ECC-EAN
The legacy name for the GS1 Company Prefix — the root code from which a company's GLN, GTIN and SSCC derive.
Definition
ECC EAN is a historical European term for the GS1 Company Prefix: the digit sequence allocated by a GS1 Member Organisation (in France GS1 France, in Belgium GS1 Belgilux, in Germany GS1 Germany) to each company joining the GS1 system. Characteristics:
- Variable length: 7 to 11 digits, allocated according to the number of identifiers to be created (the shorter the prefix, the more distinct GTINs/GLNs/SSCCs the company can create).
- Country prefix: the first 2 or 3 digits identify the GS1 Member Organisation issuer — not the product's country of origin. For example
30-37= GS1 France,40-44= GS1 Germany,54= GS1 Belgilux,50= GS1 UK. - Position in identifiers: the prefix is followed by an item reference to form a GTIN, by a location reference to form a GLN, or by a serial number to form an SSCC.
Origin
The manufacturer EAN number was created by EAN International (formerly EAN Europe, founded 1977 in Brussels) to enable universal identification of fast-moving consumer goods. The name "ECC" (exact expansion poorly documented, often associated with EAN Coding Centre) appears in some European grocery-distribution publications of the 1980s and 1990s. In 2005, EAN International and UCC (Uniform Code Council, USA) merged to form GS1. All legacy national names (ECC EAN in France, JAN Company Code in Japan, UCC Company Prefix in the US) were then harmonised under the unique name GS1 Company Prefix. The term ECC EAN persists in older documents and certain EDI migration transitions.
Example in context
A French SME joins GS1 France in 2003 and receives the prefix
3012345 (7 digits). It can therefore create:
- Up to 100,000 GTIN-13 (5-digit item references + 1 check digit ⇒ 3012345 + 12345 + key).
- Several hundred GLNs (different sites, depots, ship-to points).
- Millions of SSCCs for its pallets (prefix + 9-digit serial + key).
In a retailer's partner base, this prefix is the key that links every product reference and every site to the same supplier.