Identifier and barcode instructions
How to label your products and shipments
The production and retail trade sectors have agreed on standards that serve as common guidelines for the seamless identification of products and shipments and the flow of information within supply chains. The following guidelines will help you implement GS1-compliant labeling that meets supply chain requirements.
How to get a barcode for your product
Barcodes encode numbers and letters in a machine-readable format, allowing data to be read, stored and processed by scanners and information systems. The following guidance will help you implement GS1 barcodes and ensure they can be scanned throughout the value chain.
How to implement GLNs
With GLNs, you can uniquely identify your company’s parties and locations consistently throughout the entire supply chain. With a GS1 Company Prefix, you can create GLNs for your company in GS1 Rekisteri.
Please note: Product changes require a new GTIN
A GTIN uniquely identifies a product as it appears on the market. If a product’s size, contents, intended use, packaging, or any other essential characteristic changes, it must be assigned a new GTIN.
The International GTIN Management Standard defines uniform rules for managing GTINs created for products. For example, it specifies when a product, assortment package, or shipping package must be assigned a new GTIN.
If you are unsure whether a change to your product requires a new GTIN, you can use the "Do I need a new GTIN?" tool to help you decide.
How is a GS1 identification key created?
You can find information about GS1 identification keys, such as GTIN, GLN and SSCC, in the Standards section of our website. The page for each identification standard explains how to create the key using a GS1 Company Prefix.
What are the different types of barcodes?
You can find information about GS1 barcodes, such as EAN, GS1 DataBar and GS1-128, in the Standards section of our website. The page includes a link to more detailed information and guidance on the GS1 Global website.
If you did not find the answer to your questions, please contact us.
