FAQ

The use of a GTIN costs CHF 65.00 (incl. VAT) per year. It is very easy to extend the life of GTIN online in your account for further years. However, depending on the number of GTINs required and your company's annual turnover, our Starterkit 10 offer or a membership with GS1 Switzerland could be worthwhile. An overview helps you to decide which solution is optimal for you.

You do not need to be a member of GS1 Switzerland to buy a GTIN at gtin.ch. We will assign one or more GTIN to you in a few simple steps. However, depending on the number of GTINs required and your company's annual turnover, our Starterkit 10 offer or a membership with GS1 Switzerland could be worthwhile. Members of GS1 Switzerland benefit from a range of additional services, including advice and training. An overview helps you to decide which solution is optimal for you.

gtin.ch is operated by GS1 Switzerland, the industry association working for sustainable value networks. GS1 Switzerland is responsible for allocating GS1 basic numbers (Global Company Prefix, GCP) in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. GS1 member organisations are represented in more than 100 countries. The GS1 System is used worldwide by approx. 1.5 million companies in almost 150 countries.

Every GTIN you order from GS1 Switzerland is automatically recorded on GEPIR, the business directory for companies. If you have a GTIN from GS1, you can be safe in the knowledge that anyone looking for your company will find the correct information on GEPIR. Example: Company X buys a GTIN from a reseller (table 1). Customers see the name of a company they do not know in the 'company name' field and do not know whether their search was accurate.

 

Company X orders a GTIN from GS1 Switzerland (table 2). Customers see from the 'company name' field that the GTIN really is linked to Company X. The name Company X is displayed, and it is possible for companies to set a link to their contact details here.

 

Why is GEPIR so important for you?
The GEPIR database provides professional and accurate access to your details for customers. In addition, it ensures that you achieve a higher online ranking with Google. Google continuously reviews the online data quality of countless companies and uses GEPIR for this purpose.

There are different GTIN providers in the market:

Illegal providers
The GTIN offered are copies, which were copied from existing products. This can cause chaos in the market.

Other providers, or resellers
These other providers have a large number of GTIN for historical reasons, which resulted from specific agreements with GS1 US. Buyers of this type of GTIN obtain a GTIN-12 and are not listed as holders on the GEPIR network. This represents a disadvantage in the market (find out more in the section on “Value added of a GTIN from GS1 Switzerland”).

Officially licensed agents
That’s us - the member organisations of GS1 across the globe.

To join GS1 Switzerland, go to www.gs1.ch. The website provides useful membership information and an application form is also available. Members of GS1 Switzerland benefit from a range of additional services, including advice and training.

You can still become a member of GS1 Switzerland even if you have already ordered one or more GTIN. Please phone us as soon as you realise that membership would be more cost effective for you. On request, we will then allocate a GS1 basic number (Global Company Prefix, GCP) to you and all GTIN previously ordered can be transferred to the membership package on request. We will not be able to reimburse you for the amount paid for any GTIN already ordered. Thank you for your understanding.

Please use the ‘Forgotten password’ function at gtin.gs1.ch, which is just below the login fields. Click on ‘Login’ and ‘Forgotten password’ and then follow the step-by-step instructions.