What is GS1 Digital Link and do I need it for the digital product passport?

What you concretely have to do

What is expected of you

GS1 Digital Link is not a separate mandatory component of the product passport, but a technical standard for how a QR code or other data carrier directs to information. The ESPR specifies in Article 11 what the digital product passport must technically comply with, and in Article 12 what the unique identification code of a product must look like. GS1 Digital Link is one of the ways to meet those technical requirements, built around existing GS1 identification codes such as the GTIN.

A data carrier that directs to the passport

Article 11 of the ESPR calls for a data carrier — usually a QR code — that directs to the product passport. GS1 Digital Link is a way to structure that reference so that one and the same QR code can serve multiple purposes: a scan by a consumer can lead to product information, while a scan in the warehouse leads to inventory data. For a furniture manufacturer, this means that the choice for GS1 Digital Link is primarily relevant if GS1 codes are already being used, for example because a wholesaler or retailer requests it. How that data carrier ends up on the furniture itself is described on the page on the QR code on the product.

A unique identification code per product

Article 12 of the ESPR calls for a unique identification code to distinguish a product from other products. GS1 uses the GTIN for this, a code that is often already used in the furniture industry for logistical purposes. For a company with 10 to 100 employees, this means that in practice it must be assessed whether the existing product coding is suitable to serve as a basis for the identification code that the passport requires, or whether an additional structure is needed. More information on the requirements for that code can be found on the page on the unique identification code per product.

Connecting to existing systems

Anyone already working with GS1 codes in an ERP system, inventory management or e-commerce has with GS1 Digital Link a reference point to connect the product passport to it without setting up a completely parallel system of identification codes. This is especially practical for companies that have been working with GTINs for years towards suppliers or retail partners. How that connection to your own system looks in practice is described on the page on linking to your own ERP or inventory system.

Where things go wrong in practice

A first situation is that a company assumes that GS1 Digital Link is mandatory because it is mentioned so often in the context of product passports. The ESPR itself does not prescribe a specific technical standard in Articles 11 and 12; that standard must still be further defined. An assumption that one particular technology is the only way leads to unnecessary investments at a time when the exact requirements are not yet fixed.

A second situation arises when a company already has a GTIN structure, but has never aligned it with the requirement that the identification code must be unique per product as intended in Article 12. A GTIN assigned at model level, rather than at the level of an individual sold product, does not automatically comply.

A third situation is that the QR code is indeed structured according to a GS1 structure, but the underlying link does not remain accessible over a longer period of time. A product passport must remain accessible for the duration of its term; exactly how long that is is explained on the page on how long a product passport must remain available. A technically correct GS1 Digital Link structure says nothing about whether the server behind it will still be active after years.

A fourth situation is that different departments within a company — sales, logistics, compliance — each have their own idea of which code is "the" product code, resulting in multiple identification codes existing alongside each other for the same product. This makes it difficult to determine afterwards which code should be included in the passport.

A fifth situation concerns furniture consisting of multiple parts, such as a cabinet with separately sold shelves or a sofa with loose modules. If it has not been established in advance whether the identification code is assigned at the level of the whole or of the individual part, this creates uncertainty about where which QR code ends up. This directly relates to the question discussed on the page about furniture consisting of loose parts.

What you can put in order now

• An overview of which product codes (GTIN or otherwise) are already in use within the company, and at which level — model, variant or individual product — those codes are assigned.
• An agreement about who within the company is responsible for assigning new identification codes, so that a different code does not arise per department for the same product.
• A description of how the existing product coding relates to the requirement of a unique identification code per product, including any adjustments that may be necessary for this.
• A documented agreement with the party that technically sets up the QR code or data carrier, about which standard is used and why.
• A note on the link between the product passport and internal systems such as ERP or inventory management, so that in case of a system change it is clear which data comes from where.
• Documentation on how products are handled that change after publication of the passport, for example with a changed formulation or composition — relevant in combination with the information on the page about changing data after publication.