GS1 Identification Keys
GS1 Identification Keys are unique, universal and non significant numbers that provide access to information about physical entities in the Supply Chain. Depending on the type of key used, it identifies products, assets, services, locations, and entities uniquely and universally by retrieving relevant information from a centralized database.
GS1 Identification Keys are used in diverse ways depending upon the need of the user. For example, GS1 keys are often used with data carriers like barcodes or RFID tags or with EDI messages or even with GDSN. The keys can also be used on their own without being encoded in any data carrier, especially for identification of online transactions.
Composition of GS1 Identification Keys:
- GS1 Prefix which is a unique number assigned by the GS1 Global Office to each GS1 organization, e.g. in the case of India, GS1 India has been assigned the prefix number '890' by GS1 Global Office.
- GS1 Company Prefix which is a unique number assigned by the local GS1 organization to each subscriber company.
- GS1 Reference Item, which is a unique number assigned by the subscriber company to each individual entity like its products, locations, shipments etc.
- GS1 check digit which is a number calculated by the module-10 formula (available under check digit calculator) to ensure GS1 reference item integrity.
Types of GS1 Identification Keys
