GTIN (Global Trade Item Number)
A globally unique product identifier administered by GS1, used across supply chains and marketplaces — the umbrella standard that includes UPC and EAN.
A GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is a globally unique numeric identifier assigned to a product so it can be recognized consistently across retailers, marketplaces, and supply chains worldwide. GTINs are administered by GS1 and encoded in the barcodes scanned at checkout. GTIN is the umbrella standard — UPC, EAN, ITF-14, and ISBN are all GTIN formats.
GTIN formats: GTIN-8, GTIN-12, GTIN-13, GTIN-14
- GTIN-12 — the 12-digit UPC used mainly in North America.
- GTIN-13 — the 13-digit EAN used mainly in Europe and most of the world.
- GTIN-8 — a shortened 8-digit code (EAN-8) for very small packages.
- GTIN-14 — a 14-digit code (ITF-14) for cases and shipping units.
GTIN vs UPC vs EAN
UPC and EAN are not different from GTIN — they are specific lengths of it. A UPC is a GTIN-12; an EAN is a GTIN-13. When a marketplace asks for a "GTIN," you can supply your UPC or EAN; systems left-pad shorter codes with zeros to a common 14-digit length internally.
Why GTINs matter for ecommerce and marketplaces
Google Shopping, Amazon, and most marketplaces require a valid GTIN to match your listing to the global product catalog, improve discoverability, and unlock rich product results. Missing or invalid GTINs suppress listings and ads.
Managing GTINs in a PIM
A PIM stores the GTIN as a governed attribute on each product, validates its format and check digit, and syndicates it to every channel. Apimio keeps GTIN, UPC, EAN, MPN, and your internal SKU on one canonical record and pushes the right identifier to each Shopify field and marketplace feed.