Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)
What are GTINs?
A GTIN is a number that can be used by a company to uniquely identify all its trade items. It is the number found in the barcode. GS1 defines trade items as products or services that are priced, ordered or invoiced at any point in the supply chain.
The GTIN can be used to identify types of products at any packaging level (e.g., consumer unit, inner pack, case, pallet). Groups of trade items with similar production and usage characteristics such as production batches can be further identified with the help of the batch / lot number, expiry date, and similar data elements. Individual trade items can be uniquely identified using a GTIN plus serial number.
Allocation of a GTIN to a trade item is the responsibility of the party that warrants the trade item declarations, known as the GTIN allocator. On joining GS1 Australia, the GTIN allocator licences a GS1 Company Prefix or individual GTINs, which is for the sole use of the company to which it is allocated.
The GTIN allocator is the organisation that warrants the trade item declarations and may be:
The manufacturer or supplier: The company that manufactures the trade item or has it manufactured, in any country, and sells it under its own brand name.
The importer or wholesaler: The importer or wholesaler that has the trade item manufactured, in any country and sells it under its own name or the importer or wholesaler that changes the trade item (for example by modifying the packaging of the trade item).
The retailer: The retailer that has the trade item manufactured, in any country, and sells it under its own private label.
Any party that chooses to take responsibility for the trade item declarations that has not yet been assigned a GTIN and, in doing so, sells it under their own brand name.
In all cases, the party who warrants the trade item declarations is the party who SHALL assign the GTIN to a trade item. With that action, the party becomes the GTIN allocator.
Prior to January 2023, the party responsible for assigning a GTIN to a trade item was called the “brand owner”. In industries where the term “brand owner” is relevant and familiar, this term SHALL be considered as equivalent to the term GTIN allocator.
Once a company has assigned a GTIN to a trade item, it provides a common language for all its entities and trading partners worldwide to uniquely identify the item and easily communicate information about the item.
The GTIN can be encoded in a GS1 barcode or an EPC/RFID tag. By scanning the barcode or reading the tag, companies can efficiently and accurately process products and related information; for example, at check out in a store, when receiving goods in a warehouse and when administering medication in a hospital.
GTINs can be used to unambiguously identify trade items online, for example in catalogues, in electronic messages such as purchase orders and invoices, and embedded in web pages to optimise use by search engines and other information consumers.
Whilst GTINs are global and can be used across multiple industry sectors, there are some specific guidelines around the use of GTINs for certain industries including:
Healthcare AIDC Implementation guideline (applies for GTIN, SSCC, GIAI, GRAI)
GTIN Non-reuse came into effect from January 1, 2019. That means an assigned GTIN SHALL NOT be reassigned to another trade item.
As a global industry-driven, neutral not-for-profit organisation, GS1 was directed by industry to make an update to the global GTIN Management Standard to ensure traceability across the value chain through unique product identification and introduce rules concerning GTIN non-reuse. This update aligns with global best practices.
Reason for the update
Trade items (and their associated data attributes) remain in digital/online paths to purchase far longer than they remain in physical-store supply chains. For example, in consumer-to-consumer marketplaces it can be decades. Because of this, stopping GTIN reuse is critical in an omni-channel world.
GTIN reuse creates confusion online where products live forever.
In listing processes, GTIN reuse can result in out-of-date, inaccurate catalogue data.
When GTINs are reused, GTIN management becomes unclear for brands with products in multiple sectors.
Consequences of not adhering to the GTIN non-reuse standards, include but are not limited to
Rejection of your product into the market
Confusion between products
Loss of data integrity
Need to reprint product packaging or withdraw products from shelves
Potential reputational damage between trading partners
FAQ’s
Yes, effective January 1, 2019, GTINs WERE ALLOWED NOT be reassigned regardless of where they are assigned in the packaging hierarchy.
No, the update to the global standard applied to all trade items, regardless of sector.
In some sectors, such as Healthcare, GTIN non-reuse has been in effect since 2011.
This will not affect you because you are already complying with the update. All you need to do is continue not reusing GTINs on your products and renew your annual GS1 subscription in order to keep your GTINs valid and, if applicable, in the national registry.
The new global standard of GTIN non-reuse rule is a result of industry feedback to GS1 on a global level. This rule was created to help support your peers with long-term product traceability in both supply chain distribution and after its purchase. GS1 prides itself on being neutral and industry-driven and regularly updates the global standard which may only affect a portion of subscribers. It is still critical to comply with these updates to ensure everyone is using best practices.
All organisations needed to have implemented this new global standard by January 1, 2019.
Maintaining records of GTINs that have been used continues to be the user’s responsibility. If you accidentally reuse a GTIN, you face many of the consequences GTIN non-reuse is designed to eliminate;
confusion between products
loss of data integrity
discrepancies around GTIN ownership
the need to reprint product packaging or withdraw products from shelves
potential reputational damage between trading partners
To prevent GTIN duplication issues, GS1 recommends keeping a thorough and centralised database cataloguing the GTIN, which product it is assigned to, and any key defining attributes to avoid confusion down the line.
Review your GTIN assignment systems.
Are the current rules for reuse coded into your system?
Do updates need to be made to comply with the updated standard?
If you use 3rd party software solutions, are your solution providers prepared to support the change?
Yes, the only exceptions are:
The GTIN may be deleted from all catalogues without first being marked as withdrawn or discontinued and may be reused 12 months after it is deleted or after it is last shared with a trading partner (whichever is later) if both:
The GTIN is published in an externally accessible manner (e.g., to a catalogue or directly to a trading partner) with a status that indicates that it is draft, preliminary, investigational, or some equivalent status other than final, withdrawn, discontinued or deleted; and
The trading partners with whom the GTIN is shared agree that it may be reused, either as a condition of receiving the data (eg., the GTIN is sent to the trading partners as part of an investigational product development phase) or after deletion (eg., all trading partners confirm that the draft, preliminary, or investigational GTIN has not been propagated to a system that would be adversely affected non reuse of the GOM)
If the GTIN is never published in an externally accessible manner (eg., to a catalogue or directly to a trading partner), it may be reused immediately.
Trade items that have been withdrawn from the market and are reintroduced may use the original GTIN if they are reintroduced without any modifications or changes that require a new GTIN as specified by the GTIN Management Standard.
You need to communicate the details about each GTIN to your trading partners before they can be used. This information might include descriptions, packaging configurations, logistical data or even pricing. These details will be stored in their product master data files and retrieved each time the GTIN is scanned or looked up for ordering etc.
There are four formats for GTINs, each with specific purposes. The type of GTIN you use can depend upon on several things, including the size of the item, whether it is retail or non-retail, and where it is being sold.
GS1 Company Prefix: This will be allocated to you by GS1 Australia, and will vary in length from six to nine digits
The item reference: This is assigned by you, and we recommend that you begin with zeroes and increase the count sequentially. The numbers have no meaning
Check digit: This is calculated using the first twelve digits of the number. Use this Check Digit Calculator.
GTIN-13:
The GTIN-13 is the most commonly used GTIN for retail trade items. It can also be used for non-retail items like outer cartons, display cartons and more, particularly if these levels of packaging could also be sold to a consumer at point-of-sale.
Non-retail trade items how to guide
Get a GTIN-13 (new member)
Get a GTIN-13 (current member)
GTIN-8:
GTIN-8 allows a smaller barcode to be used on smaller retail trade items. If you believe your product is too small to allow a regular sized barcode, you can apply directly to GS1 Australia for a GTIN-8. Your application will be assessed based on product and packaging size.
Get a GTIN-8 (new member)
Get a GTIN-8 (current member)
GTIN-12:
Over the past 15 years, United States and Canada have steadily been updating retail Point-of-Sale systems to be able to accept GTIN-13 and GTIN-8. If you are exporting trade items to these countries, you should confirm with your trading partners if they can scan these numbers. If they cannot, you will need to use a GTIN-12. You can apply for this through GS1 Australia.
Retail trade item how to guide
Non-retail trade item how to guide
GTIN-14:
The GTIN-14 is used on general distribution trade items – that is, items that are not intended for sale to the consumer at Point-of-Sale.
The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) Management Standard is designed to help industry make consistent decisions about the unique identification of trade items in open supply chains.
Use this tool/standard when making decisions about when you should allocate a new GTIN to products or when you need to consider changing the GTIN because you are making a change to the existing product.
GS1 standards work closely with other standards bodies such as ISO. The GS1 system is recognised within relevant standards. In the case of GTIN, it is fully compatible with ISO/IEC 15459 - Part 4: Individual Products and Product Packages
More information to come