Last edited 24 Mar 2026

Global Standards 1 GS1

Contents

[edit] In brief

GS1 (Global Standards 1) is a neutral, not-for-profit global organisation that develops and maintains industry standards for supply chain communication, most notably, the system behind barcodes. It provides a common language to identify, capture, and share data about products, assets, and locations, facilitating over 300,000 members worldwide.

For further information and detail visit https://www.gs1.org/

[edit] Product identifiers

It issues unique product identification numbers known as a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), which is used for the Universal Product Code (UPC) primarily used in North America and the European Article Number (EAN) / International Article Number (IAN). In turn producing standardised barcodes worldwide for product identification, defining the standards for those barcodes, allowing products to be scanned at points-of-sale, tracked throughout supply chains and thus manage a global inventory of products. The former (UPCs) are 12-digit codes whilst the latter (EANs) are 13-digit codes, GTINs can vary in length of 8, 12, 13, or 14 digits, depending on the type of product and the region, commonly managed within 14-digit data structures and all belong to the GS1 standards system.

[edit] Brief history (see 50 years of transforming tomorrow)

Extracts from https://www.gs1.org/about/50YearsOfGS1

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