GS1 Digital Link
Connect your customers to the product information they need and want
GS1 Digital Link helps barcodes and other data carriers become web links - connecting a product's unique identity to online sources of real-time information that brands control.
The GS1 Digital Link standard extends the power and flexibility of GS1 identifiers by making them part of the web. That means that GS1 identifiers, such as the GTIN, are now a gateway to consumer information that strengthens brand loyalty, improved supply chain traceability information, business partner APIs, patient safety information and more.
Where a URL typically points to a single, specific website, GS1 Digital Link enables connections to all types of business-to-business and business-to-consumer information.
If you’re adding a QR code or NFC
tag to a product, using the GS1 standard means you’re not only providing a URL
for people to scan, you’re also carrying GS1 identifiers – the same identifiers
relied upon throughout industry – and following a non-proprietary, no
vendor-lock system.
This means the brand owner remains
in complete control but can still link to any number of information sources,
all from one symbol, saving space and improving efficiency.
More specifically, in Healthcare, the GS1 Digital Link standard helps reinforce the One-barcode initiative. Meaning, manufacturers, distributors and hospitals will still use the ubiquitous barcode for years to come, for many different purposes like traceability and point-of-care scanning. Yet, now with GS1 Digital Link, they have the opportunity of using a single barcode to access digital information about the product.
Get Started with GS1 Digital Link:
GS1 Digital Link for Brand Owners
Brands can now speak directly to consumers through a single, smarter barcode on their packaging, providing detailed, reliable information and richer, personalized experiences.
GS1 Digital Link “web-enables” barcodes by providing a simple, standards-based structure for encoded data in any 2D line-of-sight data carrier. This helps enable brands to meet consumer needs for more context-based experiences. Given that GS1 Digital Link is a standards-based structure, it allows the use of simple rules so apps, websites, and POS scanners can enable connections, shopping experiences, interesting product content, and more.
What does Digital Link offer your brand?
Digital Link makes it possible to
web-enable all your products. It offers:
· Ability to help provide consumers enhanced content and
experiences, such as detailed ingredient or allergen information, hints and
tips for product use, and recommendations for related offerings
· Decrease the complexity – and overhead – of multiple labels
or codes on a single product or package
· A single identifier to ensure authenticity more easily and
to track a product from point of manufacture to the consumer’s purchase
· Improved business-to-business processes for data sharing to support a variety of capabilities – from streamlining recall management to automating price adjustments due to product expiration dates
How Digital Link works
Consumers scan a 2D data carrier, such as a QR code, with their smartphones. Retailers scan the same code at the point of sale. In either case, the web-enabled barcode directs the user to an intelligent product identity in the cloud. Based on that intelligent product identity, the consumer or retailer is directed to a variety of digital content and services to enhance experience or safety.