What is a GTIN?
Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)
The GTIN is an umbrella term to describe varying types of numeric GS1 data strings for item and carton identification. It is a number that uniquely identifies your individual good or service in the global market. In the United States, the term UPC is a form of a product GTIN.
GTIN vs. UPC vs. Barcode
UPC stands for Universal Product Code and is frequently used interchangeably with GTIN or barcode. Let us define the key difference between them. There are data carriers and data itself in the GS1 System. In this case, the data carrier is the actual barcode that holds critical data for scanners to read, such as the GTIN.
The GS1 barcode type known as a UPC-A barcode is displayed here. This barcode is commonly used at retail point-of-sale or checkout in US and Canada. The GTIN-12 is the data that the UPC-A barcode uses. GTIN-12 is so named because it is always made up of 12 digits that are unique for each specific item. Since the GTIN-12 is frequently encoded in a UPC-A barcode, the term UPC is commonly used instead of GTIN-12.
The Significance of Brand Licensed GTINs
GTINs provide the unique identification of products for companies and serve as the building blocks for barcodes. Correctly licensed GTINs provide an authentic way to represent your products & services in stores and through major online marketplaces.
How GTINs are used?
GTIN can be used in many ways and has two primary roles.
1. When a GTIN is displayed in a barcode, such as a UPC-A, it can identify physical products for scanning in retail POS (point-of-sale) and distribution environments.
2. Its second function is in eCommerce. Since online shoppers cannot see, touch, or feel the products they purchase, the GTIN plays an important function in verifying that the item listed is the one that is picked, packed, and shipped so that the customer is not dissatisfied. The GTIN can also be used as a key to retrieve predetermined data. For example: prices, product attributes, and other information communicated with trading partners via the GDSN or utilized in EDI and GS1 XML transactions between trading partners (e.g., purchase orders, invoices, advanced ship notices, and so on).
A GTIN can retrieve point-of-sale (price and retail category) data in a retail setting. Take a box of Sun's Cereal as an illustration. The cereal is given a GTIN by the brand owner, who also includes the GTIN barcode in the product packaging design. The brand owner then provides the trading partner the cereal's GTIN and other necessary characteristics and information. The trading partner then updates their point-of-sale database with pricing data. When you choose the cereal box off the shelf and hand it to the cashier, it is scanned so that the system may access the retailer's database and retrieve details such as pricing. After the cereal is removed from inventory, the number of units that are still available would reflect the change.
GTIN Structures
GTINs have 4 different structures. They can be 8, 12, 13, or 14 digits long. All GTIN types are intended for global use.
GTIN-12
GTIN-12 is 12 digits in length. It is predominately used in North America and is intended to be scanned at point-of-sale. It is synonymous with UPC and is the only GTIN type that can be encoded in the UPC-A barcode.
GTIN-14
GTIN-14 is 14 digits in length. GTIN-14 is used to identify trade item groupings (e.g., case of a product or inner pack) and is NOT intended for point-of-sale use.
GTIN-8
GTIN-8 is 8 digits in length. This is used predominately outside of North America and intended to be scanned at point-of-sale only for very small items.
GTIN-13
GTIN-13 is 13 digits in length. It is predominately used outside of North America and is intended to be scanned at point-of-sale. It is synonymous with EAN and is the only GTIN type that can be encoded in the EAN-13 barcode.
Why Get GTINs & Barcodes From GS1 Barcode Service
GTINs provide the unique identification of products for companies and serve as the building blocks for barcodes. Correctly licensed GTINs provide an authentic way to represent your products & services in stores and through major online marketplaces.