Standards

GS1 identification numbers provide the link between an item and the information pertaining to it – allowing you to identify, capture and share value chain information globally. GS1 global standards are the “DNA” of GS1 US – our core competency, differentiator, and the foundation of our expanding portfolio.

GS1 Standards allow you to identify items in the value chain in a standardized way to ensure a common language:

• Identify all product configurations, packaging, transportation, distribution, inventory, display, location and sales touch points along the value chain—from manufacturer to consumer - using Global Trade Item Numbers^® (GTINs^®), Global Location Numbers (GLNs), Serial Shipping Container Codes (SSCCs).
• Identify any fixed asset of an organization, using Global Individual Asset Identifiers (GIAI). The GIAI is used to identify long-lived valuable assets such as office equipment, furniture, computers, and manufacturing equipment. The GIAI can be used to identify all property of a business that will not be consumed though use or sold to a trading partner.
• Identify returnable assets and access returnable asset information stored in a computer file and/or record movements of returnable assets, using Global Returnable Asset Identifiers (GRAI).
• Identify private or official documents, when it is important to maintain a record of the document, using Global Document Type Identifiers (GDTI).
• Identify the recipient of services in the context of a service relationship, using a Global Service Relation Number (GSRN).
• The Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) is an encoding scheme that allows the above GS1 identifiers to be carried on an RFID tag. An EPC-enabled RFID tag allows a specific instance or a type of trade item or asset to be identified.

You can capture standardized data with GS1 System data carriers using barcodes or EPC-enabled RFID tags, such as:

• A specific item in the value chain
• A lot number
• An expiration date

GS1 supports three standardized approaches to share information electronically between trading partners in the value chain:

• Master Data – residing in the Global Data Synchronization Network^® (GDSN^®) that enables:
  • One source of the truth for product attributes
  • Enhanced product information including health and wellness, sustainability attributes, nutrition and allergen information, product images and much more
• Transactional Data – ecommerce data that enables:
  • Enhanced trading partner communications for shipments using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and GS1 Extensible Markup Language (XML)
• Physical Event Data – delivered through Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS) that enables:
  • Product track and trace to reduce counterfeiting and reduce shrinkage
  • An effective product safety strategy