Will the DC accept it? Check before it leaves.
Booking, PO numbers, pallets, SSCC labels, the ASN and the food rules: tick what’s ready for a retailer’s DC, see what’s missing, then send us the delivery.
- 18Digits in each pallet’s SSCC
- 2Labels on adjacent sides
- 24 hOur control room
Into the DC, first time.
- 01
Booked
PO numbers on the paperwork, the delivery booked the way the DC asks, and the ASN sent ahead of the truck.
- 02
Labelled
An SSCC label on two adjacent sides of every pallet, 400 to 800 mm up, outside the wrap.
- 03
At the dock
Backed onto the DC’s dock with the delivery note; the DC takes the pallets off and scans each label.
- 04
Received
Every SSCC matched to the ASN, and our status email tells you it’s in.
Request a delivery quote
Your delivery
Step 1 of 7- Delivering to
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- Goods
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- Stock now
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- Typical delivery
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- How often
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- First delivery
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- DC check
- Optional
Into a DC or straight to stores
A DC checks the load at its dock: the booking, the labels, the despatch advice. A store is simpler, but one without a forklift needs each pallet brought down to the ground. Either way, the paperwork carries the PO.
Into a retailer’s DC
- Booked aheadThe way the DC asks; keep the reference
- An SSCC on every palletTwo adjacent sides, 400 to 800 mm up
- The ASN before the truckEach label scanned and matched
- PO numbers on the paperworkOn the delivery note and the booking
Straight to stores
- No forklift? Tail-liftDeck to ground, extra crew, pallet jack
- Delivery note with the POAsk your buyer how many copies
- High-value linesSpecially trained delivery crews
- Followed to deliveryStatus emails, 24-hour control room
Food rides alone
Under the R638 food hygiene regulations the load space must be clean, and food may not ride with poison or any harmful substance, waste food or anything else that can contaminate it. Hazardous products go as dangerous goods: we carry every class except explosives.
Cold, by the regulations
R638 core temperatures: chilled food not above 5 °C (4 °C for raw fish, poultry, offal and milk), frozen not above −12 °C (−18 °C for ice cream and frozen fish). Our reefer containers hold their set temperature on underslung gensets.
High-value FMCG
High-value goods attract the wrong attention, so we leave nothing to chance: specially trained delivery crews, fully enclosed vans, tracked deliveries, and covert escort crews where values are high.
Where we operate
Our head office and 24-hour control centre are at 69–71 Barlow Road, Jupiter, Germiston, beside our customs-licensed depot, with an office in Durban. Our local vehicles run from flat-deck rigids to fully enclosed vans, and full containers run the N3 between the two.
- Germiston depot69–71 Barlow Road, Jupiter, Germiston 011 873 4786
- Durban · Greyville81 Berea Road, Greyville, Durban 031 305 0438
Part of Shipping & General Transport
Shipping & General Transport is a privately owned South African logistics company built on trustworthiness, perseverance and reliability. FMCG Transporters is one of its specialist services: fast-moving consumer goods into retailers’ DCs and stores, high-value lines with specially trained delivery crews.
Visit shippingandgeneral.co.zaQuestions about delivering FMCG into a DC
Can’t find your answer? Our team is a phone call away.
Call 011 873 4786What does a DC check when a load arrives?
Each retailer sets its own delivery rules for suppliers, in its supplier terms rather than on a public page, so your buyer’s terms decide. Expect the same few things to come up: the booking, the purchase order numbers, the pallets, the pallet labels and the despatch advice. Our check lists them so you can tick each off before the truck leaves.
What is an SSCC?
The Serial Shipping Container Code: an 18-digit number that identifies one pallet, or other logistic unit, and no other. It’s built on your GS1 company prefix and printed in a GS1-128 barcode. Under GS1’s logistic label guideline it’s the one thing a pallet label must carry.
Where does the pallet label go?
GS1 recommends two identical labels on two adjacent sides, so one always faces the scanner, ideally at the right of each side. The barcode sits 400 to 800 mm above the pallet’s base and at least 50 mm from a vertical edge, never under the wrap. Pallets stacked and wrapped as one unit get their own SSCC, with that label outside the wrap.
What is an ASN?
An advance shipping notice, or despatch advice: the message that tells the DC what’s coming, pallet by pallet. GS1’s guideline says it should reach the receiver before the goods; at the dock each pallet’s SSCC is scanned and should match it.
Where do SSCC numbers and barcodes come from?
From your GS1 company prefix. In South Africa, GS1 South Africa, trading as the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa, issues barcodes and company prefixes (600 and 601). Your label software then numbers each pallet.
Which pallets will the DC take?
1200 × 1000 mm is one of the ISO pallet sizes. The type a DC takes, whether a hire-pool pallet or your own, and the height and mass it allows, are its own rules. Ask your buyer before you build the load.
Can cleaning products ride with food?
No. Under the R638 food hygiene regulations, food may not ride in any part of a vehicle with poison or any harmful substance, waste food, or anything else that can contaminate it, and the load space must be clean. Send them as separate loads; hazardous products go as dangerous goods, which we carry in every class except explosives.
How cold must chilled and frozen food be?
R638 sets core temperatures: chilled food not above 5 °C, or 4 °C for raw fish, poultry, offal and milk; frozen food not above −12 °C, or −18 °C for ice cream and frozen fish. A vehicle hired to carry perishable food also falls under the regulations’ certificate of acceptability rule. Our reefer containers hold their set temperature on underslung gensets; we don’t state refrigerated trucks or cold storage, so confirm with us for chilled or frozen from stock.
Can you deliver to stores without a forklift?
Yes. Our tail-lift trucks lower each pallet from the deck to the ground, with an extra crew member and a pallet jack.
Can an import go straight to the DC?
We run full containers from Durban on the N3 and from City Deep, and move them in bond if they aren’t cleared yet. A DC that receives containers at its dock can take the box as it is; otherwise we unpack it at our Germiston depot for delivery in drops. If the cartons are floor-loaded, a DC that takes pallets needs them palletised and labelled first: we don’t state palletising or labelling, so confirm with us.
Can you deliver from stock you hold for us?
Yes: we can tailor a dedicated or shared warehousing and distribution solution at our Germiston depot, duty paid or in bond. Our sister site plans the regular runs.
What does it cost?
We don’t publish prices. Answer the short questions in the quote form, add your DC check if you like, and we’ll quote on your actual deliveries.
What’s going to the DC?
Six short questions and your contact details, plus your DC check if you like. No prices online, just a quote on your actual deliveries.
