white paper Integrating the Electronic Product Code (EPC) and the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)

The Electronic Product Code (EPC) was conceived as a means to identify all physical objects. These include not only retail products, but also containers, packages and shipments, as well as more general physical systems, assemblies and components. The EPCis a short, simple and extensible code designed primarily for efficient referencing to networked information. The Uniform Product Code (U.P.C.) and its numbering superset, the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), perform a similar function for product identification and supply chain logistics. There are, however, many important differences in objective, scope, structure and implementation of these coding methods. This paper explores the differences in approach and present a method for integrating the EPCand GTIN.