GS1 Trade Item information is a standardised way for sellers and buyers to exchange digital trade item information. GS1 Trade Item Information is also used to exchange, among other things, logistics, market and sustainability information. If you need to send or receive trade item information you can find information about the Swedish implementation of GS1 Trade Item Information in the Trade Item Information Guideline.
If you are a solution provider or a recipient of trade item information, you also need, in addition to the guideline, the technical documentation found under Current specifications and Upcoming specifications below.
Upcoming specification (deployment 24 May 2025)
Trade Item Information GPSR Guide
Measurement
When measuring an item’s dimensions, such as height, width, and depth, it is important that everyone measures in the same way so that there are no misunderstandings. When the dimensions in the item information match the actual item’s dimensions, the store can make an accurate shelf plan. In addition, it is possible to plan transport so that everything fits and the truck’s capacity is optimally utilised.
Measure the outer dimensions of the item
Remember to always measure the outer dimensions of the item since it is the outer dimensions that are needed for shelf planning and transport. Using the inner dimensions you receive from your packaging vendor may result in your customer’s shelf planning not working or the item not being placed in the bin.
Measurement standard for consumer and non-consumer items
Measurement standards for all packaging types can be found in the global standard GS1 Package and Product Measurement Standard. The parts describing measurement for packed consumer and non-consumer items are translated into Swedish in GS1 Standard för mätning av förpackningar och produkter. Please note that consumer and non-consumer items should be measured in different ways.
GS1 Package and Product Measurement Standard
Quality assurance
Quality assurance of trade item information is the manual verification of your digital trade item information compared to physical or digital product samples.
Quality assurance of barcodes is a manual verification that your barcode on the packaging is readable and complies with the GS1 standard for barcodes. About 20 parameters are checked using advanced scanning equipment.
Quality assurance of product images
Quality assurance of product images for sales and marketing and for planograms, is the manual check of your product images, that provides your dealers with a verification that the images are of a sufficiently high standard.
Product images
GS1 Product Image Specification Standard is a GS1 standard for product images. It contains technical rules and guidelines for storing digital images linked to products identified by GS1 article numbers. The document also contains some recommendations regarding image quality, but does not describe how images should be delivered or published between different parties.
The standard contains guidelines for product images intended for online and print marketing, as well as planogram images used in store shelf planning.
Product Image Specification Standard
GS1 Mobile Ready Hero Images Guideline
GS1 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
GS1’s two standards for electronic commerce are GS1 EANCOM and GS1 XML. GS1 UN/CEFACT specifies how GS1 standards are to be used in UN/CEFACT XML messages.
ESAP – Business processes for electronic commerce
ESAP is business processes for electronic commerce and is used to facilitate for companies that have chosen to communicate via GS1 EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). The ESAP documentation is primarily aimed at operational managers of suppliers and system developers.
The processes follow GS1 standards and are documented in implementation guides and specifications designed to help different industries get their information flows organised.
Data communication and connections
To send business information over any type of network, such as the Internet, a file transfer protocol is required. GS1 recommends EDIINT AS2 (EDI over INTernet Applicability Statement 2). EDIINT AS2 securely transmits data over the Internet using HTTP as the transport protocol. Some of the benefits of AS2 are:
- Digital signatures make it possible to verify the sender and prevent the information from being manipulated on the way between the sender and the receiver.
- Encryption ensures that the information cannot be read by unauthorised persons during transmission.
- The use of ack/neck signals means that the transmitter and receiver always agree that a message has been sent and/or received.
It is also possible to connect to GS1 Sweden’s services Validoo, My places and Verified by GS1 via API.
Warehouse and transport management
The specifications for warehouse management are developed by an international working group based on GS1 XML. The specifications transport management have been developed by an international working group, while the Transport Invoice has been developed by a local working group.
Technical specifications for Warehouse Management
EPCIS
Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS) is GS1’s standard for sharing event information, which allow you to track a ship-to-customer delivery, track a customer-to-manufacturer delivery, and find out if a product is genuine or counterfeit.
Basic documentation
Here you can find basic technical documentation for GS1’s standards for identification, data capture and information sharing.
GS1 General Specifications
The GS1 General Specifications is the core standards document of the GS1 system describing how GS1 barcodes, data attributes and identification keys are used in different organisations.
GS1 System Architecture
The GS1 System Architecture describes how the different parts of the GS1 system relate to each other and outlines the technical principles that form the basis of the system’s design.