Steel Bundle and Piece Marking Before Shipment
A bundle tag that names only the grade cannot tell your warehouse which heat a loose length came from once the straps are cut. Decide the identity unit, the fields, the placement and the transfer rule for each order line before the steel is marked and packed.
Decide Which Unit Must Carry Identity
Start from how the material will be used after arrival. If a full bundle goes to one job, a bundle tag tied to a single heat or lot may be enough. If lengths, sheets or blanks will be issued one at a time to different jobs, or a project specification calls for piece-level records, identity has to reach the individual piece or a defined subpack. Write that level on each PO line instead of in a general note at the end of the order. Mixed heats inside one bundle are a common source of trouble later: ask whether each bundle can hold a single heat, or whether its tag will list every heat with the piece count for each. Not every form and finish can take a mark on each piece, so treat piece marking as a request to confirm for the actual product.
- Heat or lot levelUsually enough when whole packs go to one use and stay together until then.
- Bundle or subpack levelNeeded when a pack will be divided but its pieces are still used in groups.
- Piece levelNeeded when single pieces go to different jobs or a project demands it; confirm what each form can carry.
Write the Fields Each Mark Must Carry
List the fields for each level on its own, because a bundle tag, a mark on a single piece and a packing-list row do different jobs. The outer tag should let a receiver find the PO line and packing-list row without opening anything. A piece or subpack mark only needs enough to rejoin its parent bundle and heat once the outer tag has gone. Ask for the heat or lot identifier to be written exactly as the mill certificate prints it, with no shortening or reformatting, so the string can be searched. The certificate reference normally sits on the tag and packing list rather than on every piece; say so on the order if you need it lower down. A marking clause from a structural plate, bar or shape standard applies within that standard's scope only; do not copy it onto coated sheet, strip or tube lines. Use the grid below as a starting template and adapt it per order.
| Field | Bundle or pack tag | Piece or subpack mark | Packing-list row |
|---|---|---|---|
| PO and line reference | Include | Include if pieces leave the bundle | Include |
| Form, grade and size | Include | As agreed for the form | Include |
| Heat or lot identifier | Every heat in the pack | The heat of that piece | Every heat with its count |
| Bundle ID | Include | Parent bundle ID | Include |
| Count or piece number | Pieces in the pack | Piece number if agreed | Pieces per bundle |
| Certificate reference | If agreed | Only if the order requires it | Include |
Place Marks Where They Survive Handling
A tag fixed only to a strap leaves with the strap, and a sticker on the outer wrap is thrown away with the wrap. Ask for the identifier in two places: on the pack, and on the material or an inner layer that stays with it after unpacking. Then agree the location and method for each form. Finished faces limit the choice. Bright, polished or prepainted surfaces and the visible face of a profiled panel usually should not be stamped or painted, so the mark may belong on an edge, the reverse side, a protective film or an attached label. State how long the mark must stay legible, for example through outdoor storage until fabrication, and let the supplier propose the method that suits the product. No method lasts on every surface, so agree durability rather than assume it.
| Form | Where a mark may go | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Coil | Label on the coil body as well as on the wrap | Wrap label discarded at unpacking |
| Sheet or plate stack | Stack tag plus edge, reverse face or interleaf mark | A finished face that must stay clean |
| Pipe or tube | Body or end marking plus bundle tags | Coated surface and ends that will be cut |
| Bar | Bundle tag plus end mark or subpack tag | End paint alone does not name the heat |
| Profiled panel | Stack label, film or reverse side | Visible face that cannot carry a mark |
Have a Specification Ready?
Send what you already know, such as grade, finish, size or quantity. Inquiries are answered within 2 hours.
Write the Rule for Splitting and Cutting
Identity is most at risk at the moment a bundle is opened, a sheet is cut into blanks or lengths are rebundled. Put the transfer rule into the order before that happens, whether the split takes place at a processing step before shipment or in your own warehouse. Name who reads the parent identifier, who assigns child IDs, who applies the new marks and who checks them. One workable format keeps the parent bundle ID and adds a suffix for each child, so any piece leads back to its heat without a separate lookup. The new mark should go on before the original is cut away, covered or discarded. Remnants and offcuts need their own child ID or a recorded disposal, because an unmarked remnant cannot be tied back to its heat. If the split happens before shipment, ask for the transfer record to travel with the shipment documents.
Read the parent
Record the parent bundle ID, heat or lot and piece count before opening.
Mark the children
Apply a child ID that carries the parent ID before the original mark is removed.
Record and verify
Log each child, its count and any remnant, and have a named person check the transfer.
Approve a Sample Tag and Cross-Reference Key
Marking mistakes are cheap to correct on paper and costly once the steel is wrapped. Ask for a draft tag layout, or a photo of a sample tag, together with a packing-list layout that shows each bundle ID beside its heat or lot, piece count and certificate reference. Check that the identifier strings match character for character, and that the key works both ways: from any tag to its certificate, and from any certificate heat to every bundle that carries it. Each ZIVO shipment comes with a mill test certificate (MTC) and a packing list, and photos of coil labels can be provided. How the marks on sheet, pipe or bar bundles will correspond to those documents for your order is a point to agree in writing before marking starts.
- Draft tagReview a layout or sample that shows every agreed field in its final position.
- Packing-list keyCheck bundle ID, heat or lot, count and certificate reference on a single row.
- Both directionsTrace a tag to its certificate and a certificate heat to all of its bundles.
Put the Marking Instruction Into the Order
For each PO line, write the identity level, the fields for the tag, the piece or subpack mark and the packing-list row, the preferred mark location and any surface that must stay unmarked. Add the split and transfer rule, the sample-tag approval step, the evidence you want before dispatch and the person who approves deviations. Leave the marking method open for the supplier to propose against the product, rather than naming a technique the material may not accept. ZIVO confirms the specification with you before the order and keeps the confirmed version on file, so include the marking instruction in that specification and ask which parts can be met for the actual form and source. If a project requires a particular marking standard, name it on the line it applies to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Only if the bundle holds a single heat or lot and stays together until use. When heats are mixed or pieces are issued separately, the tag and piece marks need the heat or lot identifier, the bundle ID and a link to the packing-list row.
Not always. Some finished faces must stay clean and some marks do not survive handling or storage. Agree the location and method for each form and order, and keep a tag or record that preserves identity where a piece cannot be marked.
Whoever the order names. Write the rule before shipment: who assigns child IDs carrying the parent ID, who marks the children before the original mark is removed, and who records each child and remnant.
Tell Us What You Need
Send the product form, grade, finish, thickness, width, length and quantity. Inquiries are answered within 2 hours.
Send your marking requirement for review
Share the PO lines, the identity level for each, the tag and piece fields, any surface that must stay unmarked and your split rule. Ask which marking method and location fit the actual product.
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