GS1 identifiers

To facilitate data integration between Transparent Supply and the local systems of member organizations, compliant data is based on GS1 standards. Global Standards One (GS1) is a not-for-profit global business organization that develops and maintains standards and services for supply chain participants. GS1 standards enable businesses that use divergent processes and procedures to interact and transact with clarity and efficiency.

GS1 standards

GS1 provides a method for registering identifiers (IDs) for organization (company) prefixes, locations, and products. Each registered ID is a unique identifier that can be used on any supply chain, worldwide. The following GS1 identifiers are commonly used in Transparent Supply. A complete list of GS1 ID types is available on the GS1 site. Reviewing Understanding the GS1 Business Data Model can also facilitate the data upload process.

GS1 Identifier Description Examples
GTIN Global Trade Item Number (products and services) milk, mangoes, tomatoes
GLN Global Location Number (parties and locations) businesses, warehouses, retail stores
SSCC Serial Shipping Container Code or Logistic units pallets, containers

See the Table 1 for the complete list of GS1 identifiers and formats.

GS1 identifiers

Transparent Supply uses GS1 URNs, which follow the GS1 Tag Data Standard.

For more information about encoding GS1 IDs to their corresponding EPC-URI format, see section 7 of the EPC Tag Data Standard. The GS1 EPC Encoder/Decoder can also be used to encode GS IDs into the proper EPC-URI format.

Table 1. GS1 elements and syntax.
Element Example and syntax
EAN-13 / GTIN-13 formats Transparent Supply does not support EAN-13 / GTIN-13 formats; add a leading zero to construct a GTIN-14 URN.
EPC-SSCC urn:epc:id:sscc:5012345.0678901234 urn:epc:id:sscc:<CompanyPrefix>.<SerialRefAndExtension>(17 Digits)
EPC-SGTIN urn:epc:id:sgtin:0614141.107346.2017 urn:epc:id:sgtin:<CompanyPrefix>.<IndicatorDigit><ItemRef>.<SerialNumber>(13 Digits + Serial Number)
EPC-SGLN urn:epc:id:sgln:0614141.00777.0 urn:epc:id:sgln:<CompanyPrefix>.<LocationReference>.<Extension>(12 Digits + Extension)
EPC-LGTIN urn:epc:class:lgtin:0614141.107346.101 urn:epc:class:lgtin:<CompanyPrefix>.<IndicatorDigit><ItemRef>.<Lot>(13 digits + Lot)
GS1-GTIN 40987650000223 <Indicator><CompanyPrefix><ItemRef><CheckDigit>(14 Digits)
GS1-SSCC 409876506700001010 <Extension><CompanyPrefix><SerialReference><CheckDigit>(18 Digits)
GS1-GLN 4098765000010 <CompanyPrefix><LocationReference><CheckDigit>(13 Digits)
GS1_ENTITY urn:epcglobal:cbv:bt:1234567890123:T1234 urn:epcglobal:cbv:bt:<GS1-GLN>:<Transaction ID>
GS1_ENTITY_TYPE urn:epcglobal:cbv:btt:po urn:epcglobal:cbv:btt:<Business Transaction Type> Valid Business Transaction Types = bol, desadv, inv, pedigree, po, poc, prodorder, recadv, rma
GS1_BIZSTEP urn:epcglobal:cbv:bizstep:receiving urn:epcglobal:cbv:bizstep:<bizStep> Valid bizSteps = accepting, arriving, assembling, collecting, commissioning, consigning, creating_class_instance, cycle_counting, decommissioning, departing, destroying, disassembling, dispensing, encoding, entering_exiting, holding, inspecting, installing, killing, loading, other, packing, picking, receiving, removing, repackaging, repairing, replacing, reserving, retail_selling, shipping, staging_outbound, stock_taking, stocking, storing, transforming, transporting, unloading, unpacking, void_shipping
Note: Custom bizSteps are supported, in the format of a valid HTTP URL starting with either http:// or https://. The recommended format is http://<client-controlled-domain-name>/<path>/<biz_step_name>
GS1_DISPOSITION urn:epcglobal:cbv:disp:destroyed urn:epcglobal:cbv:disp:<Disposition> Valid Dispositions = active, container_closed, damaged, destroyed, dispensed, disposed, encoded, expired, in_progress, in_transit, inactive, no_pedigree_match, non_sellable_other, partially_dispensed, recalled, reserved, retail_sold, returned, sellable_accessible, sellable_not_accessible, stolen, unknown
GS1_SOURCE_DEST_TYPE urn:epcglobal:cbv:sdt:possessing_party urn:epcglobal:cbv:sdt:<Source Destination Type> Valid Source Destination Types = owning_party, possessing_party, location

Read points

For EPCIS Events on a vehicle or ship in transit, GS1 read point geo-coordinates are supported by using RFC5870 compliant URNs. Valid geographic coordinates for <readPoint><geo> XML are comma-separated latitude,longitude coordinates or comma-separated latitude,longitude,altitude coordinates, as shown in the following examples:

<readPoint><geo>geo:13.4125,-103.8667</geo></readPoint> <readPoint><geo>geo:13.4125,103.8667,9.098</geo></readPoint>

Transparent Supply surfaces read point data through the Trace API only, it is not available through the UI. For an example of Transparent Supply read point upload syntax, see the annotated Commission Event XML. For GS1 read point details, refer to section 7.3.4 of the GS1 EPCIS Standard.