8 mins.
4.4.2022
The SSCC standard is the most important tool for Frode Laursen's inventory management
Text
Lasse Jacobsen
Photo:
Lasse Jacobsen
Trucks zigzag in front of Frode Laursen's 64,000 m2 warehouse in Åstorp, while goods are loaded from the many gates and shipped out to supermarkets across the Nordic region.
Inside, 200-300 employees control electric trucks, pack goods and scan countless SSCC Labels, which are pasted on pallets up to 12 meters high.
- With approximately 61,000 pallets in the warehouse alone, it is important to know where the pallets are located. The SSCC code ensures precise tracking and efficient handling, says warehouse manager Alex Berariu.
SSCC labels also help everyone know where to go and what task to complete.
The SSCC code is Frode Laursen's most important tool when the Nordic logistics provider transports goods around the Nordic region on a daily basis.
- It is because it is unique to the pallet and it is the way we can tell the pallets apart. In addition, over time, we have also chosen to build our WMS (Warehouse Management System) around the SSCC standard,” says Development Manager Stefan Maagaard.
It is the SSCC code that carries all the information that warehouse workers need to be able to carry out their work quickly and efficiently. For example EAN Number, batch number and shelf life date.
While trucks move pallets in the supply chain, Stefan emphasizes that also EAN-128 standard plays a role. It helps ensure that items with the shortest shelf life leave the warehouse first, optimising both efficiency and quality.
It is important to use GS1 standards to establish a well-defined and consistent workflow, increasing efficiency, ensuring quality, and preventing, for example, a pallet from getting lost.
A common language
Frode Laursen operates in five countries, which requires standards to create a common language across cultures and languages.
“And here again, the SSCC code is the most important tool for identifying which pallet is being handed over between distributors or from a factory to us,” says Stefan Maagaard.
Warehouse Manager Alex Berariu adds:
“We use the same system in all countries, which means we can send employees to Denmark to work. They simply step in and work exactly as they do at home. The standards enable us to operate in the same way everywhere.”
Frode Laursen operates in five countries, which requires standards to create a common language across cultures and languages.
“And here again, the SSCC code is the most important tool for identifying which pallet is being handed over between distributors or from a factory to us,” says Stefan Maagaard.
Warehouse Manager Alex Berariu adds:
“We use the same system in all countries, which means we can send employees to Denmark to work. They simply step in and work exactly as they do at home. The standards enable us to operate in the same way everywhere.”
It also reduces the carbon footprint
Like many other companies today, Frode Laursen is actively working to become more climate-friendly, using electric forklifts and LED lighting that turns on and off via sensors. However, the SSCC standard also plays a role in reducing CO₂ emissions.
Large trucks travel many kilometers every day. It is important both for Frode Laursen and for the climate that trucks are loaded efficiently so they do not drive around empty or half empty.
- “We use the EAN-128 label to retrieve master data about the pallet, so we know which goods we are transporting. From there, we can calculate height and other dimensions. When we scan the SSCC code, we can calculate the truck’s volume and minimize empty space,” explains Stefan Maagaard.
Efficient loading reduces the number of trips and thereby lowers environmental impact.
When you work across borders, standards are important because that's what creates a common language. And here again it is the SSCC code that is the most important tool for telling which pallet you are handing over.
