For tracking the goods shipped in containers, you need to look no further than the familiar Universal Product Code (UPC) bar codes found on retail packages, also known as EAN bar codes outside North America. One part of the UPC includes a company code assigned by the authorities such as the Uniform Code Council in the U.S., which makes the code unique for each product. Each company then assigns the product identifier in the second part of the code.
The UPC/EAN standards bodies have written variations and extensions of the basic product identifier, including a shipping container code. This 18-digit code acts as a unique identifier on the shipment, like a license plate, because it is based on the unique UPC/EAN code assigned to the company, which also makes up the first part of the UPC/EAN product identifier. Each logistics unit has one of these codes, from the cartons holding the goods to the pallets on which the cartons are placed, to the container, in which the pallets are loaded. Thus each level of packaging in the shipment has one of these shipment container codes and is thus uniquely identified.
Electronic data interchange in use for 20 years
Identification of cargoes and containers may be one thing, but getting the data to the right people at the right time is still another. The electronic data interchange (EDI) technologies for transmitting shipment data from buyer to seller, or shipper to consignee, are also well established. In fact, the transportation industry pioneered the development of EDI technology. Companies in many manufacturing and retail industries have exchanged data with EDI for some 20 years, and perhaps the most widely used electronic transaction is the ship notice, used to alert buyers of goods being shipped to sellers. The ship notice, as it is known in North America or despatch advice as it is called elsewhere, gives the buyer a detailed listing of the goods being shipped, including quantities and product numbers.
