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Size matters for the Global Transport Label

02 Mar 2023

The European profile of the Global Transport Label (GTL) developed by Odette is well-known to all those involved in the movement and storage of parts in the automotive supply chain.

OEMs and Tier 1s increasingly use tray and blister packaging to meet the requirements of the latest logistics concepts and have identified challenges in labelling these much smaller packages. They have therefore worked together under the Odette Technology Group to develop two new smaller label sizes

These new specifications can be found in the Global Transport Label v2.2 which also includes an additional syntax for information included in the Data Matrix 2D codes printed on the label.

Many modern handheld devices are able to scan 2D symbols using features integrated in the operating system or provided by commonly available apps. These devices, however, simulate a keyboard input and consequently, the non-printable characters specified by ISO 15434 are not transmitted to the processing application. To overcome this problem, Odette recommends that an alternative syntax according to AFNOR NF Z 63-400 / DIN 16598 should be used for the 2D content.

Download the Global Transport Label specifications free of charge

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