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GDSN Provider

The Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) is an internet-based global network and global registry that enables secure and continuous data synchronization between trading partners. This connection is made via a network of interoperable GDSN-certified data pools.

Within the GDSN network, trade items are identified using target markets and a unique combination of the GS1 Identification Keys called Global Trade Item Numbers (GTIN) and Global Location Numbers (GLN).

GDSN enables trading partners to synchronize data. Any changes to the data pool made by one company are automatically available to all of its trading partners.

GS1 Global Registry^®

GS1 describes the GS1 Global Registry as the GDSN information directory that details who has subscribed to trade items or party data, guarantees the uniqueness of the registered items and parties, and ensures that all data pools in the network are complying with a standards-based set of validation rules.

How GDSN Works with Data Pools

GS1-certified data pools are electronic catalogs of standardized item data. They serve as a source and/or a recipient of master data.

The GDSN works together with data pools in the following way:

The data provider selects a source data pool and the data recipient selects a recipient data pool as a single point of entry to the GDSN.
The data provider registers product and company information in its source data pool. This information is also registered in the GS1 Global Registry.
The data provider agrees with a data recipient to synchronize data from the provider to the recipient. The provider then makes a publish request to the data pool, so that relevant registered items are sent to the recipient.
The data recipient makes a subscription request (Catalog Item Subscription -CIS).
If the subscription criteria match items that are registered in the GS1 Global Registry, the recipient’s data pool is notified using a Catalog Item Notification (CIN) message, and then the synchronization takes place. Data is published from the data provider’s data pool to the recipient’s data pool.
After receiving the data, a Catalog Item Confirmation message (CIC) is sent from the data recipient to the data provider.

Common Standards

Standard	Description
GTIN	A Global Trade Item Number is a global identification number that can be used by a company to uniquely identify trade items. Trade items are defined as products or services.
GLN	The Global Location Number is a unique 13-digit identification number. The GLN can be used to identify a company's physical location and to identify corporate entities as well as a company's legal and functional entities. Each data provider and each data recipient has their own unique GLN that is used when publishing and subscribing for data.
GPC	To ensure that products are classified correctly and uniformly, GDSN uses GS1 Global Product Classification (GPC), a system that gives data providers and data recipients a common language for grouping products in the same way everywhere in the world.

Key Terminology

Term	Definition
CIS	Catalog Item Subscription. Subscription message sent by a data recipient to establish a request for data.
CIN	Catalog Item Notification. Notification message used to transmit new or updated item information from the data provider to a data recipient. The CIN includes the requested product data.
CIC	Catalog Item Confirmation. Confirmation message sent to the data provider by a data recipient.
Synclist	Synchronization List. List that includes all synchronized catalog items (GTIN, GLN, TM). Keeps track of where data has been notified.

About Trade Item Hierarchies

The trade item hierarchy - or the packaging hierarchy - describes the relationship between trade items that contain other trade items, and it describes on which level in the hierarchy each item fits in. A trade item could, for example, belong to one of the following levels: base unit (Each), case, and pallet. Regardless of how many levels are in a hierarchy, the final level must be a base unit.

A parent item is an item that contains lower level trade items (children) in a packaging hierarchy. A child item is an item with a higher level trade item (parent) in a packaging hierarchy. A child item can have multiple parents, and it can therefore be included in many packaging hierarchies.

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