Custom GS1 GTIN integration development
A GTIN, often still called an EAN in the Netherlands, is the GS1 article code that makes a product recognisable anywhere in the world. Codes only become meaningful once you link them to an item and register them, and that happens in MijnGS1 and in the global Verified by GS1 register. Appfront builds the integration between your ERP or PIM and that environment: new variants get a free code from your package, the item data goes into the register and your systems stay in line with what is recorded there.
What is a GS1 GTIN integration?
A GS1 GTIN integration handles the issuing and registration of item codes from your own systems. The GTIN, Global Trade Item Number, is the standard GS1 item code. Most items have a 13-digit GTIN-13, the code that used to be called EAN-13; in 2005 EAN merged into the global GS1. According to GS1 Netherlands, every product variant has its own code: black and white socks in three sizes make six codes, and a promotional pack gets its own codes again. You do not reuse a code for a different item, because product information stays online. Major sales channels such as bol and Amazon only accept codes from GS1.
GS1 Netherlands describes three ways to register codes. For a few codes, you enter the item data manually in MijnGS1. For more codes, you download an Excel file from MijnGS1, fill it in and upload it again. For very large numbers of codes, you register them in the global Verified by GS1 register through an API connection; for that you contact GS1. In every case the data ends up in that register, where anyone can see which item a code belongs to and who owns it. Retailers and marketplaces use it to check that a code and a product belong together. For extensive product information towards customers there is also the GS1 Data Source data pool.
We build this as a custom solution because issuing codes is often still done in a spreadsheet alongside the ERP. Someone keeps track of which codes are free, retypes them into the item file and then fills in MijnGS1. That leads to duplicate codes, variants without a code, or items that are in the ERP but not in the register. The integration takes a free code from your package as soon as a new item or variant is created, checks that the code is not linked to anything else, and prepares the required data for MijnGS1 or the register. Which route suits your number of codes, we agree with you and, where necessary, with GS1.
From your package
Free codes assigned automatically.
In the register
Data in Verified by GS1.
Unambiguous
Prevent duplicate codes.
How we build your GS1 GTIN integration
We start with your item management: which code packages you have, where new items and variants are created, who currently assigns codes and how they end up in MijnGS1. Then we compare your existing codes with what is in MijnGS1 and show where they differ. We first build the assignment of codes for new items, with the check for duplicate use, and have you review that with real items. Registering in the register, via upload or API, follows once that runs well. After that we maintain the integration whenever GS1 changes the required fields or the integration options.
Packages, codes, routes.
ERP alongside MijnGS1.
Free code per variant.
Go-live, monitoring, and maintenance when things change.
What a GS1 GTIN integration actually does
The components below appear in almost every GTIN integration. Which ones you need depends on the number of codes and on the systems in which your items are created.
Code package
Free and used codes.
Allocate
Per item and variant.
Validation
Structure and duplicate use.
Register
Data to Verified by GS1.
Comparing
Suppliers alongside the register.
Log
Every code traceable.
Who we build a GS1 GTIN integration for
The integration is for companies that regularly introduce new items or variants, or that receive many items with codes from suppliers. The larger your range, the more it delivers.
Brand owners
Codes issued per variant.
Wholesalers
Supplier codes checked.
Online shops
Ready for marketplaces.
Medical devices
GTIN as the basis for UDI.
Technology and integrations
This page covers issuing, recording and checking GTINs. If you want to manage and share all your product information in one place, see our page on a PIM portal. For medical devices, where the GTIN is the basis of the UDI, there is the UDI integration, and for product data in the European energy label database, the page on EPREL submission. If you sell through marketplaces, read more about the marketplace integration for stock. You can read about our way of working on building software.
Why Appfront for your GS1 GTIN integration?
A code issued twice, a variant that goes into the web shop without a code, or an item that is in the ERP but not in the register all lead to rejections by marketplaces and confusion for customers. That is what we build around: codes that come from your system, a check before a code is used, and an overview that stays in step with the register.
Unambiguous
One code per variant.
In sync
ERP and register aligned.
Visible
Deviations spotted immediately.
Security and privacy for a GS1 GTIN integration
The integration processes item data and the details of your code packages, and these are commercially sensitive. Data in Verified by GS1 is meant to be public; the integration only sends the fields you choose and keeps internal data, such as purchase prices or items not yet announced, out of the register until you release them. Every assignment and every change is logged with a timestamp and user.
The integration runs in a European data centre, with encrypted connections and storage. Login details and API keys for GS1 are kept secure and are not visible to staff. We agree with you in advance who may assign codes and who may send data to the register, in line with the roles you use in MijnGS1.
Frequently asked questions about a GS1 GTIN integration
Questions that brand owners, wholesalers and product data managers ask before getting started.
The Global Trade Item Number, the standard item code from GS1. The most widely used form is the 13-digit GTIN-13, formerly known as EAN-13. There are also GTIN-8 codes for small items. The code makes a product recognisable worldwide, online and in shops.
There is no difference in the code itself. EAN is the old name, which has stuck around in the Netherlands. In 2005 EAN was absorbed into the global GS1, and in the global standard the item code has been called GTIN ever since.
GS1 Netherlands lists three ways: manually in MijnGS1, via an Excel file that you upload in MijnGS1, or, for very large numbers of codes, via an API connection to the global register Verified by GS1. For that API connection, you need to contact GS1.
The global register of basic information about products, locations and companies identified with a GS1 code. Anyone can see which item a code belongs to and who the owner is. Retailers and marketplaces use it to check that a code and a product match.
According to GS1 Netherlands, no. Product information stays available online even long after an item has stopped being produced. If you gave the code to another item, one code would be attached to two products. The integration therefore keeps track of which codes have ever been used.
Verified by GS1 contains the basic data that belongs to a code. GS1 Data Source is the data pool in which manufacturers and wholesalers share extensive product information with their customers, with agreements per sector. A GTIN integration can connect to either, depending on what your customers ask for.
For companies that regularly introduce new items or variants, manage several code packages or receive many codes from suppliers. If you have a small, fixed range, recording codes manually in MijnGS1 is usually enough.
Issuing GTINs from your own systems?
Tell us how you currently assign codes and where your items are created. We'll show you how an integration makes that unambiguous.