GMN (Global Model Number) is used to identify a product model or product family. With Global Model Number, you can uniquely identify a product model through the entire product life cycle from design to production, procurement, use, maintenance, and removal.
Who uses GMN?
GMN can be used on products sold in different versions but which are technically the same product, for example, the product may have a different color or size. Another area is medical equipment where GMN meets EU requirements according to EU Unique Device Identification (UDI) for identification and marking of medical devices and In-Vitro diagnostics. The brand owner assigns GMN.
What is the benefit of GMN?
Certain types of products require information to be shared with trading partners and other stakeholders, for example regulatory authorities, before the product is put into production. There may also be a need to launch different products based on the same technical product specification. Then there may be a need to group them under a same product family with a GMN.
How to use GMN
Initially, GMN is used to identify product models or product families and medical equipment according to two EU regulations – Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) AND In-Vitro Diagnostics Regulation (VDR).
Frequently Asked Questions about GMN
A GMN consists of three components: the GS1 Company Prefix, the Model Reference, and a mandatory pair of Check Characters.
- GS1 Company Prefix: When you become a GS1 customer, you automatically receive a GS1 Company Prefix. This prefix is a fixed sequence of digits that is unique to your company.
- Model Reference: The structure and content of the Model Reference are determined by the brand owner.
- Check Character Pair: The last two characters are mandatory check characters.
Calculate the check character for GMN →
Important:  Note that the GMN generator tool is case sensitive. The calculation of the Check character pair is quite technical and we recommend you use this tool. If you are interested to know how to calculate it manually, please refer to Check Character calculation (for alphanumeric keys) in Section 7 of General Specifications.
