Third-party logistics (3PL) providers supporting high-volume retail distribution for customers that might include major grocery and big-box chains. These 3PLs handle customers with strict labeling, electronic data interchange (EDI), and advanced shipping notice (ASN) compliance requirements.
A UCC-128 is a standardized smart barcode. It’s formally known as GS1-128, but most warehouse operations still refer to it as UCC-128, or UCC for short.
One scan and the UCC produces a raft of data that uniquely identifies a pallet, layer, or carton as it moves through the supply chain. It digitally defines the granular contents: items, quantities, lots, and other key attributes. This saves the need to manually break down the larger collection of items to identify them.
When paired with and EDI and ASN, that single barcode becomes the connective tissue between shipping and receiving. It can alert a downstream facility to precisely what’s arriving, how it’s configured, and how it should be processed.
As retail customers pushed for faster, more automated receiving, UCC labeling became table stakes. But compliance brought its own challenges.
Without a tightly integrated UCC process, warehouses faced fragmented workflows across receiving, picking, shipping, and EDI. Pallets were built manually, data was verified repeatedly, and visibility was often lost between systems. Even RF-enabled operations struggled to gain efficiency without a consistent way to digitally define and track pallet contents.
The stakes were high. Missing, incorrect, or mismatched UCC labels could delay receiving at destination facilities or trigger chargebacks. Even small errors could multiply at scale.
3PLs needed a way to standardize UCC generation, enforce compliance rules by customer, and eliminate downstream surprises—without layering on manual checks.
Using the power of the Codeworks Enterprise platform, operations can implement fully integrated UCC workflow that ties together pallet configuration, label generation, ASN communication, and validation.
At the core of the solution: automation and control.
Enterprise generates unique UCC labels during the picking process, digitally defining the exact contents of each pallet. Item quantities, lot numbers, and other key attributes are locked into a single serial shipping container code (SSCC). This generates a digital record that follows the pallet through shipping and receiving.
The system supports UCC generation at multiple levels—pallet, layer, or carton—allowing the operation to meet varying customer requirements while maintaining consistency.
One of the biggest gains comes from standardizing UCC rules by consignee.
National retailers often impose strict—and differing—labeling and ASN requirements. Codeworks Enterprise allows 3PLs to b>configure those rules a single time and apply them consistently across every account shipping to that consignee.
Once established, label formats, data elements, and ASN requirements persist for the life of the account, reducing setup errors and ongoing maintenance.
Rather than catching mistakes after the fact, Enterprise enforces compliance before orders can ship.
Automatic validation checks ensure:
The system also supports reprinting damaged labels and retaining full historical data for auditing. This allows the operation to trace exactly what was picked, labeled, and shipped if a dispute arises.
By embedding UCC management directly into the WMS workflow, the 3PL reduces friction across the operation.
Operational gains include
Beyond efficiency, the solution protects margins by preventing small labeling errors from turning into large financial penalties.
With Codeworks Enterprise, 3PLs can transform UCC labeling from a compliance burden into a structured, repeatable process. The operation improves accuracy, speeds throughput, and reduces risk. Plus, the system is flexible enough to meet the demands of an increasingly on-demand retail environment.
In today’s high-volume, on-demand retail environment, the migration from manual to fully automated handling isn’t just a technical upgrade. It’s a necessity for accuracy, speed, and compliance.
