How does SyncForce Support Non-GTIN Pallets in the German GDSN Target Market?

SyncForce supports non-GTIN pallets in the German GDSN target market through the Data Distribution Center and the Certified GDSN Connector.

Within SyncForce, a pallet is modeled as a normal Trade Unit in the product hierarchy, regardless of whether the pallet has its own GTIN.

A typical hierarchy is:

Sales Unit → Case → Pallet

For example:

• Sales Unit with GTIN
• Case with GTIN
• Pallet without GTIN

The complete pallet information remains available in SyncForce, including logistics data, dimensions and packaging composition.

During publication to the German GDSN target market, the Certified GDSN Connector automatically transforms this internal hierarchy into the structure supported by the German GDSN data model.

GTIN-Coded Pallets

When a pallet has its own GTIN, SyncForce publishes the pallet as a normal GDSN trade item in the hierarchy.

The published hierarchy is:

Sales Unit GTIN → Case GTIN → Pallet GTIN

The pallet is represented as its own trade item and its applicable master data is exchanged at pallet level.

Non-GTIN Pallets

When a pallet does not have a GTIN, SyncForce does not publish the pallet as a separate GDSN trade item for the German target market.

The internal SyncForce hierarchy remains:

Sales Unit → Case → Pallet

The published GDSN hierarchy becomes:

Sales Unit GTIN → Case GTIN

The non-GTIN pallet is therefore removed as an independently identified hierarchy node in the outgoing GDSN message.

Relevant pallet logistics data is automatically transferred to the underlying GTIN-coded delivery unit using the German Case Level Non GTIN structure.

This allows the physical pallet to remain a separate Trade Unit in SyncForce while being represented according to the German GDSN target-market rules.

Case Level Non GTIN Information

For a non-GTIN pallet, the Certified GDSN Connector maps the supported pallet information to the Case Level Non GTIN attributes of the underlying GTIN-coded trade item.

This includes information such as:

SyncForce pallet information	German GDSN representation
Pallet type	Case Level Non GTIN pallet type
Units per pallet	Number of units per pallet
Layers per pallet	Number of layers per pallet
Pallet stacking factor	Pallet stacking factor
Transport stacking factor	Transport stacking factor
Loaded pallet gross weight	Case Level Non GTIN gross weight
Loaded pallet height	Case Level Non GTIN height
Loaded pallet depth	Case Level Non GTIN depth
Loaded pallet width	Case Level Non GTIN width
Load carrier dimensions	Load carrier dimensions
Load carrier material	Load carrier material

The pallet information is exchanged in the dedicated pallet structure defined by GS1 Germany.

Packaging Composition of the Non-GTIN Pallet

A pallet in SyncForce can have its own detailed packaging composition.

For example:

Non-GTIN Pallet

• Wooden pallet: 25 kg wood
• Stretch film: 0.5 kg LDPE
• Straps: 0.2 kg PP

This packaging composition remains associated with the pallet Trade Unit in SyncForce.

When the pallet has no GTIN and the target market is Germany, the Certified GDSN Connector does not merge this packaging composition into the packaging composition of the underlying Case.

The Case therefore retains only its own packaging specifications.

For example:

Case

• Corrugated case
• 0.8 kg paper/cardboard

remains the packaging composition of the Case.

The packaging materials belonging to the pallet remain stored against the pallet in SyncForce and are not transferred into the Case packaging levels during German GDSN publication.

Load Carrier Material

The German Case Level Non GTIN structure includes a dedicated attribute for the material of the load carrier.

SyncForce therefore maps the applicable pallet material to the German Load Carrier Material attribute where available.

For example:

Pallet material: WOOD

is exchanged as the load carrier material.

This is separate from the detailed packaging-material composition of the pallet.

The detailed material quantity, for example:

25 kg WOOD

remains part of the pallet's packaging composition in SyncForce and is not added to the Case packaging material specification.

Gross Pallet Weight

The gross weight of the complete loaded pallet is exchanged through the Case Level Non GTIN structure.

This includes:

• the trade items loaded on the pallet
• the pallet itself
• applicable load aids such as stretch film or straps

For example:

• Cases: 594 kg
• Wooden pallet: 25 kg
• Stretch film and straps: 1 kg

results in:

Loaded pallet gross weight: 620 kg

The pallet and load-aid weights therefore contribute to the logistics gross weight while their detailed packaging-material composition remains associated with the pallet Trade Unit in SyncForce.

One Non-GTIN Pallet Configuration

The German GDSN target-market model supports one Case Level Non GTIN pallet configuration for a delivery unit.

SyncForce therefore publishes one applicable non-GTIN pallet configuration for the underlying GTIN-coded trade item.

When a pallet is GTIN-coded, it is published as a normal trade item instead of through the Case Level Non GTIN structure.

Automated Publication in the Data Distribution Center

The complete process is handled automatically during publication from the SyncForce Data Distribution Center.

The source hierarchy does not need to be remodeled for Germany.

For example, SyncForce continues to contain:

Sales Unit → Case → Pallet

The Certified GDSN Connector evaluates:

• the target market
• whether the pallet has a GTIN
• the position of the pallet in the trade hierarchy
• the available pallet logistics information
• the packaging composition associated with each Trade Unit

For the German target market:

GTIN-coded pallet

is published as:

Sales Unit → Case → Pallet

Non-GTIN pallet

is published as:

Sales Unit → Case

with the supported pallet logistics data automatically included through the German Case Level Non GTIN structure.

The pallet's detailed packaging composition remains associated with the pallet in SyncForce and is not merged into the Case packaging composition.

Example

SyncForce hierarchy

Sales Unit

• GTIN

↓

Case

• GTIN
• Packaging: corrugated cardboard, 0.8 kg

↓

Pallet

• No GTIN
• EUR pallet
• 48 cases per pallet
• 6 layers
• Gross weight: 620 kg
• Height: 1,350 mm
• Width: 800 mm
• Depth: 1,200 mm
• Load carrier material: wood
• Packaging composition:
  • wooden pallet: 25 kg wood
  • stretch film: 0.5 kg LDPE
  • straps: 0.2 kg PP

German GDSN publication

The Certified GDSN Connector publishes:

Sales Unit GTIN

↓

Case GTIN

The Case contains:

Case packaging information

• Corrugated cardboard: 0.8 kg

Case Level Non GTIN pallet information

• Pallet type: EUR
• Units per pallet: 48
• Layers: 6
• Gross pallet weight: 620 kg
• Height: 1,350 mm
• Width: 800 mm
• Depth: 1,200 mm
• Load carrier material: WOOD

The wooden pallet, stretch film and straps remain part of the pallet packaging composition in SyncForce and are not added to the Case packaging-material specification.

Summary

SyncForce supports both GTIN-coded and non-GTIN pallets as normal Trade Units in the source hierarchy.

For the German GDSN target market, the Data Distribution Center and Certified GDSN Connector automatically apply the German representation rules.

A pallet with a GTIN is published as a separate GDSN trade item.

A pallet without a GTIN is not published as a separate hierarchy node. Instead, supported logistics information is exchanged through the German Case Level Non GTIN structure on the underlying GTIN-coded trade item.

The pallet's detailed packaging composition remains associated with the pallet in SyncForce and is not merged into the packaging composition of the Case.

This allows one consistent hierarchy and packaging model to be maintained in SyncForce while the Data Distribution Center automatically produces the market-specific GDSN representation required for Germany.

Related articles:

How to add a GTIN to a Non-GTIN pallet that is previously published to GDSN?