What is a Global Service Relation Number?
A Global Service Relation Number (GSRN) is the GS1 Identification Key used to identify the relationship between the organisation offering the service and either the service provider or the service recipient. This unique identifier is comprised of a GS1 Company Prefix, a Service Reference, and a Check Digit.
What is a GSRN used for?
The GSRN is a simple tool used to identify a service relationship between a business and a client. GSRNs can identify business relationships between businesses or individuals. They do not identify a business or individual specifically for purposes other than the service being provided and therefore do not raise privacy concerns. In simple terms, a company or business will issue a GSRN to a customer to identify their relationship. The “customer” could be a club member, a member of a loyalty program, or a patient being admitted to a hospital. The GSRN will be the key that links the customer to a database to identify the specific detail of the service offered and the contract with the individual.
The function of a GSRN is to provide an identification point that can be used to retrieve information held in a database associated with that particular service relationship. The GSRN may be produced as a GS1- 128 or GS1 DataMatrix barcode, encoded in an Electronic Product Code (EPC®)–enabled Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, and printed on the document as a method of identification or for detail or information retrieval.
Key Attributes of the GSRN
The GSRN will identify each service relationship individually, thus assuring that relationships are always identified correctly anywhere within a business or throughout the world. An individual may have many GSRNs from different service providers. It is the organization offering the service that allocates the GSRN, therefore there is no danger of any of the individual’s other service relationships being linked.
The GSRN itself has no meaning, so the service relationship can be looked up in a secure database and its associated information retrieved only by the service provider. Because GSRNs are based on the GS1 System, derived using a GS1 Company Prefix and a Service Reference, allocation of numbers is simple
and uniqueness guaranteed.
If your business has service relationships with individuals and you want to be able to identify your customers accurately, GSRN is a simple tool to enable this capability. A GSRN can be assigned by a company anywhere in the world and can be used anywhere in the world.
Business Benefits of Using GSRNs
There are a number of benefits to using the GSRN to identify service relationships:
■ The structure of the GSRN and its assignment rules are administered by GS1®, a not-for-profit standards organization, and is supported by implementation guidance, business examples, and maintenance.
■ GSRN is a simple coding system used to facilitate service relationships with almost limitless capacity. It identifies the business relationship with the customer for the life of the service.
■ The GSRN can be used throughout world with no need for trading partner(s) to assign proprietary numbers to ensure uniqueness.
■ Already an established standard for identifying service relationships, the GSRN uses the same GS1 Standards that are used in many other business applications. If you are already using GS1
■ Standards to identify products or locations, it’s easy to extend your use to identify service relationships as well.
■ The GSRN enables companies to scan an individual’s membership card to identify the service efficiently.
■ The GSRN allows the organization offering the service, rather than a third party, to allocate GSRNs.
■ The GSRN guards against mis-identification and fraud.
■ The GSRN facilitates development of customer loyalty.
■ GSRNs can be encoded in barcode symbols and/or EPC-enabled RFID tags and in human-readable text.
How is the GSRN formed?
GSRNs are composed of the following fields:
■ APPLICATION IDENTIFIER (AI):
□ AI (8017) is used to identify the service relationship between the organization offering the service and the Service Provider.
□ AI (8018) is used to identify the service relationship between the organization offering the service and the Service Recipient. Example shown below.
■ GS1 COMPANY PREFIX: A globally unique number issued to a GS1 member company
■ SERVICE REFERENCE: The number allocated to identify the type of service provided
■ CHECK DIGIT: A modulo 10 digit used to check for input errors
Application Identifier | GS1 Company Prefix | Service Reference | Check Digit | |||||||||||||||
(8018) | N1 | N2 | N3 | N4 | N5 | N6 | N7 | N8 | N9 | N10 | N11 | N12 | N13 | N14 | N15 | N16 | N17 | N18 |
NOTE: GSRN is an 18-digit numerical number, including the Check Digit. The combined length of the GS1 Company Prefix and Service Reference will always total 17 digits.
The following steps are used to form GSRNs:
1. START WITH YOUR GS1 COMPANY PREFIX. Your GS1 Company Prefix is the globally unique number issued to your company by GS1 US® or another GS1 Member Organization. GS1 Company Prefixes are assigned to companies in varying lengths. Some GS1 US members may have a prefix certificate that shows only a U.P.C. Company Prefix (formerly a UCC Company Prefix). A U.P.C. Company Prefix must be converted to a GS1 Company Prefix for use in the GSRN. This is accomplished by adding a zero to the front of the U.P.C. Company Prefix. The following table illustrates the conversion of a U.P.C. Company Prefix to a GS1 Company Prefix for use with GSRNS.
Figure 5-2 Conversion of a U.P.C. Company Prefix to a GS1 Company Prefix for GSRNs
U.P.C. Company Prefix | Converted to GS1 Company Prefix |
801234 | 0801234 |
8412340 | 08412340 |
81123400 | 081123400 |
An Introduction to the Global Service Relation Number (GSRN)
Hint: Assign your Service References sequentially, and do not build any intelligence into the number. The scheme that defines a particular Service Reference range as having a set meaning today will mean nothing a short time into the future when your company reorganises, buys or merges with another firm, or another staff member takes over GIAI assignment duties.