Barcodes in Descartes Pacejet™: Three Core Use Cases
Barcodes show up in three primary ways in Descartes Pacejet™:
Shortcut key barcodes (use case 1) - at shipping and packing stations.
Item/package/serial/lot scanning (use case 2) - during pack and ship.
Compliance and partner-label barcodes (use case 3) - on labels and shipping paperwork.
This article explains each use case, how they work together in real-world workflows, and where to find deeper documentation in the Pacejet knowledge base.
Shortcut Key Barcodes at Shipping and Packing Stations (Use Case 1)
What This Use Case Solves
In many warehouses, operators repeat the same keystrokes all day to process orders: search for the order, rate it, ship it, print documents, etc. When you attach a barcode scanner (typically in keyboard‑wedge mode), Pacejet can treat a scan exactly like a keystroke or shortcut key.
By printing barcodes for those shortcut keys and posting them near the workstation, users can:
Scan a barcode instead of pressing a key (for example, scanning a barcode that represents the
Skey to trigger rate & ship).Chain actions together quickly (scan a Find Order shortcut, then scan a Rate & Ship shortcut, then scan a Print Documents shortcut).
Reduce training time - new users follow the scan sheet rather than memorize hotkeys.
Example Workflow
A common pattern is to mirror your most-used keyboard shortcuts as barcodes on a laminated sheet:
Find an order – scan a barcode that sends the same key as the Find shortcut (e.g.,
Z.Rate & ship – scan a barcode mapped to the Rate and Ship shortcut (e.g.,
SorR, depending on configuration.Print paperwork / labels – scan a barcode that triggers the print or scan‑to‑print shortcut.
Operators simply scan down the page instead of moving between keyboard and mouse.
Key Supporting Capabilities
Scan sheets / keyboard shortcut barcodes – printable sheets with barcodes that represent keyboard shortcuts used in shipping.
Scan shortcuts and scan codes – configurable scan codes that Pacejet interprets as specific actions.
Scan-to-Print – scanning a command or document ID to print shipping paperwork and labels.
Related Pacejet Articles
Example scansheets that map barcodes to common Pacejet commands:
Barcode scan sheets – Barcodes
Additional Barcode and scanning sheets – Barcode and Scanning Scansheets
Keyboard commands for Pacejet scanning modules:
Using scanning with a deferred document printing workflow:
Scanning Items, Packages, Serials, and Lots While Packing and Shipping (Use Case 2)
What This Use Case Solves
Beyond shortcut keys, the most common barcode workflow in Pacejet is scanning items and cartons as you pack:
Item validation – scan each item’s barcode as it is packed to confirm the item and quantity against the order.
Package/carton identification – scan carton IDs to associate items with specific packages.
Serial and lot capture – scan serial or lot numbers from labels as you pack each unit.
This reduces shipping errors (wrong item, wrong quantity, wrong serial/lot) and creates traceable shipment data.
Why Scanning Beats Manual Entry
Scanning is both faster and more accurate than keying values by hand:
Industry references commonly show manual keying error rates around 1–4%, or roughly one error per 100–300 characters, versus barcode scanning error rates on the order of one error in 1–3 million scans.
Studies and practitioner report consistently find that scanning is multiple times faster than typing, with practical improvements of around 3–5× faster for typical warehouse tasks.
This aligns with research such as:
Analyses comparing barcode scanners to manual entry that show scanning can be roughly 5× faster, leading to better user satisfaction and fewer negative reviews.
Barcode and data‑entry studies that quantify about one error per 100–300 manually entered characters versus roughly one error per 3,000,000 scanned characters.
These differences compound quickly in high‑volume pack stations.
Example Workflow
A typical Scan and Pack flow looks like this:
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Identify the shipment or carton
Scan a shipment ID, order number, or carton ID to select the right shipment.
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Scan items into cartons
For each physical item, scan the item barcode. Pacejet validates the item and quantity against the order.
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Capture serial/lot numbers
For serialized or lot‑tracked items, scan the serial or lot barcode as you pack each unit. Pacejet associates these with the shipment.
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Finalize the shipment
Once everything is scanned and validated, perform rate and ship, then print labels and paperwork.
This can be combined with shortcut key barcodes (use case 1, Shortcut Key Barcodes at Shipping and Packing Stations, above), so operators scan to select the order, scan items, and then scan a shortcut to finalize shipping.
Related Pacejet articles
This article introduces Pacejet modules for scan-pack validation during the shipping process:
Explains how scan codes can be setup for multiple quantities in a master pack:
Use these articles when you are designing or extending item/serial/lot scanning flows:
Overview of Scan and Pack capabilities and workflows.
Directory of documentation on scan pack workflows
Earlier / alternate Scan Pack documentation with similar concepts and flows.
Conceptual explanation of how Scan Pack drives the pack‑and‑ship process.
Shows how scanning works with container cloning to speed repetitive pack patterns.
Details capturing serials via scanning in complex pack hierarchies.
Configuration and reporting for lot and serial data captured during packing and shipping.
General treatment of serial numbers in Pacejet, often sourced from barcode scans.
Reporting on serials captured at pack/ship time.
Pulling serial and lot information programmatically.
How carton IDs from NetSuite WMS participate in scanning‑based pack flows.
How Pacejet works with NetSuite Ship Central pack stations.
Setup steps for Ship Central–driven scanning workflows.
How packages/cartons are modeled, which underpins carton‑level scanning.
Compliance and Partner-Label Barcodes on Shipping Paperwork and Labels (Use Case 3)
What this Use Case Solves
Many retailers, marketplaces, and 3PLs require specific barcoded labels and paperwork as part of their compliance programs. Common examples include:
GS1‑128 / UCC‑128 / SSCC shipment and carton barcodes.
Retailer‑specific pack labels with encoded purchase order, carton, and item information.
Barcoded shipping paperwork (packing lists, BOLs, manifests) used for receiving and putaway scanning.
Pacejet supports these requirements through label templates, the Pacejet Label Connector, and Self‑Service Shipping Paperwork.
How it Works in Practice
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Shipment and carton labels
For retail or 3PL shipments, Pacejet generates labels that include GS1‑style barcodes at the shipment and/or carton level.
Trading partners use those barcodes at receiving to scan cartons into their systems, match against ASNs, and drive putaway.
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Retail/partner‑specific label libraries
Pacejet ships templates for common retailer and 3PL formats.
You can add new templates or customize labels per trading partner while still feeding them with standard Pacejet data.
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Barcodes on shipping paperwork
Self‑Service Shipping Paperwork templates can include barcodes for order number, shipment number, carton ID, etc.
Receiving teams scan documents instead of manually entering identifiers, speeding up inbound processing.
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Integrated label printing
The Pacejet Label Connector integrates Pacejet data with BarTender (BTW) or other label tools so that compliant barcoded labels are automatically produced at the right points in the workflow.
Related Pacejet articles
Use these articles when you need to meet partner requirements or design barcoded paperwork:
GS1 and Retailer‑Compliance Labels
Example of adding a specific retailer’s GS1 label template to the library:
Detailed guide to retailer‑compliant labels, including shipment and pack‑level barcodes:
How to configure custom labels for specific trading partners:
Admin overview of configuring shipping paperwork templates:
Bringing the Three Barcode Patterns Together
In practice, most Pacejet customers use all three barcode patterns together:
Shortcut barcodes (use case 1) to streamline operator steps at the workstation.
Item and carton scanning (use case 2) to validate what is packed and capture traceability data.
Compliance and paperwork barcodes (use case 3) so downstream partners can scan shipments and cartons instead of re‑keying data.
When you design a new warehouse process or trading‑partner integration, start by identifying:
Which user actions can be converted from keystrokes to scan‑triggered shortcuts.
Which data elements (items, cartons, serials, lots) must be scanned during packing.
Which labels and documents must carry barcodes for retailers, 3PLs, or internal receiving.
Then use the related articles above, especially Overview of Pacejet's Scanning Solutions, as a guide to configure the right combination of barcodes for your Pacejet deployment.