Following the release of the Australian Freight Labelling Guideline in March 2016, the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) has chosen the GS1 Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) to help transform cross-border parcel deliveries to and from Europe.
Based on GS1 global supply chain standards and best practice, the Australian Freight Labelling Guideline provides guidance to industry on how to physically identify and label logistics, and transport units to support efficient transport management processes from point of origin to destination.
The Technical specification (TS 17073) for Postal Services – Interfaces for cross-border parcels released by the CEN, and the Australian Freight Labelling Guideline released by GS1 Australia and the Australian Logistics Council (ALC), both use the SSCC as the primary identifier for freight units to provide efficiency, interoperability and visibility across the supply chain.
“GS1 Australia has been actively working with the local Trade and Transport Industry for many years to improve the efficiency, security and visibility of freight using GS1 standards,” Bonnie Ryan, Senior Manager – Trade, Transport & Heavy Industry at GS1 Australia said.
“The Australian Freight Labelling Guideline was provided and referenced in the guideline published by the CEN, highlighting that our advanced work in standardisation of freight labelling is ahead of Europe.”
The ultimate goal is to transform cross-border parcel delivery services using a single, common parcel label that includes a parcel identification code.
The GS1 SSCC exists for importing and exporting to Europe, and will help to increase value by enabling more delivery options and reduce costs by increasing efficiency in the value network.
The announcement by CEN is the result of a collaborative effort by representatives from postal organisations, online retailers, couriers, express and parcel service providers.
It is part of the European Commission’s strategy, Digital Single Market: Bringing down barriers to unlock online opportunities.
“This is a major step forward to truly innovate cross-border parcel delivery services in Europe. One of the main causes of difficulties in parcel delivery is closed standards, leading to proprietary networks and resulting in unfavourable market conditions for online merchants,” Walter Trezek, co-chairman of the e-Logistics Working Group of Ecommerce Europe and leader of CEN’s work on the standardised label, said.
GS1 is pleased the CEN has designated the GS1 Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) to uniquely identify parcels and enable interoperability between all parties in the parcel delivery network. The GS1 SSCC is a natural choice since many companies already use it and other GS1 standards in their businesses.
By implementing the new CEN parcel label that uses open global standards, formerly closed networks may now be connected to create an end-to-end delivery network. Senders of parcels will be able to use the same label for all parcels.
All handlers of the parcel will be able to use the SSCC to more easily track the parcel’s journey from sender to consumer and, if needed, back to the sender for a consumer’s return.
Miguel Lopera, president and CEO at GS1, said, “The CEN parcel label and SSCC introduces exciting possibilities for online retailers that want to offer consumers an exceptional delivery experience, and at less cost.”
Chairman GS1 in Europe, Bruno Aceto, said, “By using the same label and the SSCC, parcel delivery companies can easily collaborate to meet their customers’ expectations in terms of service options, flexibility, visibility and reliability. Furthermore, they will eliminate various costly activities that do not add value for their customers.”
