Have you ever experienced a product not scanning properly or being rejected by the system at checkout? Most of us have experienced this, and it often leads to frustration, delays, and dissatisfaction. Now imagine the same happening with the products you sell. It can result in reduced sales, damaged brand perception, and unhappy customers - a total nightmare! Ensuring seamless product scanning and system compatibility at checkout is not optional; it’s essential for maintaining revenue and delivering a smooth customer experience. This is where the GTIN Validation service by GS1 India plays a critical role. It helps businesses avoid such issues and ensure accurate product identification across systems, anywhere. In this blog, we will discover the GTIN meaning, the importance of product codes, an overview of gtin formats, and learn why gtin validation is crucial for businesses.
Every product sold in the market, from medical products to fast-moving consumer goods, carries a unique identification number. This identification number is known as the GTIN (Global Trade Item Number). A GTIN uniquely identifies a product and is issued exclusively by GS1 member organisations to companies that manufacture or sell products.
Similar to how your fingerprint is unique to you, GTIN is unique to each SKU manufactured and sold by any business. This number is printed on the product’s packaging and is usually found below the barcode (the black-and-white parallel lines with spaces between them).
But why is GTIN so important for businesses? Here are the top three reasons -
Now that you know the meaning of GTIN and the importance of GTIN, let's explore why businesses get barcodes from GS1 member organisations only. GS1 has 120 member organisations across more than 150 countries; GS1 India is one of them. GS1 is the only organisation that is responsible for the development and maintenance of supply chain standards, including those of barcoding and data sharing. It works in association with industry leaders, government, regulators, academia, and others.
India was given ‘890’ as its country code by GS1 in 1996. Below are the top three reasons why businesses trust GS1 India for obtaining unique identification keys -
There are 4 common formats of GTIN -
GTIN is not a composition of any random number. It follows a clear structure, and each digit represents something. A GTIN-13, for instance, is composed of GCP, Product Code, and Check Digit. A check digit is used to validate if the GTIN is correctly formed and is key to determining the number of GTINs the company is registered for with GS1 MO.
Company Prefix: Assigned by the GS1 Member Organisation to identify the brand owner. GCP begins with a country code. In India, GCP begins with ‘890’.
Item Reference: Generated by the brand to identify a specific product type (SKU).
Check Digit: A mathematically calculated digit that validates the entire number.
Validation of GTINs is critical for businesses because it ensures product data accuracy, operational efficiency, and trust across the supply chain. GTINs uniquely identify products, and when these identifiers are incorrect, duplicated, or misused, it can lead to costly errors such as -
Accurate GTIN validation helps businesses maintain clean and consistent product data across systems, partners, and platforms. Major retailers and e-commerce marketplaces often require valid GTINs to list products; invalid codes can result in product suppression or penalties, directly impacting sales and brand visibility.
To avoid this risk, retailers can avail themselves of the GTIN Validation service by GS1 India. The service is powered by DataKart - the national product data repository. To understand how this works, let’s go through every step involved.
Step 1: Visit GS1 India’s GTIN Validation page
Step 2: Scroll down the page to locate the ‘GTIN Validation’ tool.
Step 3: Type the barcode number/GTIN you want to authenticate.
Step 4: Product details will reflect on the screen. Cross-check the product details entered by you with those printed on the product.
When a business/retailer enters a GTIN into GS1 India’s GTIN Validation portal, the number is checked against DataKart, GS1 India’s extensive product database. DataKart houses information on millions of products sold daily across online and offline retail channels. If the GTIN is valid, the portal displays the linked product details, including manufacturer information, product name, MRP, and other relevant attributes. Since this data is uploaded directly by brand owners, it remains authentic, standardised, and reliable.
Validating GTINs individually can be time-intensive, especially for large product catalogs. To address this, GS1 India offers a bulk GTIN Validation service for retailers and e-commerce marketplaces. By submitting an Excel file containing multiple GTINs, retailers can validate large volumes at once, significantly reducing manual effort while saving time and resources, with results delivered almost instantly.
Now that we have discussed what a GTIN is, the importance of GTIN, and how validation of GTINs works, let’s explore the top 3 reasons why the GTIN Validation service is important for businesses.
GTIN stands for Global Trade Item Number. It is structured based on the type of barcode it is encoded in. The most common is EAN-13 in which GTIN-13 (a 13-digit unique identification number) is encoded.
GTIN format depends on your product size and your requirements. For a product with space constraints, you can go for an EAN-8 barcode, whereas for other retail products, EAN-13 is the best choice. For multi-level packaging, SSCC is the most accepted one.
Visit GS1 India’s GTIN Validation page and enter the GTIN you want to validate. You can also send GTINs for bulk validation by clicking on the button available on the tool.
GTIN Validation may fail because the GTIN is expired, incorrect, or forged. Kindly check with the product manufacturer before selling it.
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