The Global Language of Business
The Global Language of Business
Why barcode from GS1?
Checked! Guaranteed! Globally! Unique!
GS1 AISBL is an international not-for-profit organization created by industry representatives for the benefit of industry. GS1 coordinates the development and maintenance of the most widely used standards for supply chains. The basis of these standards is the unique identification of goods through a standard barcode.
Product identification
The need for identification (barcode) appears when the business grows and as a condition on the part of business partners, including distributors, retailers and customers. The use of standard GS1 identification numbers/barcodes ensures seamless supply, movement and tracking of products anywhere in the world, throughout the supply chain from manufacturer’s warehouses to retail outlets and online stores.
Any company that wishes to use the standard GS1 barcode identification must become a member of GS1 through the local GS1 National Organization, which for Bulgaria is the GS1 Bulgaria Association. The identification numbers obtained are unique and valid worldwide.
There are sites that offer barcodes at low cost and for a one-time payment. These sellers are NOT part of the GS1 global network and are not authorized to sell GS1 barcodes. The barcodes they sell are “second hand” and may be rejected by merchants and online platforms such as Amazon, eVay and eMAG.
In practice, the identification numbers offered by these sites are registered to other companies and resold to unsuspecting businesses. Our warning is DO NOT BUY from such sites.
The use of unauthorized numbers may result in additional costs for the company when your trading partner requests that you use the standard GS1 identification. You will then need to apply to a GS1 National Organization for the issuance of authorized numbers, which is associated with a new cost to align with the requirements of your partners. There will also be additional costs for changing the barcode on the packaging, designing and printing new labels. Losses from lost sales may occur.
Increasingly, merchants and retail chains require validation of barcodes when they are provided by suppliers. When the latter are found to be non-standard and unique, and the relevant supplier cannot be contacted, they may refuse to accept the products.
GS1 Bulgaria, Prefix 380 and the Global Database
When registering a company in GS1 Bulgaria, the barcode numbers it receives start with 380. GS1 Bulgaria Association guarantees the uniqueness of the issued numbers and maintains up-to-date information about them in a centralized GS1 global database /GS1 Global GTIN Registry/.
Registration

Use of GS1 standards is linked to membership of the organization. Upon registration, companies pay a one-time introductory membership fee. For the time they use the standards, an annual membership fee is paid, depending on the selected number package.