GS1-128 Raw Material Intake Labeling

This topic is part of the SG Systems Global traceability, warehouse & manufacturing operations glossary.

Updated November 2025 • GS1-128 case labels, SSCC, pallets & combos, intake scanning, EPCIS, WMS/MES integration • Procurement, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, IT/OT

GS1-128 raw material intake labeling is the practice of applying standardised, scan-ready GS1-128 barcodes to inbound raw materials at the point of receipt—cases, pallets, combos, bins—so that every lot entering the plant has a unique, machine-readable identity from day one. Instead of handwritten tags, vendor-specific labels and “we know which pallet is which”, intake labeling creates a single, uniform way to encode supplier, GTIN, lot, production date, expiry, weight and logistics identifiers like SSCC in a single GS1-128 case label. That label then drives scanning, traceability and inventory control all the way from dock to finished goods.

“If raw materials arrive without a clean GS1-128 identity, your traceability problems start before the first kilo ever hits the line.”

1) Why Intake Labeling Matters

Everything you want to do later—clean recalls, supplier evaluation, program segregation, yield analysis—depends on how good your data is at the perimeter. If raw materials arrive with inconsistent labels or no labels at all, you are forced into handwritten tags, ad-hoc pallet markings and local numbering schemes that WMS, MES and downstream partners do not understand.

GS1-128 intake labeling solves that by giving every unit a globally standard, scan-ready identity the moment it crosses the dock. From that point on, systems can track movement, consumption and transformation by reference to that label instead of relying on re-keying and guesswork. It is the difference between “we think these combos were used in that batch” and “here are the exact lots and weights that fed that order, with timestamps.”

2) GS1-128 Basics at Raw Material Intake

GS1-128 is a linear barcode symbology that can encode multiple data elements using GS1 Application Identifiers (AIs). For raw material intake, the most important are:

• (01) GTIN – identifies the item (e.g. 60CL beef trim, 00 flour, barrels of oil).
• (10) Lot/batch – supplier lot or production batch code.
• (13)/(17)/(15) – packed-on, use-by or best-before dates.
• (310x) Net weight – catch-weight for variable-weight lots (combos, meat bins, bulk sacks).
• (00) SSCC – unique pallet or logistics unit ID for multi-case pallets or large bins.

Intake labeling involves either accepting and validating supplier-applied GS1-128 labels, or printing and applying plant labels where supplier labels are missing, incomplete or non-GS1. In both cases, the outcome is the same: every pallet, bin or combo is scannable and meaningful to your systems from day one.

3) Supplier Labels vs Plant-Generated Labels

There are two main patterns for GS1-128 intake labels:

• Supplier-applied GS1-128 – preferred for large, sophisticated suppliers and branded ingredients. Your plant scans and validates the existing label, mapping the supplier’s GTIN/lot to your internal item and lot masters.
• Plant-generated labels – used when suppliers ship with non-GS1 labels, multiple local codes, or no labels at all (common with small suppliers, live intake, some trim streams). Your intake station prints GS1-128 labels based on receiving data and applies them to units as they are unloaded and weighed.

The long-term goal is usually to push more responsibility upstream and accept supplier labels wherever possible. In reality, most plants run a hybrid model for years. The critical point is consistency: after intake, every unit must carry a GS1-128 label that your scanners and systems can interpret, regardless of who printed it.

4) Label Content & AI Strategy for Raw Intake

A good GS1-128 raw intake label is compact but expressive. Typical content:

• Top line, human-readable – supplier name (optional), product description, internal item code, weight, date.
• Barcode 1 – GTIN (01) and lot (10).
• Barcode 2 – date AIs (13/15/17) and weight (310x) for catch-weight items.
• Barcode 3 – SSCC (00) if the unit is a pallet or larger logistics unit.

Your AI strategy should be documented: which AIs are mandatory at intake, which are optional, and which are reserved for downstream encoding. Label templates should be controlled centrally, not edited on individual printers. That ensures every label your scanners see is structurally consistent—even when suppliers change or new SKUs are added.

5) Receiving Workflow: Scan–Verify–Weigh–Label

A robust GS1-128 intake workflow typically runs:

• Scan inbound ID – scan supplier pallet/case label or manually select PO/ASN, then print a plant GS1-128 if needed.
• Verify against PO – GTIN/item, quantity, program codes (organic, halal, NAE, retailer program) and dates checked against expected values.
• Weigh – legal-for-trade scale captures net or gross weight; for catch-weight items, weight is encoded in the label (310x) and posted to WMS/MES.
• Apply/confirm label – GS1-128 label is applied or validated, and the unit is set to an initial status (“received/pending QA”).

From that moment, every downstream move or consumption event for that unit can be driven by scan events against the same GS1-128 identity. There is no need to re-key lots or weights onto paper or into local spreadsheets. Intake labeling is the front door of your digital twin for the physical supply chain.

6) Catch-Weight & Combos at Intake

In meat, dairy and other variable-weight streams, combos and bulk containers are classic sources of chaos. GS1-128 intake labeling brings them under control by:

• Assigning each combo/bin its own GS1-128 label with GTIN, lot and weight (310x).
• Ensuring catch-weight items are flagged correctly in ERP/WMS so inventory is managed in kilograms, not just “EA”.
• Feeding total received weight into mass balance and yield tracking from day one.
• Giving grinders, mixers and stuffers a clean hook to consume raw mass digitally by scan instead of by approximation.

Without GS1-128 at intake, combos often get ad-hoc floor tags or painted numbers that no system understands. That forces your team to “translate” physical reality into digital form at every step. With GS1-128 catch-weight labels at intake, a single scan ties the physical combo to all its digital attributes instantly—through grind, mix, cook and pack.

7) Program & Claim Codes on Intake Labels

Raw materials frequently carry program attributes that must be preserved end-to-end:

• Organic / conventional
• Halal / kosher / conventional
• NAE, grass-fed, free-range
• Retailer-specific programs (e.g. “Program X beef”, “Tier Y supplier scheme”).

GS1-128 itself doesn’t define program codes, but you can encode them via AIs (e.g. (91)–(99) for internal use) or link them in master data based on GTIN/lot. The important part is that intake labels make program attributes visible and enforceable from the start. WMS/MES can then use them to block incompatible moves (e.g. organic lots into conventional areas) and to ensure the right raw material streams feed the right grind, mix and pack orders later.

8) Integration with WMS, MES & ERP

GS1-128 intake labeling is only as useful as the systems that consume it. A solid integration architecture looks like:

• WMS/ERP receive putaway suggestions, inventory creation and status updates driven by scans of GS1-128 labels.
• MES stores lot and weight data for production use; intake lots become eligible inputs to recipes and work orders.
• Both systems consume the same GTIN/lot/SSCC keys, so there is a single source of truth for identities.
• Scan events at intake can be published as EPCIS object events (“arrived at location X with attributes Y”).

If WMS and MES each invent their own IDs for intake units, you immediately create mapping problems. GS1-128 at intake avoids that by making the label content itself the shared primary key across systems. The forklift driver scans one code; both the warehouse and production worlds understand what it means.

9) Data Integrity & Label Governance

Because intake labels are foundational, they need proper governance and data-integrity controls:

• Template control – label formats under central change control; no ad-hoc printer-side edits to AIs or layout.
• Number-range control – SSCC and any internal IDs drawn from controlled ranges with no duplication across sites.
• Relabel process – damaged or incorrect labels replaced via a documented procedure that links old and new IDs in the system; no hand-written “fixes” on pallets.
• Audit trails – who printed which labels, when, and under which receiving transaction, stored as part of the batch or receiving record.

A high percentage of traceability failures can be traced back to sloppy label governance: duplicated SSCCs, conflicting lots, “temporary” labels that became permanent. Intake is where you can fix that once and reap the benefits everywhere else in the plant.

10) Role in Traceability, Mass Balance & Recalls

Once GS1-128 labels are in place at intake, everything downstream gets easier:

• Lot genealogy – you can trace finished goods back to specific intake labels (and thus suppliers, specs, programs).
• Mass balance – you can reconcile total intake weight per lot to consumption, rework, scrap and shipped weight, identifying “mystery loss.”
• Mock recall performance – you can pull all uses of a suspect lot quickly by scanning or querying based on its GTIN/lot, without manual record hunting.
• Supplier performance – you can compare defect, micro or yield issues by supplier lot knowing the intake identity was accurate to begin with.

Without GS1-128 intake labeling, recalls and investigations often stall at the very first step: “Can we even say with certainty which raw lots were used?” Intake labeling pushes that uncertainty out of your system design. If a lot comes in, the label and scans prove it; if you can’t scan it, it isn’t in your usable inventory.

11) Implementation Roadmap

Moving to GS1-128 intake labeling is best handled in phases:

• Current-state assessment – inventory existing supplier labels, intake processes, unlabeled flows (combos, live intake), and where manual tags are used.
• Label standards – define GS1-128 content requirements for inbound units; publish them to key suppliers; design internal templates for when suppliers cannot comply.
• Device deployment – install industrial printers and scanners at intake points (docks, lairage, combo scales).
• System configuration – configure WMS/MES/ERP to accept GS1-128 scans, parse AIs, and create inventory records accordingly.
• Pilot & scale – pilot on one high-volume ingredient or supplier, refine, then extend across suppliers and commodities.

Trying to flip every inbound stream to GS1-128 on one go is risky. Starting with the biggest, dirtiest problem—e.g. unlabeled meat combos or flour sacks abandoned in receiving—gives you visible wins quickly and a template to apply to the rest of the intake portfolio.

12) Common Failure Modes & Red Flags

Indicators that GS1-128 raw intake labeling is not truly under control:

• Multiple pallets or combos on the dock with hand-written tags and no GS1-128 barcode.
• Suppliers sending GS1-128 labels that cannot be parsed by your scanners (wrong AIs, wrong format), leading operators to re-tag manually.
• Scanners at intake used only occasionally; most receipts are still logged by keyboard entry.
• Frequent inventory corrections for raw materials with no clear root cause, often associated with certain suppliers or commodities.
• Mock recalls that require significant manual digging through paper receiving logs or weighbridge tickets to identify affected lots.

None of these are technical mysteries; they are signs that process and governance haven’t caught up with the hardware. Fixing them generally means tightening intake SOPs, reinforcing “no GS1-128, no receipt” rules, and doing the unglamorous work of supplier alignment and training until scanning becomes the only acceptable way to receive product.

13) FAQ

Q1. Do all suppliers need to send GS1-128 labels, or can we print them ourselves?
You can operate a hybrid model. Encouraging major suppliers to send valid GS1-128 labels reduces work and errors on your dock. For smaller or non-compliant suppliers, you can generate plant GS1-128 labels at intake. The key is that after receiving, every unit carries a standardised, scannable label your systems understand.

Q2. What if supplier GTINs don’t match our internal item codes?
That’s normal. You maintain a master-data mapping between supplier GTINs and your internal items. At intake, scanning the GTIN triggers a lookup; WMS/MES create inventory against your internal code while retaining the supplier GTIN for traceability. This mapping must be governed, not maintained ad-hoc on spreadsheets.

Q3. Is GS1-128 labeling overkill for live intake or unboxed product?
Not if you care about traceability and yield. For live or carcass intake, you may use carcass/rail IDs and then print GS1-128 labels when forming combos or bins. The principle is the same: as soon as product becomes a manageable unit (combo, bin, pallet), give it a standardised barcode and treat that as your master identity from then on.

Q4. Will GS1-128 intake labeling slow down receiving?
There is a learning curve, but well-designed stations with good printers and scanners usually speed things up once habits settle. You save time by eliminating manual lot entry, reducing mistakes, and making put-away and picking more accurate. The small incremental time per pallet is more than offset by fewer corrections and investigations.

Q5. What’s the quickest meaningful step if our intake is currently mostly manual?
Start by standardising labels on one or two high-volume raw materials: define the GS1-128 format, set up a printer and scanner at the relevant dock, and require that those materials cannot be put away without a scan. Use the clean data generated to improve your first mass-balance and mock recall exercises, then use those wins to justify rolling GS1-128 intake labeling across more of your inbound portfolio.

Related Reading
• Identification & Standards: GS1-128 Case Label | SSCC | GS1 Application Identifiers
• Traceability & Flow: GS1-128 Lot Transfer Scanning | Intake-to-Grind Digital Handover | End-to-End Lot Genealogy | Mass Balance
• Systems & Governance: WMS | MES | EPCIS Traceability Standard | Data Integrity | Mock Recall Performance