Milestone 1 for PTI Implementation
A GS1 Company Prefix is a number obtained from the GS1 organization that uniquely
identifies your company from any other company around the world. Once you use the
Company Prefix to create any subsequent number (such as a Global Trade Identification
Number or GTIN, it uniquely links that number to your company.
GS1 is a standards organization that has over 120 Member Organizations (MOs) around the world and is used in over 145 countries. Each country has an MO – e.g., GS1 US, GS1 Canada, GS1 Japan, GS1 Germany, etc. The United States MO, now called GS1 US, was formerly known as the Uniform Code Council (UCC).
The following companies must obtain their own Company Prefix:
- growers who wish to maintain their own brand
- packers that change the composition of the original case or product and re-brand
- shippers maintaining their own brand
- buyers requiring private labeled product.
You can contact your local GS1 MO to get your Company Prefix. For those in the United States, you can visit www.gs1us.org. For those outside of the United States, please visit www.gs1.org to determine where your local GS1 MO is located and to find related contact information.
No. This prefix is used on pre-packed consumer items, not on cases. Its use is simply as the name implies: generic. It does not link what is being numbered to a specific company. Therefore, a company-specific prefix is needed to ensure this necessary link for traceability.