A Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is used by a company to identify all of its trade items uniquely. The global standards organization (GS1) defines trade items as products or services that are priced, ordered or invoiced at any point in the supply chain. A GTIN identifies different types of products at any packaging level (i.e. consumer unit, inner pack, case, pallet). The global GS1 standards are robust and enable additional characteristics, such as production batches, to be added to GTINs for traceability initiatives.
In the US, a GTIN is normally synonymous with a UPC. The 12-digits encoded within the UPC barcode are referred to the as Global Trade Item Number (GTIN).
The GTIN-12 is commonly on an individual product that will be scanned at retail.
The Importance of Authentic GTINs
The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is an essential identification key corresponding to rich detailed product information for a product or package level. For example, when scanned at a point-of-sale checkout, the 12-dgiit UPC GTIN corresponds to a product residing on a retailer’s database. The product information is not stored within the barcode symbol; rather, the 12-digit “identification key” points to the product data.
GTIN VALIDATION TOOLS
Retailers and marketplaces, such as Amazon, rely on GTIN validation tools to authenticate a GTIN and the associated brand ownership. The GTIN.cloud tool not only conveys brand-controlled product data, but also includes a company’s current GS1 Certificate enabling transparency to UPC/GTIN ownership. The Verified by GS1 tool also provides a simple brand association against the global standards databases.
How To Get Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs)
Trading partners require suppliers to provide UPC barcodes uniquely licensed to their brand. As the authority on UPC implementation and the global barcode provider, Barcode US the ONLY source to obtain UPC barcodes (.eps) with personal support. Whereas GS1 is the global standards organization that administers guidelines and Company Prefix assignments, Barcode US provides the actual barcode images and GTIN assignment support necessary to correctly implement UPC barcodes.
Resources
- Get GTINs and Barcodes
- GS1 General Specifications
- GTIN Management Standard
- Check Digit Calculator
- GTIN.cloud Repository
- Fresh Food and Upstream GTIN Allocation Rules
- GS1 AIDC Fresh Foods Sold at Point-of-Sale Implementation Guideline
- GS1 AIDC Healthcare Guideline
- GTIN Management Guideline for Construction Products
