GS1 Standards Guide

Why GS1 matters

GS1 is the global non-profit that maintains the standards behind barcodes, GTINs and the GS1 Digital Link. The European Commission has aligned the Digital Product Passport framework with GS1 standards, making them effectively the lingua franca of connected products.

The core identifiers

• GTIN — Global Trade Item Number. Identifies a product type. This is the number behind every EAN-13 or UPC barcode.
• SGTIN — Serialized GTIN. Adds a serial number so every individual unit is unique. Required for unit-level DPPs.
• GLN — Global Location Number. Identifies a physical or legal location.
• SSCC — Serial Shipping Container Code. Identifies a logistics unit.

GS1 Digital Link

GS1 Digital Link is the web-friendly way to express GS1 identifiers as URLs. A QR code containing a Digital Link URI resolves to web content like a product page, a DPP, or a compliance document — while still carrying machine-readable GTIN and serial information that point-of-sale and supply-chain systems can read.

Example: https://id.gs1.org/01/09506000134352/21/12345 — encodes GTIN 09506000134352 and serial 12345, and is resolvable to any web destination the brand owner configures.

Picking the right identifier

• Static product information only? GTIN is enough.
• Need to track an individual unit (warranty, authentication, DPP)? Use SGTIN.
• Need to support both POS scanning and web resolution from a single carrier? Use GS1 Digital Link with QR.