Check Digit that follows industry standard so our customers can use the GS1 labels.

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