The GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is a standard developed by the GS1 that standardizes the length of several identifiers used to identify commercial products.

The GTIN provides information about a product, such as the name of its manufacturer or the country of origin. This information can be extremely helpful to ensure product traceability or in the case of a product recall. The retrieval of the information stored in a GTIN can be easily done with the help of an appropriate device (e.g. a barcode scanner).

The GTIN provides clarity in product identification, efficiency in item management and transparency of the supply chains. As a result, it has become a global standard in commerce.

A GTIN consists of a number. This number may have four different formats:

• The GTIN-14: this format consists of a 14-digit number (e.g. 11648371627194).
• The GTIN-13: this format consists of a 13-digital number preceded by a zero (e.g. 01718361739182).
• The GTIN-12: this format consists of a 12-digit number preceded by two zeroes (e.g. 00192817451732).
• The GTIN-8: this format consists of a 8-digital number preceded by six zeroes (e.g. 00000012615284).

Each format corresponds to an identifier that already exists in the market. The GTIN only adds zeros to the identifiers that are shorter than 14 digits so that all have the same length.

The identifiers that correspond to the different GTIN formats are the following:

• The GTIN-14 format corresponds to the GS1-128 code, the GS1 Databar and the ITF-14.
• The GTIN-13 format corresponds to the EAN-13.
• The GTIN-12 format corresponds to the UPC-A and UPC-E.
• The GTIN-8 format corresponds to the EAN-8.

It is important to note that a GTIN can be encoded in a barcode or an RFID tag.

As already mentioned, GTINs can be encoded in a barcode.

Usually, a GTIN is encoded in a barcode (allowing a barcode scanner to read it) and presented under the barcode in its numeric form.