GTIN
Global Trade Item Number. The GS1 standard identifier that uniquely designates every trade item worldwide.
Definition
The GTIN is the universal identifier for a trade item per
GS1.
It comes in four lengths: GTIN-8 (8 digits, small-format
items), GTIN-12 (the North-American UPC-A), GTIN-13
(equivalent to the legacy European EAN-13) and GTIN-14
(logistic units like cases or pallets). The last digit is always a Modulo-10
check. In an EDIFACT exchange, the GTIN appears in the LIN
segment via the C212 item identification composite, qualified by code
ICD 0160 in element 3055.
Origin
The GTIN unified four legacy schemes in 2005: UPC-A and UPC-E in the United States (since 1973, with the first barcode ever scanned on a pack of Wrigley's gum at Marsh Supermarkets in 1974), EAN-13 and EAN-8 in Europe (from 1977). The EAN/UCC merger into GS1 in 2005 standardised the nomenclature under the GTIN umbrella while preserving full backwards compatibility: a GTIN-13 still reads as an EAN-13.
Example in context
In an EDIFACT ORDERS line item, the article is identified by its GTIN:
The SRV qualifier inside C212 states that
3017620422003 is a GTIN-13 (here a Nutella jar, used as a
public illustration). QTY carries the ordered quantity, PRI the unit price.