Glossary

A barcode that stores data in a grid of dots or squares in two directions, rather than in a single row of bars. QR Code and Data Matrix are the two 2D symbologies most relevant to products. Because a 2D barcode holds far more data in a small area, it can carry a batch, a serial number or an expiry date alongside the product number, or a full web address.

Why it matters: A 2D barcode lets one mark on the pack serve the checkout, the warehouse and a consumer's phone. It also changes the hardware question: laser scanners cannot read 2D barcodes, so retailers need imaging scanners to read them at the till.

Example: A jar of face cream carries a small Data Matrix holding its GTIN, batch and expiry date, printed next to the familiar EAN-13 barcode.

Source: GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications 26.0 – SST1 addendum 2 (Table 5-46), section 4.15.4 and ASP 1 (section 8.2) (GS1 AISBL)

Recording which identified items have been packed inside which larger unit: units into a carton, cartons onto a pallet. Each container keeps its own identifier (often an SSCC), and the record links that parent identifier to the child identifiers inside it. In EPCIS this is captured as an AggregationEvent.

Why it matters: Aggregation lets a warehouse scan one pallet label and know everything on it, instead of opening the pallet and scanning every unit. It only works if the parent–child record is accurate at the moment of packing, and kept up to date when cartons are split or re-packed.

Example: On a packing line, a camera reads 24 serialized bottles as they enter a carton, and the system links all 24 serials to the SSCC printed on that carton.

Source: EPCIS Standard (GS1 AISBL); Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) (GS1 AISBL)

A short numeric prefix, defined by GS1, that says what the data following it means. For example, (01) introduces a GTIN, (10) a batch or lot, (17) an expiry date in YYMMDD form, (21) a serial number and (00) an SSCC. In this context "AI" has nothing to do with artificial intelligence.

Why it matters: Application Identifiers are what let any system, anywhere, read a GS1 barcode and know which digits are the product number and which are the batch or expiry. The same AIs appear as path segments in a GS1 Digital Link URI, such as /01/ for the GTIN and /21/ for the serial.

Example: The human-readable line "(01)09506000134352(10)ABC123(17)271231" reads as GTIN 09506000134352, batch ABC123, expiry 31 December 2027.

Source: GS1 Application Identifiers (online AI reference) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL)

Establishing whether a physical item in someone's hand is genuine, rather than a copy or a diverted or tampered product. A valid identifier on its own does not do this: a GTIN, serial number or QR code can be copied onto a fake pack as easily as any other printed mark. Authentication needs additional evidence, such as checking a serial against the brand's own records and scan history, or physical security features.

Why it matters: Brands that tell consumers "scan to check it's genuine" without supporting controls create false confidence, because a cloned code can return the same reassuring page. Treating identity as the starting point, and authentication as a separate programme built on top, keeps claims honest and counterfeit signals visible.

Example: If the same perfume serial is scanned in two cities an hour apart, the brand's system can flag one of them as a likely copy, even though both codes decode perfectly.

Source: Verified by GS1 (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Web Vocabulary (link types) (GS1 AISBL)

A machine-readable symbol that carries data, most familiarly a row of black and white bars such as the EAN-13 or UPC-A on retail products. A barcode is a data carrier, not an identifier: the number it carries, such as a GTIN, is the identifier. "Barcode" is also used broadly to include 2D symbols such as QR Code and Data Matrix.

Why it matters: Confusing the carrier with the number leads to costly mistakes, such as buying "barcodes" that are really unlicensed numbers, or assuming a new QR code means a new product number. The linear retail barcode is not going away; GS1 expects it to coexist with 2D barcodes for as long as people use it.

Example: A packet of biscuits has the GTIN 9506000134352 printed as an EAN-13 barcode; the same GTIN could also be carried in a QR code with GS1 Digital Link.

Source: GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL); 2D Barcodes at Retail Point-of-Sale Implementation Guideline (GS1 AISBL)

A group of products made under the same conditions, typically in one production run, identified by a batch number set by the manufacturer. GS1 treats "batch" and "lot" as the same thing: both are carried in Application Identifier (10), up to 20 characters. A batch number is shared by every unit in the run, so it does not identify an individual item.

Why it matters: Batch numbers make targeted recalls and quality investigations possible without serializing every unit. Carrying the batch in a 2D barcode, rather than only as printed text, lets retailers and warehouses capture it automatically.

Example: Every tube of toothpaste filled on line 3 on Monday morning shares batch L2405A; if a fault is found, only that batch is withdrawn.

Source: GS1 Application Identifiers (online AI reference) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL)

The GS1 standard that defines the shared words used inside EPCIS events, so every trading partner describes the same activity the same way. It supplies business steps such as commissioning, packing, shipping, receiving and decommissioning, and dispositions such as active, in_transit, recalled, expired and destroyed. The current version is CBV 2.0, published alongside EPCIS 2.0.

Why it matters: Without an agreed vocabulary, one company's "dispatched" is another's "shipped", and event data cannot be compared or queried across partners. CBV is what makes EPCIS data mean the same thing in every system that receives it.

Example: A pallet leaving a factory is recorded with the business step "shipping" and the disposition "in_transit", which a distributor's system reads without any custom mapping.

Source: Core Business Vocabulary (CBV) Standard (GS1 AISBL); EPCIS & CBV (GS1 AISBL)

A printer mounted on a packaging or production line that marks variable data, such as batch, dates, serial numbers and 2D barcodes, onto products or packs as they move past. Common technologies include continuous and thermal inkjet, thermal transfer and laser. A coder prints what it is sent; on its own it does not confirm that the printed mark is readable or correct.

Why it matters: Moving to serialized 2D codes means the coder must receive a different value for every item, at line speed, and stay in step with the line. A "printed" acknowledgement from the coder is not proof that the code can be read, which is why lines pair coders with cameras or readers.

Example: A thermal inkjet coder prints a unique QR code on each carton of detergent while a camera downstream reads every code and rejects any it cannot decode.

The point at which a new identifier is associated with a physical item and becomes "live" in a supply-chain record, typically when a serialized code is printed and confirmed on the line. In EPCIS it is recorded as an event with the CBV business step "commissioning". It is the first entry in an item's event history.

Why it matters: Every later event, such as packing, shipping or a consumer scan, relies on knowing that the identifier was really put on a real item. Commissioning only codes that were successfully printed and read, rather than every number generated, keeps the record honest.

Example: Serial 10045 is generated by the ERP, printed on a bottle at 09:14, confirmed by the line camera and then commissioned; serial 10046 smudged, was rejected and is never commissioned.

Source: Core Business Vocabulary (CBV) Standard (GS1 AISBL); EPCIS Standard (GS1 AISBL)

Packaging that carries a scannable or readable identity, usually a QR code, that links the physical product to digital information and services. The code identifies the product (and sometimes its batch or the individual item), and a service behind it, such as a resolver, decides what a scan opens: product information, loyalty, warranty registration, recall notices or recycling guidance.

Why it matters: When the code carries the product's identity rather than a campaign address, it keeps working for the life of the pack and can be shared by marketing, quality, customer service and supply chain. Built on a GS1 Digital Link, the same code can also be read at a 2D-capable checkout.

Example: A spice jar's QR code holds its GTIN and batch in a GS1 Digital Link on the brand's domain. A shopper's scan opens allergen and best-before information; a scan of a recalled batch opens a notice instead.

Source: GS1 Digital Link (standard overview page) (GS1 AISBL); GS1-Conformant Resolver Standard (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Web Vocabulary (link types) (GS1 AISBL)

The physical means of putting data on a product so a machine can read it, such as an EAN-13 or UPC-A barcode, a GS1 DataMatrix or a QR code. The carrier is separate from the data it holds: a GTIN is an identifier, and the barcode is just one way of carrying it. The same GTIN can be carried by several different carriers at once.

Why it matters: Keeping identifier and carrier apart avoids common mistakes, such as assuming a new QR code needs a new product number, or that a code proves a product is genuine. Carriers also differ in who can read them: laser scanners read only linear barcodes, while imaging scanners and phones can read 2D codes.

Example: One perfume bottle carries the same GTIN in two carriers: an EAN-13 for today's checkouts and a QR code with a GS1 Digital Link for phones and 2D-capable tills.

Source: GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL); Solution provider 2D readiness (GS1 AISBL)

Under the EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781), a set of data specific to a product, reached electronically through a data carrier such as a QR code on the product, its packaging or accompanying documents. Each passport is connected to a persistent unique product identifier, at model, batch or item level as the rules for that product group specify.

Why it matters: The passport applies product group by product group, not to every product at once. Batteries come first: from 18 February 2027 under the Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. Imports are covered too, so non-EU manufacturers selling into the EU need to plan identity, data and responsibilities for the groups that affect them.

Example: An electric-bike battery sold in the EU from February 2027 carries a QR code linked to its unique identifier, through which users and authorities reach its battery passport.

Source: Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) (European Commission); Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 – Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (official text) (Official Journal of the European Union (EUR-Lex)); Digital Product Passport – Explore our FAQs (European Commission (DG GROW)); Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries (official text), Article 77 (Official Journal of the European Union (EUR-Lex))

The family of linear barcodes printed on most retail consumer products and scanned at checkouts. EAN-13 and UPC-A each carry a single GTIN as a row of bars and spaces, with the digits printed underneath; the last digit is a check digit that lets the scanner catch misreads. They carry the GTIN and nothing else, so batch, expiry and serial data need another carrier.

Why it matters: EAN/UPC barcodes are not going away. During the move to 2D barcodes, GS1 rules require the EAN/UPC to stay on general retail items alongside any 2D code, carrying the same GTIN, until 90% of checkout scanning can read 2D. Like retail 2D codes, they must be printed to a minimum quality grade of 1.5 (C), not merely decode on one scanner.

Example: A box of breakfast cereal carries an EAN-13 holding its GTIN, with a QR code carrying a GS1 Digital Link for the same GTIN printed within 50 mm of it.

Source: GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications 26.0 – SST1 addendum 2 (Table 5-46), section 4.15.4 and ASP 1 (section 8.2) (GS1 AISBL); 2D Barcodes at Retail Point-of-Sale Implementation Guideline (GS1 AISBL)

The GS1 standard for capturing and sharing supply-chain event data: what happened to which identified objects, when, where and why. Its event types are ObjectEvent, AggregationEvent, TransactionEvent, TransformationEvent and AssociationEvent. The current version, EPCIS 2.0 (2022), adds JSON/JSON-LD and REST alongside XML and SOAP, sensor data, and support for GS1 Digital Link URIs in events.

Why it matters: EPCIS gives trading partners a common format for traceability, so a recall or a provenance question can be answered across company boundaries. The data is captured and held by businesses and shared with partners; GS1 does not run a central repository of everyone's events.

Example: A distributor receives a pallet and records a receiving event against its SSCC, which the brand can query to confirm when and where the goods arrived.

Source: EPCIS Standard (GS1 AISBL); EPCIS & CBV (GS1 AISBL)

A 13-digit GS1 identifier for a party or a location: a legal entity, a business function, a physical place such as a factory or warehouse, or a digital location. When used to identify a physical location it is carried in Application Identifier (414), and a specific sub-location, such as a dock door, can be added with the GLN extension component, AI (254).

Why it matters: GLNs let trading partners agree exactly which site shipped, received or stored goods, which is essential for accurate traceability and invoicing. In EPCIS events they answer the "where" question in a way every partner understands.

Example: A cable manufacturer assigns one GLN to its head office and another to its Pune warehouse, so a shipment record shows precisely where a pallet left from.

Source: Global Location Number (GLN) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Application Identifiers (online AI reference) (GS1 AISBL)

A global, not-for-profit standards organisation that maintains the identifiers and barcode standards used across retail and supply chains, including GTIN, SSCC, GLN, GS1 Digital Link and EPCIS. Companies deal with a national GS1 Member Organisation, such as GS1 India, which licenses GS1 Company Prefixes. GS1 standards are voluntary unless a specific regulation says otherwise.

Why it matters: GS1 identifiers are the shared language that lets a brand, a distributor, a retailer and a marketplace mean the same item. GS1 does not print barcodes or sell printers, scanners and labelling software; those come from independent companies.

Example: A new cosmetics brand licenses a company prefix from GS1 India, then assigns GTINs from it to each of its products.

Source: GS1 – Powering trust in data (home / about) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL); GS1 India – A Standards Organization (GS1 India)

A number licensed to a company by its GS1 Member Organisation, which is built into the GS1 identifiers that company creates, such as its GTINs, SSCCs and GLNs. The brand owner then assigns the remaining digits itself. The leading digits indicate which GS1 office issued the prefix (890 is GS1 India's range), not where the product was made.

Why it matters: The prefix is what ties a product number to a specific licensed company, and registries such as Verified by GS1 use it to answer "who owns this number?". Numbers bought from resellers outside the licensing system may not trace back to your company, which some marketplaces check against GS1 data.

Example: A detergent maker licenses a prefix from GS1 India and uses it to number each product variant and every pallet it ships.

Source: GS1 Company Prefix (prefix list by GS1 Member Organisation) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 India – A Standards Organization (GS1 India); Verified by GS1 (GS1 AISBL)

Data Matrix is a square or rectangular 2D barcode made of small cells; "GS1 DataMatrix" is a Data Matrix whose content follows GS1 rules, encoding Application Identifiers and their values as element strings (for example GTIN, batch, expiry and serial). A plain Data Matrix can hold any data at all, so it is not automatically a GS1 code. A Data Matrix can instead carry a GS1 Digital Link URI, which is a separate option from GS1 DataMatrix.

Why it matters: GS1 DataMatrix and Data Matrix with GS1 Digital Link are both among the three 2D options approved for general retail POS under Ambition 2027. GS1 DataMatrix is also the established carrier in healthcare, where GS1 Digital Link is not used in the 2D barcode. Data Matrix fits in very small spaces, but consumers' phone cameras do not always open it as readily as a QR code.

Example: A blister pack of tablets carries a GS1 DataMatrix with GTIN, batch, expiry and serial, read by pharmacy scanners rather than by consumers.

Source: GS1 General Specifications 26.0 – SST1 addendum 2 (Table 5-46), section 4.15.4 and ASP 1 (section 8.2) (GS1 AISBL); Solution provider 2D readiness (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Digital Link (standard overview page) (GS1 AISBL)

A GS1 standard for writing GS1 identifiers as a web address, such as https://example.com/01/09506000134352/10/ABC123/21/12345. The path uses Application Identifiers in a fixed order: GTIN (01), then optional consumer product variant (22), batch or lot (10) and serial (21), with attributes such as expiry (17) in the query string. Usually carried in a QR code, it can be read as a normal link by a phone and as structured GS1 data by a scanner.

Why it matters: One code can serve both the checkout, which extracts the GTIN without going online, and consumers, who open a web page. Because the identity is standard rather than tied to one campaign URL, the same code can lead to different services over the product's life. Codes used at retail POS must use the uncompressed form.

Example: A bottle of olive oil carries a QR code with a GS1 Digital Link; the retailer's scanner reads the GTIN and price comes from its own system, while a shopper's phone opens recipes and origin details.

Source: GS1 Digital Link Standard: URI Syntax (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Digital Link (standard overview page) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications 26.0 – SST1 addendum 2 (Table 5-46), section 4.15.4 and ASP 1 (section 8.2) (GS1 AISBL)

A linear (1D) barcode that carries GS1 data with Application Identifiers, so one symbol can hold several pieces of information such as an SSCC (00), a GTIN (01), a batch (10) or an expiry date (17). It is a GS1 version of the Code 128 symbology, marked by a special start character (FNC1) so scanners know the data follows GS1 rules. A single GS1-128 symbol holds at most 48 data characters, counting the Application Identifiers.

Why it matters: GS1-128 is the barcode most often used on logistic labels for cartons and pallets, where the SSCC is printed in GS1-128 so warehouses can receive a whole shipment with one scan. It is meant for cases and pallets moving between businesses, not for products scanned at a retail checkout, which use EAN/UPC or an approved 2D barcode instead.

Example: A pallet leaving a factory carries a logistic label whose bottom barcode reads (00) 395011010000012012, the pallet's SSCC, encoded in GS1-128.

Source: What is a GS1-128 barcode? (GS1 US); GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL); Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Application Identifiers (online AI reference) (GS1 AISBL)

The GS1 identifier for a trade item: a product or service that is priced, ordered or invoiced at any point in the supply chain. GTINs come in four lengths (GTIN-8, -12, -13 and -14) and end with a check digit. A GTIN identifies a product type, so every identical bottle of the same shampoo shares one GTIN; it does not identify an individual unit.

Why it matters: Retailers and many marketplaces use the GTIN to list, order and price products, and some marketplaces check it against GS1 data. GS1's GTIN Management Standard sets out when a changed product needs a new GTIN, such as a change to declared net content.

Example: A 250 ml and a 500 ml bottle of the same shampoo need different GTINs; every 250 ml bottle shares the same one.

Source: Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL); GTIN Management Standard (GS1 AISBL)

The full list of links a resolver holds for one identified item, such as a product GTIN or a serialized unit, returned as a structured document instead of a redirect. Each link has a link type (for example gs1:pip for product information or gs1:recallStatus) and a title. The format follows RFC 9264, and a client asks for it with linkType=linkset or the Accept: application/linkset+json header.

Why it matters: A normal scan sends a phone to one default page. A linkset lets software, such as a retailer's app or a partner's system, see every resource the brand has published for that product and pick the one it needs. It is how one product identity can lead to several services without printing several codes.

Example: A retailer's system requests the linkset for a perfume's GTIN and gets back links to the product page, instructions and a recall-status service, while a shopper scanning the same code is simply redirected to the product page.

Source: GS1-Conformant Resolver Standard (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Web Vocabulary (link types) (GS1 AISBL)

Another word for batch: a set of items produced under the same conditions and sharing a lot number. In GS1 standards there is no difference between lot and batch; both use Application Identifier (10), up to 20 characters. Different industries simply prefer different words.

Why it matters: Knowing that lot and batch are the same field avoids duplicated data and mismatched labels when a brand, a contract manufacturer and a retailer use different terms. In a GS1 Digital Link URI the lot appears as /10/, after the GTIN and before any serial.

Example: A food producer prints "LOT 24-118" on a jar while its customer's system calls the same value "batch"; both map to AI (10).

Source: GS1 Application Identifiers (online AI reference) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Digital Link Standard: URI Syntax (GS1 AISBL)

The checkout system where a retailer scans products and charges the customer. The scanner reads the barcode, passes the GTIN (and sometimes batch or expiry) to the POS software, and the POS looks up the name and price in the retailer's own systems. When the code is a GS1 Digital Link QR, the scanner software extracts the GTIN without going online.

Why it matters: Ambition 2027 is about POS capability: retail checkouts being able to read GTINs from 2D barcodes as well as linear ones. Brands do not control the till, so they need codes that meet retail rules, including dual marking during the transition, a minimum print grade, and uncompressed Digital Link.

Example: A shopper's jar of jam carries both an EAN-13 and a Digital Link QR; the till reads one GTIN, beeps once, and prices it from the store's own database.

Source: Solution provider 2D readiness (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Digital Link (standard overview page) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL)

The standard identifiers that say what an item is, and optionally which batch or which individual unit it is: in GS1 terms a GTIN, optionally qualified by batch/lot and serial number. Identity is separate from the barcode that carries it and from the web pages or services it leads to. It is stable for the life of the product.

Why it matters: When identity is kept separate from any one campaign or website, the same code on the pack can serve checkout, traceability, warranty and consumer content for years, and the digital experience can change without reprinting packaging. When identity is buried inside a campaign URL, it disappears when the campaign ends.

Example: A tin of paint is identified by GTIN plus serial; this year it leads to colour guides, next year to a loyalty programme, with no change to the printed code.

Source: GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Digital Link (standard overview page) (GS1 AISBL)

A square 2D barcode with three large position markers in its corners, readable by almost any smartphone camera. A QR code is only a carrier: what it means depends on the data inside. A QR code carrying a GS1 Digital Link URI is one of the approved 2D options for retail POS under Ambition 2027, whereas "GS1 QR Code" in element-string syntax is not in scope for retail POS.

Why it matters: Many brands already print QR codes that point to a campaign page, which the checkout cannot use. Encoding a GS1 Digital Link instead lets the same QR code identify the product to retail systems and open content for consumers.

Example: A snack pack's QR code contains https://example.com/01/09506000134352, which a phone opens as a web page and a 2D-capable till reads as a GTIN.

Source: Solution provider 2D readiness (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications 26.0 – SST1 addendum 2 (Table 5-46), section 4.15.4 and ASP 1 (section 8.2) (GS1 AISBL)

A web service that takes a GS1 Digital Link URI and connects the identified item to one or more online resources. Each identity has exactly one default link, used unless the request asks for something specific, plus other links typed with terms from the GS1 Web Vocabulary, such as gs1:pip (product information) or gs1:recallStatus. Links set at product level are inherited by batch- and serial-level identities unless overridden.

Why it matters: A resolver lets one printed code lead to many services, such as product information, instructions, warranty registration or traceability, and lets the brand change those destinations without reprinting packs. It is a discovery service: product data stays in the owner's own systems, and a retail checkout does not call the resolver to price an item.

Example: Scanning a kettle's code opens its product page by default, while a service app requesting gs1:instructions for the same code receives the user manual.

Source: GS1-Conformant Resolver Standard (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Web Vocabulary (link types) (GS1 AISBL); 2D Barcodes at Retail Point-of-Sale Implementation Guideline (GS1 AISBL)

A value that, combined with a GTIN, identifies one individual item. In GS1 standards it is carried in Application Identifier (21), up to 20 characters, and is only unique within its GTIN: two different products can use the same serial value. GTIN plus serial together give a unit its own identity.

Why it matters: Unit-level identity supports anti-counterfeit checks, one-time loyalty rewards, warranty registration and precise recalls. Serials should be hard to guess and must be managed so the same GTIN-serial pair is never issued twice.

Example: Two identical bottles of perfume share GTIN 09506000134352 but carry serials 7KQ2M9 and 7KQ2MA, so each can be tracked separately.

Source: GS1 Application Identifiers (online AI reference) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL)

Giving each individual product unit its own identity, usually a GTIN plus a unique serial number, and printing it on the pack, typically as a 2D barcode. It involves generating or receiving serials, printing a different code on every item at line speed, confirming each code was printed and read, and recording which serials became real products.

Why it matters: Serialization enables unit-level traceability, authentication programmes and per-item consumer services, but it adds cost and line complexity. Not every product needs it; many goals, including most recalls, can be met with GTIN plus batch.

Example: A cable manufacturer serializes every reel so electricians can register each one for warranty, while keeping its low-value accessories at batch level.

Source: GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Application Identifiers (online AI reference) (GS1 AISBL)

The GS1 identifier for a logistic unit, such as a case, pallet or parcel assembled for transport or storage. It is always 18 digits: an extension digit, the GS1 Company Prefix, a serial reference and a check digit. It is carried in Application Identifier (00), and each SSCC is used for one logistic unit.

Why it matters: The SSCC lets every party in the chain, from shipper to carrier to receiving warehouse, track the same pallet with one scan. Combined with aggregation records, it reveals what is inside without opening it.

Example: A pallet of 40 cartons of shampoo leaves the factory with an SSCC label; the distributor scans that one label to receive all 40 cartons.

Source: Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) (GS1 AISBL); GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL)

The retail industry goal that, by the end of 2027, point-of-sale scanning worldwide can read and process the GTIN from 2D barcodes as well as from existing linear barcodes. GS1 globally calls it "Ambition 2027 (also called Sunrise 2027)"; GS1 US uses "Sunrise 2027" and GS1 India uses "Ambition 2027". It is an industry objective, not a law or a government mandate in any country.

Why it matters: It sets the direction for retail scanning and packaging, but it does not force brands to change packs by a date, and linear barcodes will continue alongside 2D codes. Brands adding a retail 2D code must use an approved option and keep the linear barcode next to it during the transition.

Example: A biscuit brand adds a QR code with GS1 Digital Link beside its EAN-13 now, so tills that can read 2D use it and older tills keep reading the linear barcode.

Source: 2D Barcodes at Retail Point-of-Sale Implementation Guideline (GS1 AISBL); Sunrise 2027 (GS1 US); NIFR – National Industry Forum for Retail (overview deck, 7 Aug 2026) (GS1 India)

The ability to follow identified products forwards and backwards through the supply chain: where they were made, how they were packed, where they went and where they are now. It depends on identifiers (GTIN, batch, serial, SSCC, GLN), on recording events as goods move, and on partners being able to share those records. EPCIS is GS1's standard for that event data.

Why it matters: Good traceability turns a recall from "pull everything" into "pull these batches from these stores", and helps detect diversion and counterfeits. Its precision depends on the level of identity: batch-level traceability is coarser but often sufficient; unit-level needs serialization.

Example: After a supplier reports a contaminated ingredient, a food brand uses its batch and shipment records to identify exactly which distributors received the affected lots.

Source: EPCIS & CBV (GS1 AISBL); EPCIS Standard (GS1 AISBL)

The word has two different meanings. Barcode verification is grading the print quality of a barcode against ISO/IEC 15416 (linear) or ISO/IEC 15415 (2D); for retail POS the minimum grade is 1.5 (C). Identifier verification is checking that a number is valid and correctly registered, for example through Verified by GS1, or checking a code's status via a gs1:verificationService link.

Why it matters: Neither meaning proves a product is genuine. A code that decodes once on a phone has not been graded, and a correctly registered GTIN says nothing about whether the item in hand is real. Keeping the meanings separate avoids buying the wrong tool and making the wrong claim.

Example: A packaging team grades a sample of printed QR codes with a verifier to confirm they meet 1.5 (C); separately, a retailer checks in Verified by GS1 that the GTIN is licensed to that brand.

Source: GS1 General Specifications Standard (GS1 AISBL); Verified by GS1 (GS1 AISBL); GS1 Web Vocabulary (link types) (GS1 AISBL)