Shipping mark infographic: a visual guide for warehouses
A clear shipping mark is the difference between a parcel that is sorted in seconds and one that sits in the unknown pile for days. Print this and send it to every supplier.
The full infographic
TikTrake · Warehouse standards
Shipping mark, one page
Clear marks. Smooth intake.
Main mark — largest face
- Consignee name / buyer codeThe code your warehouse sorts by. Without it the carton arrives anonymous.
- Destination port or cityFinal destination, written the same way on every carton of the shipment.
- Carton numberSequence across the whole shipment, e.g. 3/12 — never restarting per supplier.
- PO referencePurchase order number so the carton can be matched back to the order.
Side mark — adjacent face
- Description of goodsPlain product description, matching the packing list wording.
- Gross / net weightBoth values in kg, so loading plans and claims stay accurate.
- Dimensions (L × W × H)Carton dimensions in cm for CBM and container loading.
- Country of originWhere the goods were made — required for customs clearance.
Handling symbols
5 mistakes that create unknown parcels
- 1No buyer codeThe carton arrives anonymous and goes to the unknown pile.
- 2Mark on one face onlyThe box lands mark-down and nobody turns it over.
- 3Old marks left onA reused carton carries two destinations at once.
- 4Carton numbers restartingTwo suppliers both ship a 1/5 — counts stop matching.
- 5Mark ≠ packing listIntake can't reconcile, so the parcel is held.
How TikTrake reads a shipping mark
At the door, a worker photographs the carton — from the camera or by uploading from a gallery — and TikTrake's OCR reads the mark: buyer code, weight, carton count and phone number. A recognised buyer code files the parcel straight into that customer's account, inside the warehouse's own scope, so no other site ever sees it, and a second scan of the same carton is blocked as a duplicate rather than filed twice. If the mark is missing or unreadable, staff can still add the parcel manually — the mark is optional on manual entry. Anything left unmatched lands in unknown parcels, where a manager links it to a buyer code in one tap.
That is why the fields above are not cosmetic: every missing line means a manual match later, and every unknown parcel is a customer checking their account for a tracking number, parcel count or weight that isn't there yet.
Print and share
This page prints cleanly on A4 — send it to suppliers before the first booking. Warehouse parcel lists in TikTrake print the same way, in A4 landscape, with a professional DOC export when you need an editable version. Deleted parcels aren't gone for good either: they sit in a recoverable trash bin for 3 days. For the full written guide, see Shipping mark meaning, examples and template.