GS1GTIN

GS1 GTIN stands for Global Trade Item Number and is the globally unique identifier for trade items within the GS1 system. It is used to identify products in the supply chain across manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and logistics partners, and it can be encoded into barcodes, RFID, and other data capture methods. GTINs enable standardized data sharing and interoperability among trading partners and business systems.

GTIN formats include GTIN-12 (UPC-A, mainly in North America), GTIN-13 (EAN-13, used worldwide), GTIN-14 (for packaging levels and logistics units), and GTIN-8 for small items. The digits are composed of a GS1 prefix (which encodes the company and country, via the GS1 Company Prefix), an item reference, and a check digit calculated by the modulo-10 algorithm. The length of the number depends on the length of the company prefix.

GTINs are typically encoded in barcode symbologies such as UPC-A, EAN-13, ITF-14, and GS1-128, and are widely used at point of sale, in e-commerce catalogs, and in inventory and logistics systems. GTIN identifies a product item, not its batch or serial number, meaning the same GTIN can represent a specific product variant but does not replace serial numbers or batch codes where traceability is required.

Acquisition and governance: To obtain GTINs, a company joins its local GS1 member organization and receives a GS1 Company Prefix. The prefix is used to allocate GTINs to products and must adhere to GS1 allocation guidelines; changes in packaging levels may require new GTINs.