Printing a Walmart-compliant GS1-128 pallet label is not complicated once you understand the requirements. The problem is that most packing houses are printing labels using generic WMS templates or Microsoft Word — and those labels fail at Walmart's dock because they don't meet the barcode
Leafy greens — romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, spinach, arugula, spring mix, and similar commodities — are classified as high-risk foods under FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act Rule 204. This means every entity that grows, harvests, packs, or ships leafy greens must maintain and share specific traceability records. Failure to
The SSCC — Serial Shipping Container Code — is the most critical field on a pallet label. It is the unique identifier for that specific pallet in that specific shipment. If the SSCC is wrong, the pallet cannot be received automatically, and everything downstream — the ASN match, the three-way PO reconciliation,
Kroger is the largest traditional grocery retailer in the United States, operating more than 2,700 stores across 35 states under banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Fry's, Smith's, Dillons, and Harris Teeter. If you ship produce to any Kroger banner, your pallet labels must comply
A GTIN mismatch chargeback is one of the most frustrating charges a produce supplier receives — because the product itself is exactly right, but the number on the label doesn't match what the retailer has in their item database. The chargeback is automatic and the dispute window is short.
You shipped compliant product. The truck arrived on time. Then you got the call — or more likely, the automated chargeback notice — that your barcode failed to scan at the distribution center. A scan failure at a retail DC is not a minor inconvenience. It triggers an immediate non-compliance event,
Every pallet of fresh produce shipped to a major US retailer must carry a GS1-128 barcode label. This isn't optional and it isn't a formality — it's the machine-readable identity document for your shipment. Without a correct GS1-128 label, your product cannot
Walmart's Supplier Quality Excellence Program (SQEP) is an automated compliance enforcement system that monitors inbound shipments and issues financial penalties — called SQEP charges — when barcode labels don't meet Walmart's current specifications. These charges are deducted from your payment automatically. No invoice, no negotiation, no
You shipped the product. The truck arrived on time. But a few days later you received a chargeback notice citing "ASN mismatch." Now you're disputing a deduction you don't fully understand, against a retailer whose compliance team doesn't pick up the phone.
If you ship produce to Costco, every pallet that enters their distribution network must carry a GS1-128 barcode label that meets their current compliance specifications. A label that doesn't scan, carries incorrect data, or is placed in the wrong location triggers an automatic non-compliance event at