The Global Location Number (GLN) is part of the
GS1 systems of standards. It is a simple tool used to identify a location and can identify locations uniquely where required. This identifier is compliant with norm
ISO/IEC 6523
ISO/IEC 6523 ''Information technology – Structure for the identification of organizations and organization parts'' is an international standard that defines a structure for uniquely identifying organizations and parts thereof in computer data ...
.
The GS1 Identification Key is used to identify physical locations or legal entities. The key comprises a GS1 Company Prefix, Location Reference, and
Check Digit
A check digit is a form of redundancy check used for error detection on identification numbers, such as bank account numbers, which are used in an application where they will at least sometimes be input manually. It is analogous to a binary parit ...
.
Location identified with GLN could be a physical location such as a warehouse or a legal entity such as a company or customer or a function that takes place within a legal entity. It can also be used to identify something as specific as a particular shelf in a store. Being able to identify locations with a unique number is a key to many business processes. The GLN is used in electronic messaging between customers and suppliers, where location advice is important. GLN is also used within companies to identify specific locations both electronically in a database and physically where the GLN can be produced in a bar code or GS1 EPC tag.
GLN structure
GLN is a 13-digit number structured as follows:
EAN (GLN, GTIN, EAN numbers administered by GS1)
EAN (
European Article Number
The International Article Number (also known as European Article Number or EAN) is a standard describing a barcode symbology and numbering system used in global trade to identify a specific retail product type, in a specific packaging configurati ...
) check digits (administered by
GS1) are calculated by summing the even position numbers and multiplying by 3 and then by adding the sum of the odd position numbers. To calculate the check digit, subtract the sum from the equal or nearest higher multiple of ten.
A GS1 check digit calculator and detailed documentation is online at GS1's website.
Another official calculator page shows that the mechanism for GTIN-13 is the same for Global Location Number/GLN.
See also
*
Global Trade Item Number
The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is an identifier for trade items, developed by the international organization GS1. Such identifiers are used to look up product information in a database (often by entering the number through a barcode scanne ...
References
External links
Global Location Numberat GS1 website
GS1 official siteGLN (Global Location Number)Check Digit Calculator, and documentation, at GS1 official siteCheck Digit Calculator, and documentation in pdf format, at GS1 US official site{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161121055649/http://www.gs1us.org/resources/tools/check-digit-calculator , date=2016-11-21 (states the same mechanism for GLN and GTIN-13)
Barcodes
Identifiers
Unique identifiers
GS1 standards