GS1
Encyclopedia
International standard
International standards are standards developed by international standards organizations. International standards are available for consideration and use, worldwide...
s and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains
Supply chain
A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to...
globally and across multiple sectors. The GS1 System of standards is the most widely-used supply-chain standards system in the world.
GS1's main activity is the development of the GS1 System, a series of standards designed to improve supply-chain management. The GS1 System is composed of four key standards: Barcode
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
s (used to automatically identify things), eCom (electronic business messaging standards allowing automatic electronic transmission of data), GDSN (Global Data Synchronisation standards which allow business partners to have consistent item data in their systems at the same time) and EPCglobal
EPCglobal
EPCglobal is a joint venture between GS1 and GS1 US .It is an organization set up to achieve worldwide adoption and standardization of Electronic Product Code technology....
(which uses RFID technology to immediately track an item).
GS1, formerly called 'EAN International', adopted the name 'GS1' in 2005. GS1 has its head office in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. There are GS1 member organizations in 108 countries.
GS1 maintains a list of data identifiers (code prefixes) used by GS1 member organizations to assign company identifiers to their member companies enabling them to create GS1 compliant identification keys. Globally, GS1-standards are dependent of international standardisation bodies as with joint standards of ISO and IEC
IEC
-Organisations:* Independent Electoral Commission * Independent Electrical Contractors, a U.S. national trade association.* Institut d'Estudis Catalans , a Catalan academic institution....
, as e.g. with ISO/IEC 11179 (metadata registries), ISO/IEC 15418 (data identifiers) and ISO/IEC 18000-6C (RFID air interfaces).
GS1 codes do not provide identification of country of origin for a given product. Member companies may manufacture products anywhere in the world.
See also
- List of GS1 member organizations
- List of GS1 country codes
- Global Trade Item NumberGlobal Trade Item NumberGlobal Trade Item Number is an identifier for trade items developed by GS1...
- Global Document Type IdentifierGlobal Document Type IdentifierThe Global Document Type Identifier is part of the GS1 system of standards. It is a simple tool to identify a document by type and can identify documents uniquely where required....
- Global Location NumberGlobal Location NumberThe Global Location Number is part of the GS1 systems of standards. It is a simple tool used to identify a location and can identify locations uniquely where required.The GS1 Identification Key used to identify physical locations or legal entities...
- Global Data Synchronization NetworkGlobal Data Synchronization NetworkThe Global Data Synchronisation Network is an internet-based, interconnected network of interoperable data pools and a global registry known as the GS1 Global Registry, that enables companies around the globe to exchange standardised and synchronised supply chain data with their trading partners...
(GDSN) - Global Electronic Party Information RegisterGlobal Electronic Party Information RegisterThe Global Electronic Party Information Register is a distributed database that contains basic information on over 1,000,000 companies in over 100 countries....
(GEPIR) - Serial Shipping Container CodeSerial Shipping Container CodeThe serial shipping container code is an 18-digit number used to identify logistics units. The SSCC is encoded in a barcode, generally GS1-128, and used in electronic commerce transactions....
- EPCglobalEPCglobalEPCglobal is a joint venture between GS1 and GS1 US .It is an organization set up to achieve worldwide adoption and standardization of Electronic Product Code technology....
: global standards for RFID object tags - Global Product ClassificationGlobal Product ClassificationThe Global Product Classification is part of the GS1 System and a key enabler for the Global Data Synchronization Network and category management. All current published GPC content is available free of charge, without any usage restrictions....
GPC - GS1 USGS1 USGS1 US is the GS1 Member Organization in the United States of America. It was formerly the Uniform Code Council, Inc.GS1 US is responsible for managing the GS1 System in the USA. GS1 US assigns GS1 Company Prefixes to companies/organizations in the USA...
maintainer of Universal Product CodeUniversal Product CodeThe Universal Product Code is a barcode symbology , that is widely used in North America, and in countries including the UK, Australia, and New Zealand for tracking trade items in stores. Its most common form, the UPC-A, consists of 12 numerical digits, which are uniquely assigned to each trade item...
(UPC numbers)