Several years ago, the retail industry introduced the MH-10 label and accompanying Advance Ship Notice (ASN) to the retail industry. Since that time, many of the major North American retailers have adopted the MH-10, albeit in their own version, as their standard.

The major component of the MH-10 label is the UCC-128 bar code. This bar code contains the supplier's supplier number and a unique serial number. Each supplier assigns their own serial numbers - the same number may not be used twice. This combination of supplier number and serial number creates a unique license plate that represents only the container it is affixed to.

In the retail industry, it is typical for containers to hold multiple item numbers (SKUs) of various quantities. The UCC-128 code gives the supplier and retailer one number that carries with it the details of all the items and quantities in the container.

The challenge is, firstly, how to marry the UCC-128 code to its contents in the supplier's system, and secondly, how to communicate the information to the customer so that they are not faced with keying the same information into their system!

The Viewpoint Data Collection System uses a license plating approach to tracking inventory. This means that every inventory container (be it carton, box, roll, or skid) receives a label showing relevant information about the goods. The label contains a unique serial number often referred to as a license plate. The system takes it one step further, allowing license plates to be grouped with a master serial number. This master does not represent inventory - it represents a set of inventory items - item numbers and quantities. Masters may exist, containing masters. These masters allow many mixed items and quantities in one container to be shipped with a single scan.

In Viewpoint, the marrying of the items and quantities to the MH-10 label is typically performed using bar code scanning at the pick operation, though it may be performed at production in some cases. The Pick transaction asks the operator to scan the UCC-128 code, and then drops to a sub-level prompt where it asks the operator to scan item numbers and confirm quantities. When the container is full, it is closed, and a new container and MH-10 label are started.

This "marrying" function creates a record in Viewpoint for each part number/quantity in the container. The master serial number field is the UCC-128 number in each record. A logical index over the master serial number field allows Viewpoint to easily determine what part number/quantity combinations exist for a given container. This means that a ship time, an operator need only scan the UCC-128 bar code of the container being shipped. Viewpoint can then easily forward the information to an EDI system, which will electronically transmit the detail information to the customer in the form of an ASN (856 transaction).

The Viewpoint inquiries allow an operator to choose a UCC-128 bar code and determine what items and quantities are contained in it. Or choose, a shipment, and see the UCC-128 codes and their details.

For more information about this and other Nutech products,
please contact the sales department at 800-830-8058.