An efficient value chain starts with the barcode that enables you to identify your products. It’s the foundation of a more visible value chain and it all begins with the GS1 System of global standards.
Where do the numbers in your barcodes come from? They are built with a GS1 Company Prefix, a unique number that is reserved for your company alone and allows you to accurately identify products, assets, services and locations, and share information about them with your trading partners. GS1 Company Prefixes are part of the GS1 System, which is the most implemented value chain standards system in the world.
GS1 US™ helps trading partners understand the capabilities of the GS1 System and how it is used it to add efficiency, reduce costs, simplify business processes, and speed products to market.
In the United States, GS1 US is the only authorized source of globally unique GS1 Company Prefixes, the foundation of U.P.C. barcodes accepted by retailers worldwide. The GS1 Company Prefix is not simply a number; it’s the key to improvement in your value chain. Your company’s unique GS1 identification numbers for U.P.C.s and other barcodes are built with your GS1 Company Prefix.
Partner Connections Program
Any individual or company can obtain a GS1 Company Prefix through our Partner Connections Program , which also provides free access to tools, information, education, and support. Data Driver®, one of these tools, is an easy-to-use, online barcode management program that can be used to create, manage, and print your barcodes.
Partner Connections members are licensed a GS1 Company Prefix as a benefit of membership. Partner Connections makes it easy for a supplier to meet the barcoding requirements of trading partners and helps members prepare for ecommerce (using EDI or XML), global data synchronization, and Electronic Product Code™-based Radio Frequency Identification.
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