Sellable Unit Marking Requirements

Due to the efficiency and the necessity surrounding the transport of sellable items, goods are often combined in several forms of packaging. AMI has covered the three stages of labeling and printing on primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging.

Oftentimes palletized items and goods require a breakdown at the store level for effective merchandising and internal distribution of products. In the instance of a palletized display, protocol should be met to follow a retailer’s PDQ Display requirements. We have an informative guide regarding Walmart’s Pallet Placard for PDQ displays here.

For all standard or more common deliveries, pallets will be required to be broken down for merchandising purposes. Whether cases are further broken down into display format or removed from transport cases to be placed on shelves or store stable displays is dependent on the product at hand.

For general merchandise and dry grocery, each selling unit is required to have a valid UPC or EAN barcode printed on it or a print and apply label adhered to it. If the item is individually poly bagged or placed in a case, then the case or poly bag must also include a matching selling unit barcode. This barcode is required to match what is entered in Online Item File (“Item Setup” if Walmart is the retailer in question)

When the vendor pack is a single item or multiple items to be sold as a single selling unit (1/1), the UPC-A (GTIN12) or EAN (GTIN13) format barcode is required on the outer case of the product. This allows all necessary information to be widely visible to retailers and merchandisers at the store level.

The 1/1 “Sellable Case Packs”, “SIOC – Ships In Own Container”, or “Ready To Ship” shall be labeled as such so the warehouse does not inadvertently separate or open such cases.
The best practice to achieve this is to Include labeling – “THIS IS A SET. DO NOT SEPARATE” on highly visible areas of the case. Location of this print and apply label can be either on the top of the case across the tape seam or beside the case UPC where it will not be overlooked or disregarded.

Please be advised that outer cases must contain UPC-A (GTIN12) barcode which are different from that of the inner units UPC. Because the selling unit quantity is ‘1’ (the entire case), the UPC-A barcode is used. Cases must also be pre-printed with ‘Ready To Ship’ markings.

Outer cases cannot contain the ITF (GTIN14) barcode. This barcode is suitable at the distribution level in instances where the case is not the intended selling unit. Because the case is the intended selling unit, GS1 Standards indicate a point of sale (UPC) barcode should appear on the outer case. Following these protocols will ensure smooth distribution and merchandising at the store level for retailers.

Here at AMI we are always willing to help and troubleshoot issues for our customers. We offer the equipment and support designed to make your labeling, marking and coding experience as smooth as possible. Call 1-800-345-6667 or have someone call you.