AAITP-02
AAITP-02 NATO asset tracking shipping label and symbologies
National logistics organisations applying the NATO asset tracking shipping label so national asset tracking systems can interface with each other
AAITP-02 is NATO's publication for the NATO asset tracking shipping label: its layout, sizes, and the GS1-128 and PDF 417 barcode symbologies it carries, agreed by nations under STANAG 2494.
- Edition
- A
- Published
- 2012-10-29
What it is
What AAITP-02 governs
AAITP-02 is the NATO Allied Automatic Identification Technology Publication that fixes the format of the NATO asset tracking shipping label and the barcode symbologies printed on it. Nations record their agreement to use it in STANAG 2494; AAITP-02 itself supplies the technical detail, "to facilitate NATO Asset Tracking at the interface of National asset tracking systems by providing a guideline for application of combined two-dimensional and linear bar code shipment labels". It sets the format for two symbologies, GS1-128 and PDF 417, "in accordance with AAP-44", the NATO Standard Bar Code Handbook that carries the underlying barcode rules.
Three label formats
AAITP-02 sets three formats of increasing detail. The minimum format is a free-text information block, completed to STANAG 4281, plus the Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) as a GS1-128 barcode, the label's "primary symbol", positioned on its bottom edge, at least 32mm high, with a human-readable interpretation printed above it "using a font as large as practicable". The optional format adds further GS1-128 data, such as a consignment number, at a minimum height of 27mm, and may add a unique national tracking identifier in the upper right corner, encoded "in the National Symbology, e.g. Code 39", to "facilitate linking to legacy systems". The full optional format adds a PDF 417 symbol, defined in ISO/IEC 15438 as described in AAP-44, for detailed supply and transportation data "for national use", formatted to ISO 15434 with further explanation in STANAG 2495. Where both a PDF 417 and linear barcodes share a label, priority goes to keeping the SSCC's 32mm minimum height.
Data elements, sizing and print quality
The data elements the barcodes carry, and their qualifier standards, come from STANAG 2495; both that standard and AAP-44's symbologies are described as "mandatory". Labels are recommended at ISO A5 (148 x 210mm) or US 4 x 6 inches, though the publication's own figures "are not to scale". Markings have to stay "legible, durable and non-fading" under "normal exposure to the environment and envisaged handling", and print quality must reach "a minimum of a B grade at printing according to ISO/IEC 15415 and ISO/IEC 15416 as described in AAP-44". A multi-piece consignment is marked with two numbers separated by "of", for example "6 of 12".
What it does not cover
AAITP-02 sets no retention period for a label or the data on it, no inspection or audit cycle, and no rule for what happens when a label arrives missing or unreadable. It names no certification body or assessment scheme: the print-quality grade above is the only measurable bar it sets, and checking a label against it is left to whatever national or contractual shipping process applies the standard.
AAITP-02 is published by NATO and listed free of charge in the NATO Standardization Document Database. NATO's documents are not sold by ComplyTrain and we host no copies of them.
How we help
AAITP-02 is an operational and technical standard, not a management system: the actual work of printing the right symbology, at the right size, in the right position, on the right label stock happens on the packing bench, not in software. ComplyTrain helps by giving you a place to hold and control the procedure that tells packers which label format applies and why (minimum, optional, or full optional), the training record showing a packer has been shown the SSCC placement and sizing rules, and the evidence, a signed-off label procedure, a training log, a corrective action when a shipment goes out under-labelled, that a customer or a national shipping audit would ask to see.
ComplyTrain does not print a barcode, verify a label's ISO/IEC print-quality grade, or inspect a shipment before it leaves the depot. That work is done with barcode verification equipment and trained packing staff.
Which of AAITP-02's three label formats a given contract actually calls for, and what else STANAG 2494 brings with it, is set by the contract and the customer's quality clause, not by this page. See the standards explorer for what sits alongside AAITP-02, and talk to us about the evidence trail behind it.
Standards it references
- STANAG 4281Binds
- STANAG 2495Background
- AAP-51Background
Questions
Is AAITP-02 mandatory?
Not by itself. Nations commit to it by ratifying STANAG 2494, and a nation can ratify with reservations. Whether a given supplier or shipment has to use the NATO asset tracking label comes down to what the relevant contract, tender, or national shipping procedure requires, not the existence of the publication.
What is the difference between AAITP-02 and STANAG 2494?
STANAG 2494 is the agreement: the record of nations agreeing to use the NATO asset tracking shipping label. AAITP-02 is the Allied Publication that actually contains the label formats, the symbologies, and the sizing and print-quality requirements.
Which barcode symbologies does AAITP-02 use?
Two: GS1-128, which carries the mandatory Serial Shipping Container Code and other GS1 Application Identifier data, and PDF 417, used in the full optional format for detailed national supply and transportation data. Both follow the requirements of AAP-44, the NATO Standard Bar Code Handbook.
Can ComplyTrain get us AAITP-02 certified?
No such certification exists. AAITP-02 names no certification body, notified body, or accredited scheme; the only measurable requirement it sets is a barcode print-quality grade, checked as part of whatever shipping process applies the label, not through a certification scheme.
Where can I get a copy of AAITP-02?
From the NATO Standardization Document Database, which lists it free of charge. NATO's documents are not sold by ComplyTrain and we do not host copies of them.