• The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)
• The Global Location Number (GLN)
• The Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC)

In addition to the above, the GS1 identifiers below may be used by any company that adopts the GS1 System for more advanced applications.

• The Global Services Relationship Number (GSRN)
• The Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI)
• The Individual Asset Identifier (GIAI)
• The Global Document Type Identifier (GDTI)
• The Electronic Product Code (EPC)

For more information on the use of these applications please contact our Technical Services Dept on +353 1 208 0673.

The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)

The GTIN is a number used to uniquely identify trade items worldwide.  The GTIN is most commonly used to identify consumer products/traded items  and outer cases.  The GTIN is an identification number but does not include information about the item it identifies. That information is held in databases and can be accessed using the GTIN as the key.The use of the GTIN enables the following

• retail point-of-sale scanning
• electronic ordering
• goods inwards
• inventory management
• sales analysis
• data alignment and a wide range of other business applications.

For more information on GTIN types and GTIN allocation please click here.

The Global Location Number (GLN)

The Global Location Number (GLN) is a number used to identify an organisation as a legal entity.  GLNs are often used in communications, especially electronic communications, for example Invoices, purchase orders or despatch advices (often known as Advanced Shipping Notices or ASNs). They identify relevant locations such as where goods should be delivered and where the invoice should be sent.

GLN's are used as unique reference numbers for

• eCommerce for identifying the different parties involved in the transaction
• Data Alignment for identifying data suppliers and recievers
• Logistics for shipping, delivery and warehouse management.

In EDI, Global Location Numbers are used to identify the sender and receiver of the EDI Messages in the envelope of the EDI message. This is, in effect, the electronic mailbox number. 

GS1 Ireland allocates directly to a company engaged in EDI, a GLN for mailbox identification. The company may use this number as the primary company identification within the message itself.

The Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC)

The SSCC is a number used for the unique identification of logistic units such as cases, pallets and containers.  The SSCC is typically used

• to facilitate track and trace applications
• in warehouse management systems.

For more information on SSCC and its uses please click here.

By following the principles of GS1 identifiers, users can design applications to process data automatically with the guarantee that the identifiers used are globally unique and will not conflict.  The most obvious example of this scanning at the point-of-sale where a single GS1 identifier in a bar code can be scanned in any country worldwide and will not conflict with any other item.