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Free Ford GTL label generator for containers, master and mixed loads.
The Ford GTL is the Global Transport Label as Ford specifies it for suppliers, with Code 128 barcodes and a PDF417. Fill in TEC-IT's Master template and print it.
How to print a Ford GTL label
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01
Choose the label for the load
Each box or tote of one part gets a container label. A unit load also gets a Master label for one part number or a Mixed label for several, as agreed with Ford.
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02
Enter the GSDB codes and release data
Enter your GSDB supplier code and the receiving plant's customer code. Take storage location, line-feed location and dock code from Ford's release, or clear the sample values.
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03
Print at 100% on white paper
Print the PDF at actual size, black on white. Ford usually specifies two labels on adjacent sides: set Copies to 2.
What is a Ford GTL label?
A Ford GTL label marks a container of production, prototype or service parts shipped to a Ford location. Ford's standard BAO-1122-L calls it the Shipping/Parts Identification Label and applies it worldwide. Ford calls its standard an extraction from the Global Transport Label (GTL) version 3 of November 2010 (Odette LL07).
What the Ford GTL Master label shows
Ford's standard divides the label into blocks A1 to E2: supplier code and quantity on top, the part number across the full width, then locations, serial number and receiving plant. TEC-IT's full-height A5 templates keep the block heights of Ford's A5 drawing.
Up to five fields print as Code 128, each led by its data identifier (DI): V, Q, P, N and M. The PDF417 at the top right repeats them and adds container (B), date (D), customer code (8V) and other filled fields.
Why the Ford GTL label matters for Q1 status
Ford designed the label to capture data for production counts, warehouse input and output, receiving and inventory control. At Ford's scanners, the Code 128 barcodes must grade C (1.5/10/660) or better.
Ford's customer-specific requirements of June 2026 make level A in the MMOG/LE logistics evaluation a condition for Q1 status. They also require an inverted delta before the part number of parts with critical characteristics. Under the 2017 label standard, MMOG compliance includes third-party certification of each label type North American and European suppliers use.
Printing Ford GTL labels for a whole shipment
Without an account, the label generator fills in one label at a time and prints the copies you set. For a shipment, sign in for free and list the containers in a data sheet: import a CSV file, number the serials with a sequence and export one PDF.
Print series deliveries from the system that receives Ford's releases and sends your ASNs, so locations and ASN numbers match. TFORMer Server prints on requests from SAP or Oracle, TFORMer Workstation from Excel or CSV lists. TFORMer Designer ships GTL layouts to adapt, such as adding the ASN number to the mixed label.
Ford GTL at a glance
- Ford standard
- BAO-1122-L, July 2017
- Based on
- GTL standard version 3, November 2010 (Odette LL07)
- Label size
- 4 × 6 in in North America, A5 (210 × 148 mm) elsewhere
- Barcodes
- Code 128 (linear), PDF417 (2D)
- Narrow bar (X)
- 0.254–0.432 mm (TEC-IT: 0.423 mm)
- Serial DIs
- S container, M master, 5S mixed (GTL: 3S, 4S, 5S)
- Language
- English only
Checks before the first Ford shipment
- Long part numbers. About 20 characters fit the 48-point line; longer ones are cut off. Ford requires one line and recommends a narrower font.
- Quiet zones. Ford requires 6.4 mm clear at each end of a Code 128 and needs no outer border. TEC-IT's frame line sits 5–6 mm before the quantity and serial bars on A5 labels, 1 mm on half-height ones.
- Dates. Type 05OCT2026 or 2026-10-05; a slash date such as 10/05/2026 prints 05OCT2020.
How the Ford GTL differs from related labels
Odette's own profile of the GTL (LL08). TEC-IT's VDA 4994 templates bar-code a license plate and add a DataMatrix.
TEC-IT's Volkswagen single, master and KLT labels also use PDF417, but their Code 128 holds a license plate.
The GTL took GM 1724 into account. TEC-IT's GM templates bar-code a license plate, with DataMatrix since the 2018 version.
The GTL builds on AIAG B-10, whose 4 × 6 in size Ford keeps in North America. TEC-IT's B-10 templates print Code 39.
What to enter in each field of the Ford GTL Master label
TEC-IT's Master template prints no field numbers: 1–24 follow the markers on the annotated Master image, block by block from A1 to E2, and the last two inputs print nothing. Captions appear as printed, or as the editor caption where the label prints none. Max. gives Ford's maximum length (2017 standard); where TEC-IT's barcode holds less, the row says so.
| No. | Field | Caption on the label | Content | Barcode | Max. length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supplier code | SUPP (V) | The GSDB code Ford assigned to your shipping location, printed large in block A2. | Code 128 (DI V), PDF417 (V) | 5 |
| 2 | Supplier name | Supplier Name | Name of your plant on one line, abbreviated where needed; printed small beside SUPP (V). | — | 35 |
| 3 | Quantity | QTY (Q) | Parts in the container; on a master label, the total of all containers. Type it without lead zeros, which Ford bars from the text. TEC-IT's barcode holds up to 6 digits. | Code 128 (DI Q), PDF417 (Q) | 9 |
| 4 | Unit of measure | Unit of Measure | Printed beside the quantity barcode, never bar-coded. Not needed for each (EA) or pieces (PC); other units must be printed, as ASC X12.3 abbreviations. | — | 2 |
| 5 | Container | CONTAINER | Ford's container part number: base (up to 9 characters, 8 in Europe) and suffix (up to 5), separated by a dash, as on your approved packaging form 1271. | PDF417 (B) | 15 |
| 6 | Gross weight | GROSS WGT | Whole number in pounds or kilograms, as the receiving plant advises. The Master template prints no unit; the container templates have a field for it. | PDF417 (Z) | 10 |
| 7 | Date | DATE | Label, manufacturing or ship date. Type DDMMMYYYY (05OCT2026) or YYYY-MM-DD: the label prints DDMMMYYYY, the PDF417 gets YYMMDD. Other formats print 00--0 or a wrong date: 10/05/2026 prints 05OCT2020. | PDF417 (D) | 9 |
| 8 | Lot/batch | LOT/BATCH | Optional lot or batch number. Inverted-delta parts that need lot traceability also carry the lot code on a separate label. | PDF417 (1T) | 13 |
| 9 | Shift | SHIFT | Optional production shift, at your discretion. | — | — |
| 10 | Work center | W/C | Optional work center, at your discretion. | — | — |
| 11 | Part number | PART (P) | Ford's part number with dashes, such as 3S4X-A045A74-AAZUYI, in 48-point type: about 20 characters fit. The Code 128 turns the dashes into spaces, as Ford asks, and holds 28 characters; the PDF417 keeps the dashes, although Ford requires spaces there too. | Code 128 (DI P), PDF417 (P) | 30 |
| 12 | Storage location | STR LOC 1 | Only from Ford's release (EDI 830 or 862, or the VDA/EDIFACT equivalent); otherwise blank. | PDF417 (L) | 10 |
| 13 | Delivery doc/ASN number | Delivery Doc/ASN Number (N) | In Europe and Asia, the number of the ASN you send for this shipment. When filled, it replaces the line-feed location and gets a barcode, which holds 10 digits but only 7 letters. Ford's summary chart allows 10 characters. | Code 128 (DI N), PDF417 (N) | 8 |
| 14 | Line-feed location | LINE FEED LOC 2 | Elsewhere, Line Feed Location 2 from Ford's release, or blank. It prints only while the delivery doc/ASN field is empty. | — | 10 |
| 15 | Supplier part number (text) | Part Number - Supplier | Your own part number, printed in the supplier area. For the PDF417, fill Supplier Part Number as well. | — | — |
| 16 | Part description | Part Description - Supplier | Description of the Ford part, printed under your part number. | — | 34 |
| 17 | Serial number | SERIAL NO (M) | A number you give this master pack, unique within a calendar year. TEC-IT's barcode holds 9 digits but only 7 letters; check serials with letters in the preview. | Code 128 (DI M), PDF417 (M) | 9 |
| 18 | Label ID | Label ID | Optional, printed small in the supplier area. | — | — |
| 19 | User ID | User ID | Optional, printed under the label ID. | — | — |
| 20 | Made in | MADE IN | Optional country of manufacture; the caption prints only when the field is filled. | — | — |
| 21 | Customer plant name | TO | The receiving plant; the name must begin with FORD. TEC-IT's template prints one line. | — | 30 per line |
| 22 | Dock code | DOCK CODE | From Ford's release, or blank; printed in 60-point type. | PDF417 (1L) | 2 |
| 23 | Customer code | CUST | The five-character GSDB code of the receiving Ford plant. | PDF417 (8V) | 5 |
| 24 | Engineering alert | ENG ALERT | Only when the receiving plant asks for it, verbally or in writing, and until it is rescinded. | — | 9 |
| — | Supplier part number (barcode) | Supplier Part Number | Goes into the PDF417 only. Ford wants it there, with the lot number, whenever a plant requires an expiration date. | PDF417 (1P) | — |
| — | Expiration date | Expiration Date | Only when the plant requires it. Type DDMMYYYY, as in Ford's example 15D15112006. The Master template encodes it but does not print the EXP DATE DDMMMYYYY line Ford requires in block E1 when agreed. | PDF417 (15D) | 8 |
Which Ford GTL template to open
Five templates print on A5, one on 210 × 74 mm label stock and the load list on A4. All labels carry Code 128 and PDF417; none comes in Ford's North American 4 × 6 in size.
| Template | Size | Use | Open in the generator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford GTL Master | A5, landscape | Over containers of one part number: total quantity, serial DI M, hung from banding or wrap; no inverted delta. | Open in the generator › |
| Ford GTL Mixed | A5, landscape | Over containers of different parts: serial DI 5S, dock code only if all parts share it; no ASN field. | Open in the generator › |
| Ford GTL Mixed Master | A5, landscape | One per part number in mixed loads through an origin distribution center (ODC), besides the Mixed label; no inverted delta. | Open in the generator › |
| Ford GTL Mixed Master Load List | A4, portrait | A4 list replacing the card of mixed-master labels, a line per part; barcodes 10.2 mm, Ford asks 12.7. | Open in the generator › |
| Ford GTL Container A5 | A5, landscape | Each box or tote of one part, also inside master and mixed loads; Safety Items prints the inverted delta. | Open in the generator › |
| Ford GTL Container (Half Height A5) | A5, landscape | Container label on the lower half of an A5 sheet; fold over or cut off the top half. | Open in the generator › |
| Ford GTL Container (Half Height 210x74) | 210 × 74 mm, landscape | The same half-height container label on 210 × 74 mm stock, for totes and trays without room for A5. | Open in the generator › |
Frequently asked questions
Learn more about Ford GTL.
What size is a Ford GTL label?
What is a GSDB code on a Ford label?
Do Ford GTL labels need certification?
What is the Ford mixed-master load list?
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