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The GS1 provides standards for barcodes in addition to general business standards such as electronic messaging and data synchronization. The GS1 also provides training and support for the implementation of international standards.
The GS1 also works collaboratively with the ISO, or the International Organization for Standardization, which is the world’s largest developer of standards. The GS1 and ISO both share the same passion for the importance of global standardization. For this reason, many of the GS1’s standards are ISO-compliant and the GS1 has adopted many ISO standards such as identification, GS1 barcodes, electronic data interchange and RFID.
For more information about the relationship between GS1 and ISO, download the brochure here.
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With ever-changing business standards and the constant need to invent new ones, there becomes a need to keep track of all the terminology associated with such standards. The storage for these terms is the GS1 Global Data Dictionary, or GDD, which allows users to search for the information they need in a variety of different ways.
GDD Search
Look up business terms and display associated documents, definitions and data types.
GDD Reports
View all of the information related to a business message in a technical document.
GDD Code Lists
View code list values and value definitions of GS1 code lists.
Extended Attributes
The GS1 realizes that there are local data needs and specific trading partner needs that are not supported in the global standard today, thus the need for extended attributes.
GS1 Standards Knowledge Center
Access published GSMP standards documents and implementation guides.
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When you stroll through the aisles of the grocery store, countless thoughts run through your head. Is this food safe? Has it expired? Does it have what the package says it has? Was it produced in a facility that may contain peanuts? In order to provide these questions, and many others, with answers, traceability is key.
While some form of traceability is already required in certain areas of the US, Canada, the European Union and select countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa, more and more industries are actually implementing their own traceability programs to ensure the safety of their products, making traceability a crucial aspect in the supply chain.
However, in order to successfully implement traceability standards, it is important that they are built upon global standards. This is achieved through the GS1 Global Traceability Standard, which makes such traceability systems possible on a global scale.
The ability to answer questions at the grocery store lies within the traceability applications and systems of each organization. Food traceability systems need to be aware of everything that happens from the farm to the table. Aside from the obvious questions, food traceability systems make it possible to perform product recalls. However, the system also promotes quality assurance and accurate inventory control, minimizing such recalls from ever occurring.
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Recently, we discussed ANSI grades for barcodes. In order to determine how well a barcode will perform, a number of measurements are executed by a verifier to determine the final grade of the symbol. While a grade of C or better is passing, it is possible that there may still be issues with a barcode that makes the grade.
Sometimes a passing ANSI grade barcode could fail an industry standard, such as the GS1 applications standard. While the barcode itself may be a valid symbol, sometimes the Application Identifiers (AIs), which define the purpose of the data and how it should be used, are in the wrong location or missing altogether. In addition, there are often problems with the Family Code being invalid.
Errors such as these are not usually included in the ANSI verification process, but sometimes they are, which leads to non-uniformity within the industry. Such variants almost defeat the purpose of standards, allowing for guessing and inconsistency.
Often times, these variants are symbology specific. For example the frequently used UPC symbology has different variants for different industries such as books, coupons and music, just to name a few. While the generic UPC may meet all of the ANSI guidelines, that same barcode could fail an industry specific parameter if the verifier used does not check for industry specific applications.
In order to prevent such problems, it’s important to invest in a good verifier that will check for industry specific problems.
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What is a Global Location Number?
Global Location Numbers, or GLN’s were designed to improve the efficiency of communication with trading partners, adding detailed information such as the physical location and legal entity of an item. Basically, a GLN is a 13 digit number composed of a GS1 company prefix that identifies the organization, a location reference that is allocated by the company, and a check digit calculated with an algorithm based on the previous numbers. Rather than relying on internal numbers, GLN’s offer a method of identifying locations within and outside their company that are unique, multi-sectoral, and international.
What is a Global Trade Item Number?
A Global Trade Item Number, or GTIN is a unique GS1 System Identification Number used for products and services and can be 8, 12, 13, or 14 digits in length. Their key benefit is that information about the item with a GTIN can be retrieved when it is read in a GS1 Barcode symbol. In addition, the GTIN:
- Faciliates the flow of products and services and the information associated with them in electronic commerce.
- Uniquely identifies items at every level of packaging
- Allows accurate macine reading of items when placed in barcodes
- Delivers product information in a consistent format
- Aids and simplifies supply chain management
