GS1
GS1 is the global organisation that sets the standards for barcodes and issues the company prefixes from which GTINs are built.
What it means
GS1 writes the standards behind product barcodes. In its own words, “We create the standards that help businesses accurately identify and share details about their products.”1 It calls itself “the only official provider of GS1 GTINs and EAN/UPC barcodes globally”.2
It works through local organisations in over 120 countries.2 In the UK that is GS1 UK.3 A business registers with its local office, which assigns it a GS1 company prefix. The business then creates a GTIN for each of its products from that prefix.2
GS1 also sets the rules on when a changed product needs a new GTIN. A change to the brand on the pack, for one, “requires assignment of a new GTIN”.4
Think of it like this
GS1 is a little like Royal Mail with postcodes. One body hands out the codes, so no two are the same, and every courier in the country can rely on them.
For example
Hollinsby, a small kitchenware brand, registers with GS1 UK and is assigned a company prefix. Its first kettle’s GTIN is that prefix, then a product number Hollinsby chooses, then a check digit.5 The same 13 digits go on the box, in Hollinsby’s spreadsheet and on every shop’s listing.
Why it matters
Not to be confused with
GS1 is not the barcode or the number. GS1 is the organisation, the GTIN is the number it standardises, and the barcode is how that number is printed.
Sources
- GS1. About GS1: Powering trust in data.
- GS1. Ready to sell? Start with a GS1 barcode/GTIN.
- GS1. GS1 Company Prefix.
- GS1. GTIN Management Standard: 6. Primary brand.
- GS1 US. EAN Numbers and UPCs: What is the Difference?.
- Sell on Amazon. What are product IDs or GTINs?.
- Google Merchant Center Help. GTIN [gtin].