This is a simple DEMO SOFTWARE intended to illustrate how to apply GS1's GCP (GS1 Company Prefix) Length Table (available either in XML or JSON) residing at https://www.gs1.org/standards/bc-epc-interop.
If you would like to encode an RFID tag with a proper EPC (Electronic Product Code) or share visibility event data through EPCIS, you need to know the length of the GS1 Company Prefix. Amongst others, this was introduced to ease filtering in RFID read operations or in software applications (e.g. RFID middleware or EPCIS-based software systems).
The length of the GCP can vary (in the case of RFID tags, between 6 and 12 digits). It is based on an organisation's required identification capacity. For instance, someone who sells just a couple of dozens of products through an e-commerce platform, can manage with a 10-digit GCP, allowing him to identify up to 100 products (identified by a Global Trade Item Number or GTIN). However, a multi-national corporation that introduces several hundreds or thousands of products each year, requires much more products, thus is assigned by its local GS1 Member Organisation e.g. a 7-digit GCP enabling the company to identify up 100,000 products.
For instance, if you need to encode a serialised GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) on an RFID tag, the binary string requires you to indicate the partition value (determining the number of decimal digits of the GCP):
Likewise, if you need to capture or query for EPCIS events in an EPCIS repository leveraging EPC URIs, you e.g. need to separate the GCP from the rest of the key when translating it from the corresponding GS1 element strings:
- This software module was developed for DEMONSTRATION purposes only.
- It supports all GS1 Keys that are applicable to construct EPC values, specifically: SSCC, GTIN, GDTI, GCN, GINC, GSIN, GLN (for parties and physical locations), GRAI, GIAI, ITIP, CPID, GSRN-P, and GSRN.
- Simply go to the following page: https://ralphtro.github.io/getGCPLengthDemo.
- After having specified the GS1 Key type (such as GTIN or SSCC), insert the value of the GS1 Key whose GCP length yu would like to know.
- Click on 'Get GCP Length'. That's it.
- EPC Tag Data Standard, Release 2.1, Ratified, Feb 2024, https://ref.gs1.org/standards/tds/
- GS1 RFID/Barcode Interoperability Guideline, Release 1.1, Ratified, Nov 2016, https://www.gs1.org/docs/barcodes/RFID_Barcode_Interoperability_Guidelines.pdf
Copyright 2020-2025 | Ralph Tröger ralph.troeger@gs1.de
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