A pallet and carton label scheme that still works next year
Label codes chosen on the fly clash or run out of room within a year. A way to code pallets, cartons and bins so you label once and every later count can scan them.
Label codes are usually invented on the first day in a new warehouse: P1, P2, P3 for pallets, and whatever comes to mind for cartons. A year later three people number pallets in three styles, two pallets share a code, and nobody dares to reprint a label. A scheme that takes an hour to design avoids all of this and lets every later count scan instead of search.
Decide what gets a code
Separate the levels of what you store:
- Pallets, which move as one unit through receiving, storage and dispatch.
- Cartons, for goods that are stored or shipped in outer boxes.
- Bins and shelves, which are places rather than objects.
The product itself keeps its own barcode, whether the manufacturer's or one you printed for the SKU. Do not relabel individual pieces that already have a good barcode. The codes in this article are for the logistics units around the product.
A simple, durable pattern
A prefix for the type, then a serial number of fixed length:
- P-000501 for a pallet
- C-004512 for a carton
- B- followed by the bin reference for a bin
A few rules make the scheme last:
- Fixed length with leading zeros, so that codes sort correctly in Excel. P-000501 comes after P-000099, while P-501 would not.
- The serial number carries no meaning. It does not encode the product, the supplier or the date, because products on a pallet change and codes must not.
- Never reuse a code. A retired pallet keeps its number out of circulation for good.
- Avoid easily confused characters. After the prefix use digits only, so there is no O against 0 or I against 1.
- With several sites, reserve a number range for each, for example 100000 to 199999 for the main warehouse, or add a site letter.
What goes on the label, and what does not
The label should hold the barcode, large enough for a handheld scanner to read from arm's length, and the same code printed below it in large type for people. It should not try to be the record of what is inside. That lives in a table, one row per label: code, SKU, quantity, receiving date, current location.
This keeps the label permanent. When the pallet is repacked, you update a row, not a sticker.
A worked example
Suppose pallet P-000501 holds 48 cartons of SKU B-0360, 12 pieces in each carton, so 576 pieces. At receiving, the label is printed and applied, and the row is added to the table.
At the next count, the operator scans the pallet label. If the pallet is intact, with the wrap unbroken, and your rules allow counting sealed pallets by label, the table credits 576 pieces without anyone opening it. Opened or partial pallets are counted by carton or by piece. To keep trust in the method, open a few sealed pallets at random each time and compare.
Common mistakes
- Putting meaning into the code, such as P-ELEC-2024-17. As soon as the pallet carries something else, the code is wrong.
- Handwritten numbers, which scanners cannot read and people easily misread.
- A label on only one side of the pallet, which then faces the wall when you need it. Put one on each of two adjacent sides.
- Applying a new label at repacking without removing the old one, so one pallet carries two codes.
- Nobody holding the stock of blank labels or the register of ranges, so the next batch is improvised.
Roll it out in small steps
Print a first batch of twenty and test scanning in the real warehouse, with the real devices, at the real distance, in the real light. Only then print thousands. Decide in advance how a damaged label is replaced: the reprint carries the same code, and the old label is destroyed.
InventoryHub prepares codes and printed labels for products, shelves and bins that have none, and fixed assets can be tagged in the same visit. Because the codes are kept after receiving, the next count needs no re-matching.