GTIN and Barcode Guidelines for McLane Company Suppliers
The GTIN is a globally unique 14-digit number used to identify trade items, products, or services. The entire family of data structures within the GTIN is:
- GTIN-12 (UPC)
- GTIN-13 (EAN-13)
- GTIN-14 (EAN/UCC-128 or ITF-14)
- GTIN-8 (EAN-8).
Tracking point-of-sale information through UPC coding helps McLane. It raises selling of suppliers’ merchandise. Scannable barcodes enable McLane to properly handle product from the time of receipt to the ultimate delivery to the customer. This reduces costs and enable McLane Company to offer products at the lowest price.
Supplier Charge Back Guidelines
Suppliers must adhere to the mentioned GTIN guidelines:
- All Suppliers must ship their product to the Distribution Centers in cases with scannable barcode labels. Labels must be affixed to the master case, inner pack and single units. Only ONE barcode should be affixed to each level. It should never be on the bottom.
- One full case of each item must be shipped to the following location: McLane New Item Desk McLane South Campus 6201 NW H.K. Dodgen Loop Temple, TX 76504
- Barcodes must be test scanned to ensure the GTIN number matches the bar code.
- Review each purchase order (PO) received from McLane Company. If the PO has the wrong GTIN code on it, contact the McLane buyer immediately. Do it before shipping the product. The buyer will send you a corrected purchase order.
- A supplier is purchased by another supplier. The purchasing supplier ships both products with the old GTIN code and their own new code. In this case the supplier is required to notify the McLane buyer. A new item can be setup for the change in manufacturer UPC.
- Multipacks must ensure that the single pack UPC code is obscured. The single pack barcode cannot be scanned. Barcode Label Locations are the barcode label locations for the: • Case • Inner Pack • Individual Selling Unit.
- McLane requires that unique barcode labels be applied to all three forms of packaging units. The labels should be placed on items so that a minimum of manual intervention is needed to scan product. The product does not have to be pulled out of the master case or carton for scanning.
- The product should be packed and labeled so that the barcode on the inner pack is readily scanned when the master case is opened. The barcode on the individual unit must be readily scanned when the inner pack is opened.
- In order to begin barcoding, you need to join GS1.
The Most Common GTIN Problems Encountered
- Supplier substitutes merchandise which is different than what was on Purchase Order
- Supplier submits incorrect information.
- Illegible barcodes (they do not scan).
- Items without scannable barcodes on packages or on shipping case.
- Supplier sends multiple different barcodes on the case.
GTIN Labeling Errors Subject to Penalty
- Supplier delivers product with non-scannable barcode
- Supplier issues barcodes to McLane Company. The merchandise comes in with no barcode at all.
- Supplier substitutes merchandise which is different from what is on the Purchase Order.
- Supplier gives wrong info.
- Barcodes with bars and spaces that show a different code from the Human Readable Code.
- Illegible or non-readable bar codes.
- Multiple different UPC’s on the case level.
- Changing the Net Content without changing the GTIN.