Standard Product Identification

What is Standard Product Identification?

Standard product identification is part of a global marking system that has been adopted by manufacturers, distributors, retailers and carriers in various industry sectors. Standard product identification gives a product or container a unique number that can be used to distinguish it from the millions of products or containers that are produced worldwide.

The system is based on two principles:

The numbers must identify, not classify, an item. This allows the system to be used in any kind of business.
The numbers are based on a common data structure so that the different components of the number can be understood worldwide.

Who Manages the Standard Product Identification Numbers?

To ensure that identification numbers are unique, the Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC) manages the assignment of numbers in the United States, the Electronic Commerce Council of Canada in Canada and EAN manages the assignment of numbers outside the United States and Canada.

The Electronic Commerce Council of Canada (ECCC) is the equivalent of the UCC in Canada. It assigns manufacturer numbers, supports the standards created by the UCC and EAN, and promotes the use of barcodes to the manufacturing, distribution and retail industries in Canada.

Benefits of Using Standard Product Identification

The benefits of using a standardized product identification number are many:

The product identification number is unique anywhere in the world—there are no duplicate numbers.
The product identification number is tied to the manufacturer for branded products and brand owner for private label products.
There is no need to re-label products with internal identification numbers.
All members of the supply chain use the same number for the same product. Trading partners no longer need to cross-reference numbers.
There is greater accuracy in database management.
There is greater accuracy in communicating data, e.g. price changes.
Ordering and billing errors due to wrong product numbers can be eliminated.