Glossary


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1SYNC
1SYNC is a newly formed subsidiary of GS1 US. It was formed by the combination of UCCnet and Transora, two GDSN -certified data pools. 1SYNC offers a range of data pool services including the synchronization of Price & Promotion and new item introduction data.

A

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)
A digital phone-line technology that supports high-speed connections to the Internet using ordinary copper telephone wires. Offered by AT&T as an ISDN replacement for Web surfers, ADSL is "asymmetric" because uplink speeds (64 Kbps) differ markedly from downlink speeds (up to 6 Mbps). ADSL is currently available only in selected markets.

ADVANCE SHIPPING NOTICE (ASN)
An EDI standard transaction transmitted from supplier to customer that describes the products and quantities of an impending shipment and the anticipated time of delivery to the customer site. Sometimes called a Ship Notice/Manifest.

ADX
Advanced Data Exchange

AIAG
Automobile Industry Action Group. This committee defines EDI transaction sets for the automotive industry, and handles standard maintenance requests. AIAG operates the ANX (Automobile Exchange)

ANSI
American National Standards Institute. This organization maintains commercial standards for a variety of industries.

ANSI X12
ANSI X12 is a numbered set of commercial EDI transactions defined by the American National Standards Institute's Accredited Standards Committee X12. These uniform rules for the interchange of business documents are defined for cross industry EDI use and are based upon the variable-length X12 standard.

ANSI ASC X12
See ANSI X12.

ANTENNA
The conductive element that enables an RFID tag or tags to send and receive data.

ARP (Address Resolution Protocol)
The protocol that translates Internet Protocol, or IP, addresses into physical network addresses. One of the many members of the TCP/IP protocol suite, ARP is a key player in the process that allows a packet of data addressed to a particular Internet host to find its destination. See also DNS, RARP, and TCP/IP.

AS1 (Applicability Statement 1)
is a specification for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) communications between businesses using e-mail protocols. The specification has been largely superseded by Applicability Statement 2 (AS2). Both specifications were created by EDI over the Internet (EDIINT), a working group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for developing secure and reliable business communications standards.

AS2 (Applicability Statement 2)
is a specification for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) between businesses using the Internet's Web page protocol, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The specification is an extension of the earlier version, Applicability Statement 1 (AS1). Both specifications were created by EDI over the Internet (EDIINT), a working group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that develops secure and reliable business communications standards.

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
A 7-bit character set and character encoding based on the Roman alphabet as used in modern English on computers.

ASN
See Advance Shipping Notice.

ASYNCH
See Asynchronous.

ASYNCHRONOUS
A communications protocol where one character is sent at a time that is surrounded by a start bit and a stop bit, or sometimes a parity bit. There is an interval between characters.

AUTHENTICATION
An embedded procedure, which verifies that the data sent to a receiver, is authentic, and has not been tampered with in any way during its transmission.

AUTO-ID CENTER
The Auto-ID Center officially closed on October 31, 2003. Its work was transferred to EPCglobal Inc. See Auto-ID Labs.

AUTO-ID LABS
Academic entity headquartered at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) chartered to research and develop EPCglobal Network™ technologies and applications along with five other research universities around the world: the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom; the University of Adelade in Australia; Keio University in Tokyo, Japan; Fudan University in Shanghai, China; and the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Visit www.autoidlabs.org

AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION AND DATA CAPTURE (AIDC)
Technology associated with the creation and acquisition of machine-readable data. The primary technologies are bar codes and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).

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B

BANDWIDTH
The measure of the capacity of a telecommunications line to carry data.

BAUD RATE
The transmission rate of serial data over a telecommunications line.

BISYNCHRONOUS
A communications protocol where blocks of characters are transmitted which are surrounded by predefined stop and start characters.

BITS PER SECOND (bps)
The number of bits that travel over a communications line at a given point.

BRAND OWNER
Entity (party) owning, and in most cases manufacturing, the trade item responsible for: (1) allocating EAN.UCC System numbering and bar code symbols on a given trade item as the administrator of an EAN.UCC Company Prefix (2) establishing the recognizable name (consumer recognizable) to uniquely identify a line of trade items or services.

BRICK
Lowest level detail of a classification scheme. Below a category and subcategory level. Business Process Specification Schema

BPSS
The Electronic Business Extensible Markup Language (ebXML) BPSS specification is used to describe Partner Interface Process® (PIP®) Choreography. PIPs are generated using the "Binary Collaboration" element in BPSS v1.01 with modifications.

BULLETIN BOARD
A virtual location where users can post and read information about a particular topic. Questions and answers are common in this forum.

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BUSINESS REQUIREMENT DOCUMENT (BRD)
The written requirements of a given business process, electronic message, or other standard developed within the EAN.UCC System. The Business Requirement Document is an official artifact of the EAN.UCC System. It is developed in conjunction with a Business Requirement Group and is finalized by vote by that group after a period of public review. The Business Requirement Document is retained, archived, and versioned for future use.

BUSINESS REQUIREMENT GROUP (BRG)
A group within the Global Standards Management Process (GSMP) that reviews and reaches consensus on business practice standards. Standards are organized by process (e.g., order, deliver, as per the Global Business Model) to ensure interoperability across industries and industry sub sectors.


C

CANDIDATE ATTRIBUTE
An attribute that is under evaluation by the Global Standards Management Process (GSMP) Task Group. Once it is ratified, it becomes part of the EAN.UCC System standards.

CATALOG
IDW2 combined product of extended and enriched data offered at a discounted price.

CATALOGUE ITEM (CI)
The representation of a trade item as it is stored in a catalogue for the data synchronization process. The catalogue item is uniquely identified by a Global Trade Item Number® (GTIN®) + Global Location Number (GLN) + Target Market combination (commonly referred to as a key).

CATALOGUE ITEM CONFIRMATION (CIC)
This refers to electronic communication from the Data Recipient to the Data Source indicating what action has been taken on the catalogue item, received through the Catalogue Item Notification. Confirmation is not mandatory. When used, it provides the following choices: (1) Synchronized: Data is integrated, in sync and added to the synchronization list. (2) Accepted: Data is added to the synchronization list and is in the process of being integrated. (3) Rejected: Data will no longer be synchronized or updates will no longer be provided. (4) Review: A request to the Data Source to "review" their data because the Data Recipient has received inconsistent data, which they cannot synchronize. If the data was previously synchronized, it will be removed from the synchronization list.

CATALOGUE ITEM NOTIFICATION (CIN)
A business message used to transmit trade item information from a Data Source to a Data Recipient.

CATALOGUE ITEM PUBLICATION

CIP

A business message standard used by a Data Source to trigger the distribution of trade item information. This triggering results in the creation and distribution of a Catalogue Item Notification.

CATALOGUE ITEM SUBSCRIPTION

CIS

A business message within the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) used to establish a request from a Data Recipient to a Data Source for the update of trade item information on a continuous basis.

CATEGORY
A classification assigned to an item that indicates the higher level grouping to which the item belongs. Items are put into logical groupings to facilitate the management of a diverse number of items.

CATEGORY HIERARCHY
The classification of products by department, category, and subcategory; for example, "Bakery, Bakery Snacks, Cakes."

CERTIFICATION
Process conveying a mark or "seal of compliance" from an authority to a vendor's products that pass a predetermined level of conformance to standards or performance testing. Certification also includes the rules for using and maintaining the mark and how the mark is communicated.

CGI (Common Gateway Interface)
A means for transferring information that users have typed into forms found on Web pages to scripts or programs run on a Web server, and vice versa. Two of the most common uses for CGI are performing database queries in response to user input and creating dynamic Web pages by assembling HTML data on the fly. The most popular language for writing CGI programs is Perl.

Check Digit
A digit calculated from the other digits of an element string, used to check that the data has been correctly composed or correctly keypunched.

CHOREOGRAPHY
The business transactions are sequenced relative to each other in a choreography. The business transaction choreography describes the ordering and transitions between business transactions or sub collaborations within a binary collaboration.

CLASS
Utilized in the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code® (UNSPSC®) as a logical grouping of commodities sharing similar essential properties or characteristics.

CLIENT
A client computer establishes the connection to the host computer (server) for purposes of requesting and then downloading data. In a distributed computer network, such as the Web, any computer that is connected to the network can be a client or a server, depending upon needs.

COLLABORATIVE COMMERCE
The processes, technologies, and the supporting standards that allow continuous and automated exchange of information between trading partners. Describes how businesses communicate with one another to drive down the cost of the supply chain.

COLLABORATIVE PLANNING, FORECASTING, AND REPLENISHMENT (CPFR®)
A set of business processes that entities in a supply chain can use for collaboration on a number of retailer/manufacturer functions towards overall efficiency in the supply chain. CPFR is a registered trademark of the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards (VICS) Association.

COMMODITY
Utilized in the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code® (UNSPSC®) as the lowest level of the classification structure. Includes both products and services.

COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL
An established set of conventions by which two computers or communications devices validate the format and content of messages exchanged.

Consumer Unit
The unit as sold by the retailer to the consumer.

CONTENT OWNER
Entity (party) responsible for organizing the information enclosed within the Extensible Markup Language (XML) message and submission of message to the GS1 Global Registry™.

CONTROL ENVELOPE
The segments that define the beginning and end of an EDI transaction set, or interchange. The header details the information to follow. The trailer matches the trailer information in the header to verify the entire message has been received.

CORE ATTRIBUTE
Attribute whose definition is common across all industries and geographies.

CORE DATA
Core Data is defined as common, reusable elements across various business processes. They can be mandatory or optional. Core Data is a common denominator upon which extensions are built. Examples: Global Location Number (GLN), Global Trade Item Number® (GTIN®).

CUSTOMER IDENTIFIER
The code, which identifies the customer in the header of the envelope.

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D

DATA ELEMENT
The smallest unit of information in an EDI standard composed of one or a series of characters.

DATA FIELD
See Data Element.

DATA ELEMENT DELIMITER CHARACTER
A character that marks the end of a variable length data field.

DATA ELEMENT REFERENCE CHARACTER
A number, which uniquely identifies a particular data element.

DATA ELEMENT SEPARATOR
A specific character, which separates a data element within a segment.

DATA POOL
An entity that provides its customers data synchronization services and a single point of entry to the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN). Data pools must be certified per EAN.UCC System standards to operate within the GDSN. Data pools interoperate with the GS1 Global Registry™ and each other. Example: 1SYNC® Data Pool Services.

DATA RECIPIENT
Entity that provides the criteria to their data pool to enable the Search & Browse mechanism.

DATA SEGMENT IDENTIFIER
The code, which identifies a data segment.

DATA SEGMENT TERMINATOR
A character, which marks the end of a data segment.

DATA SOURCE
Entity that provides the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) with master data. The Data Source is officially recognized as the owner of this data. For a given Item or Party, the source of data is responsible for permanent updates of the information under its responsibility.

DATA STRUCTURE
The EAN.UCC System data structures defined in the various lengths required for the different identification purposes, which all share a hierarchical composition. Their composition blends the needs of international control with the needs of the user.

DATA SYNCHRONIZATION
Data synchronization extends data alignment by introducing a 'life cycle maintenance' feature that automates continuous delivery of compliant item updates to recipients who had previously synchronized on published data.

DATA VALIDATION ENGINE (DVE)
Set of rules and compliance checks executed against the information contained in messages to verify and validate the content of the information.

DIGITAL CERTIFICATE
A computer-based record or electronic message issued by an entity that: (1) identifies the entity issuing it; (2) names or identifies a Certificate Holder; (3) contains the Public Key of the Certificate Holder; (4) identifies the Certificate's Validity Period; and (5) is Digitally Signed by the entity issuing it.

DIRECT STORE DELIVERY (DSD)
Practice where suppliers deliver merchandise directly into stores, often right to the shelf, with no distribution center handling.

DISA
Data Interchange Standards Association. The secretariat of the ANSI ASC X12 committee, which administers the ANSI X12 standards.

DNS (Domain Name Service)
The online database that correlates Internet IP addresses to human-readable domain names such as idea-inc.org. The database isn't stored on any one computer; rather, it's distributed among thousands of name servers spread throughout the Internet.

DROP SHIP
The delivery of a product to the final destination in the retail industry.

DUNS NUMBER
A numbered code assigned by Dun and Bradstreet that identifies an enterprise.

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E

EAN-8 BAR CODE SYMBOL
A bar code symbol of the EAN/UPC symbology that encodes Global Trade Item Numbers® (GTINs®) as EAN/UCC-8 Data Structures.

EAN-13 BAR CODE SYMBOL
A bar code symbol of the EAN/UPC Symbology that encodes EAN/UCC-13 Data Structures.

EAN MEMBER ORGANIZATION (EAN MO or MO)
See GS1 Member Organization.

EAN.UCC COMPANY PREFIX
A globally unique number assigned to companies by GS1 Member Organizations to create the identification numbers of the EAN.UCC System. It comprises an EAN.UCC Prefix and a Company Number.

EAN.UCC COUPON CODE
An identification number for coupons issued in a national currency that uses the EAN/UCC-13 Data Structure.

EAN.UCC PREFIX
A three digit index number of the EAN.UCC System, that is either: (1) allocated to a GS1 Member Organization to create EAN.UCC Company Prefixes or (2) used to denote the format and meaning of a particular element string.

EAN.UCC SYSTEM
The EAN.UCC System standardizes identification numbers, data carriers, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) transaction sets, Extensible Markup Language (XML) Standard schemas, and other supply chain solutions for more efficient business. GS1, through the Global Standards Management Process (GSMP), manages the EAN.UCC System to maintain the most implemented standards in the world.

eBUSINESSREADY®
An industry-neutral software testing program, under joint partnership of GS1 US™ and Drummond Group Inc. (DGI), that enables vertical and horizontal compliance and interoperability across the global supply chain. For software buyers, eBusinessReady provides a valued resource for product selection and cost savings by taking the guesswork out of implementing supply chain solutions. For software vendors, eBusinessReady certifies solutions and enables companies to deliver certified compliant and interoperable products to their customers. The eBusinessReady program addresses the needs of enterprises and supply chains by providing a neutral third party test of various software solutions for interoperability and compliance. Visit www.ebusinessready.org for more information.

EC
Electronic Commerce refers to the exchange of documents and data (e.g., Purchase Orders, Invoices, Mortgage Credit Reports, etc.) by electronic means including, the Internet, VANs, E-mail.

EDI
Electronic Data Interchange is a subset of Electronic Commerce. It is a set of standardized electronic business documents, which are exchanged in agreed upon formats. The two largest EDI standards are ANSI X12 and EDIFACT.

EDI TRANSACTION SET
An electronic business document. It is comprised of a set of predefined EDI segments, which begin with a header and end with a trailer. The transaction set normally has three sections:

  1. A heading section of data fields referring to the entire transaction set
  2. A detail section of data fields referencing individual line items
  3. A summary section for totaling data.

EDIA
Electronic Data Interchange Association. Formerly call the TDCC, this organization developed the EDI transaction sets for the transportation, grocery and warehousing industries.

EDIFACT
Electronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce and Transport. The international EDI standards developed within the framework of the United Nations. The International Standards Organization (ISO) ratifies this EDI standard. The Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA) administers these standards in the United States.

EDI PRO
NAED's program to facilitate the implementation of EDI in the electrical industry. By providing a detailed subset of the ANSI x12 transaction definitions, it provides the roadmap for distributors, manufacturers and representatives to conduct EDI. EDI Pro allows industry customers to program the EDI transactions once, and then exchange them with virtually everyone in the industry doing EDI. The result is a much smaller effort to become EDI capable, and a much larger and faster ROI

EFC
Electro Federation Canada

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE (e-commerce)
Use of electronic means to conduct commerce between trading partners. Electronic commerce offers companies the opportunity to exchange, electronically, data and services. These can include product information, orders, payments, e-mail messages, supply chain management for inventory, distribution and ware housng, tracking of shipments, and instructions. Often referred to as e-business.

ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER (EFT)
Financial transactions and information about such that is processed between financial institutions.

ELECTRONIC PRODUCT CODE™ (EPC)
An identification scheme for universally identifying physical objects via RFID tags and other means. The standardized EPC data consists of an EPC (or EPC Identifier) that uniquely identifies an individual object, as well as an optional Filter Value when judged to be necessary to enable effective and efficient reading of the EPC tags.

ELECTRONIC MAILBOX
The disk storage repository that serves to receive and deliver electronic messages.

ENCRYPTION
The method of scrambling data with a mathematical algorithm in order to make it unreadable to outside users who do not have the decrypting calculations. Encryption keys that perform the calculations handle data encrypting. Both sender and receiver must have the same keys to read exchanged encrypted messages.

ENRICHED DATA
IDW2 product, Sub product, category and subcategory hierarchal data with attributes that enable long descriptions, key word search and includes product image and related technical data, Enriched product is recommended companies that need data for e-catalogs, print catalogs, websites or inside or outside sales resources etc.

EPC (Electronic Product Code™)
A globally unique serial number that identifies an item in the supply chain. This allows inquiries to be made about a single instance of an item, wherever it is within the supply chain.

EPC INFORMATION SERVICES (EPCIS)
A component of the EPCglobal Network™, which enables users to exchange EPC-related data with trading partners through the Network.

EPC MANAGER NUMBER
The number allocated to a company or a company entity by EPCglobal, which identifies that company or company entity.

EPC MIDDLEWARE
The component of the EPCglobal Network™ that manages real-time read events and information, provides alerts, and manages the basic read information for communication to EPC Information Services (EPCIS) and a company's other existing information systems. EPCglobal is developing a software interface standard for services enabling data exchange between an EPC reader or network of readers and information systems.

EPC READER
An RFID reader that complies with the EPCglobal standard.

EPC TAG
RFID tag that complies with the EPCglobal standard and contains an Electronic Product Code™ (EPC).

EPCglobal Inc™
A joint venture between GSI and GS1 US™. It is a not-for-profit organization entrusted by industry to establish and support the Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) and the global adoption of the EPCglobal Network™ as the global standards for immediate, automatic and accurate identification of any item in the supply chain of any company, in any industry, in any country in the world.

EPCglobal Network™
A set of technologies that enable immediate, automatic identification and sharing of information on items in the supply chain.

EPCglobal Standards Specification
An EPCglobal standard is a specification or set of guidelines that, after extensive consensus-building, has received the endorsement of EPCglobal Subscribers and the EPCglobal Inc™ Board of Governors.

EPCglobal US™
A Member Organization of EPCglobal Inc™ and an affiliate of GS1 US™. It is a not-for-profit organization entrusted by industry to establish global standards regarding the development, implementation and adoption of Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) and Radio Frequency Identification technology and support of the EPCglobal Network™. EPCglobal US™ engages Subscribers across all industries, allowing them to get involved in the standards development process and aiding in their implementation and adoption of the EPCglobal Network. EPCglobal US also provides US-based Subscribers with technical and educational support, and services.

EXCEPTIONS
Error conditions where invalid or incomplete data is found in EDI transaction set exchanges.

EXTENDED DATA
IDW2 transactional and expanded data attributes up to 250 data fields including all Core product data fields and additional attributes such as packaging etc. The Extended product is recommended for companies that require additional business data beyond basic ordering information.

EXTRANET
a private network. The IDW Extranet would link together all manufacturers, distributors and the IDW for the purpose of exchanging electronic data at a fixed rate that should be lower than current VAN charges for existing EDI traffic.

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F

FA
See Functional Acknowledgment.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
A document with answers to frequently asked questions. FAQs are widely available online and cover a broad spectrum of topics ranging from gourmet cooking to the inner workings of TCP/IP.

FIXED-LENGTH
A data field or record that is of a predefined number of characters. FIXED-LENGTH FILE
A file composed of fixed-length data fields.

FLAT FILE

Flat File - A file that has no structured interrelationship between its data records. A text document without formatting structure is considered a flat file.

FREIGHT BILL
The bill of the carrier for costs incurred by shipping.

FREQUENCY
The number of repetitions of a complete wave within one second. One Hz equals one complete waveform in one second. RFID tags utilize low, high, ultra-high, and microwave frequencies.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
A widely used TCP/IP protocol for transferring files from one machine to another. Internet users may use FTP applications to log in to FTP servers and download files. No restrictions are placed on file contents; they may contain text or binary data. Files may be protected from unauthorized access using authentication control, or they can be made public with anonymous FTP, which doesn't require a login name or password. See also TFTP.

FUNCTIONAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The electronic acknowledgment sent by a receiver of a message back to the sender that the message was syntactically correct. It does not infer that the content of the message is likewise correct. It is the 997 document of the ANSI X12 EDI transaction sets.

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G

GATEWAY
The connection point between a computer or system and the outside world.

GLN (Global Location Number)
A 13-digit number and standard means to uniquely identify legal entities, trading parties and locations to support electronic commerce. The GLN is designed to improve the efficiency of integrated logistics.l,

GLOBAL ATTRIBUTE
Indicates that the attribute is relevant for business cases around the world and can only have a single meaning throughout the world (e.g., Global Trade Item Numbers® (GTINs®), but a different value (e.g., VAT-France = 1.00, Belgium = 1.05). Relevant globally, but has different values.

GLOBAL COMPANY IDENTIFIER
RosettaNet-branded term for the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS®). The Global Company Identifier is the RosettaNet object, and DUNS is the specified solution.

GLOBAL DATA DICTIONARY (GDD)
The repository of definitions and attributes of all data elements used within the EAN.UCC Business Message Standards.

GLOBAL DATA SYNCHRONIZATION NETWORK (GDSN)
The GS1 Global Registry™ and a network of interoperable certified data pools that enable data synchronization per EAN.UCC System standards.

GLOBAL INDIVIDUAL ASSET IDENTIFIER (GIAI)
The globally unique EAN.UCC System identification number for a physical entity of any characteristics. The Global Individual Asset Identifier comprises the EAN.UCC Company Prefix of the company assigning the asset identifier, an Individual Asset Reference, and Check Digit. The Individual Asset Reference is numeric or alphanumeric, and its structure is left to the discretion of the assigning company.

GLOBAL LOCATION NUMBER (GLN)
The globally unique EAN.UCC System identification number for legal entities, functional entities, and physical locations. The Global Location Number uses the EAN/UCC-13 Data Structure. Supply side trading partner locations generally include corporate headquarters, regional offices, warehouses, plants and distribution centers. Demand side trading partner locations generally include corporate headquarters, divisional offices, stores and distribution centers.

GLOBAL PRODUCT CLASSIFICATION (GPC)
An EAN.UCC System standard for the classification of products. GPC is a 'flat' classification system based on bricks, attributes and values. GPC is a required element of the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN).

GLOBAL STANDARDS MANAGEMENT PROCESS (GSMP)
The procedures, methods, and practices that develop and maintain EAN.UCC System standards. GS1 manages the Global Standards Management Process.

GLOBAL TRADE ITEM NUMBER® (GTIN®)
The globally unique EAN.UCC System identification number for products and services. A Global Trade Item Number may be 8, 12, 13, or 14 digits in length using the EAN/UCC-8, UCC-12, EAN/UCC-13, or EAN/UCC-14 Data Structure respectively.

GMAIC
General Merchandise and Apparel Implementation Committee. This committee operates under the auspices of the Uniform Code Council (UCC) and implements Universal Product Code (UPC, i.e. bar codes) standards for the retail industry.

GS1
GS1, based in Brussels, Belgium, is an organization of GS1 Member Organizations that manages the EAN.UCC System and Global Standards Management Process (GSMP).

GS1 CANADA
The GS1 Member Organization that administers the EAN.UCC System in Canada.

GS1 GLOBAL REGISTRY™
The global directory of the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) for the registration of items and parties that validates registered data and ensures the uniqueness of items and parties based on their Global Trade Item Number® (GTIN®) and Global Location Number (GLN). Basic item and party information is stored in the Registry and a pointer is provided to the appropriate data pool where more information about a specific item or party can be found. The Registry also facilitates the subscription process between retailers and suppliers.

GS1 GLOBAL REGISTRY™ SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT
The GS1Global Registry™ Subscription Agreement is a contractual agreement between a member of the GS1 Community and GS1 Global Registry Inc. This subscription agreement allows a right of passage to the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN).

GS1 MEMBER ORGANIZATION (GS1 MO or MO)
A member of GS1 that is responsible for administering the EAN.UCC System in its country (or assigned area) and for managing the correct use of the EAN.UCC System by its member companies. GS1 US™ is the GS1 Member Organization for the United States.

GS1 US™

Formerly the Uniform Code Council, Inc.® (UCC®). GS1 US™ is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the adoption and implementation of standards-based, global supply chain solutions. Under its auspices, GS1 US operates three wholly owned subsidiaries, EPCglobal US™, RosettaNet, and 1SYNC®. GS1 US manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code® (UNSPSC®) for the United Nations Development Programme. EPCglobal Inc™ is a joint venture of GS1 US and GS1. GS1 US-based solutions, including business processes, business message standards using XML, EDI transaction sets, and the bar code identification standards of the EAN.UCC System are currently used by more than one million member companies worldwide. For more information about GS1 US, please visit: www.GS1US.org. GS1 US is headquartered in Lawrenceville, NJ USA.

GTIN (Global Trade Item Number)

A family of EAN.UCC global data structures that employ 14 digits and can be encoded into various data carriers. GTIN is used within bar codes but it can also be used in other data carriers such as radio frequency identification (RFID). The GTIN is only a term and does not impact any existing standards, nor does it place any additional requirements on scanning hardware. For North American companies, the UPC is an existing form of the GTIN.

The family of data structures (not symbologies) comprising GTIN include:

  • UCC-12 (UPC-A): this is a 12-digit number used primarily in North America
  • EAN/UCC-8 (EAN-8): this is an 8-digit number used predominately outside of North America
  • EAN/UCC-13 (EAN-13): this is a 13-digit number used predominately outside of North America
  • EAN/UCC-14 (EAN/UCC-128 or ITF-14): this is a 14-digit number used to identify trade

GTIN® COMPLIANT
A company or product that is able to process, store, and communicate with trading partners using all Global Trade Item Numbers® (GTIN®), whether 8, 12, 13, or 14 digits. Global Trade Item Number compliance does not assume the ability to scan Reduced Space Symbology® symbols.

GTIN® FORMAT
The format in which all Global Trade Item Number® (GTIN®) data structures are represented in a 14-digit reference field (key) in computer files to ensure uniqueness of the identification numbers.

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H

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
A text-based page description language that uses tags to describe formatting idioms and allows richly formatted documents to be created using everyday text editors. HTML is the language used to create Web pages. See also HTTP and VRML.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
The text-based protocol that serves as the official language of the World Wide Web. HTTP defines high-level commands, or methods - such as GET and PUT - that browsers use to communicate with Web servers. The GET command requests a page of HTML data, a .GIF file, or other resource from a Web server in preparation for displaying it in a browser window. See also HTML.

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I

ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol)
The TCP/IP protocol used to send control and error information regarding IP data gram transmissions. When an IP data gram cannot be delivered to its destination, perhaps because the machine at the destination is temporarily out of service or message traffic is too heavy, a router may use ICMP to notify the sender of the failure. See also IP.

IDEA
A joint NEMA and NAED for profit e-commerce service provider. IDEA provides a private data exchange and data warehouse for the electro industry

IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol)
The TCP/IP protocol that permits Internet hosts to take part in IP multicasting -an efficient means of broadcasting messages to groups of computers.

IMAGING
Creating electronic files of objects or graphics.

INDUSTRY GUIDELINE
A subset of an electronic data standard, which comprises only the data segments and elements for that industry.

IDUSTRY DATA WAREHOUSE
A central repository of information used for business transactions or systems processing. IDW (Industry Data Warehouse), the single source solution created by the IDEA for the exchange of product information in a standardized format.

INTERCHANGE
The data transmitted between a sender and receiver in a single transmission.

INTERCONNECT
The transmission of data from one VAN to another.
InterNIC (Internet Network Information Center)
The administrative organization that is responsible for, among other things, allocating domain names and distributing RFC's. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the InterNIC is currently run by Network Solutions and AT&T. See also RFC.

INVENTORY INQUIRY/ADVICE
The 846 document of the ANSI X12 EDI transaction sets. A request for the availability information of a particular product.

IP (Internet Protocol)
The protocol responsible for transmitting packets of data over the Internet and routing them to their destinations. Tagging a packet with an IP address identifying an Internet host and transmitting it using IP is analogous to addressing an envelope and dropping it in the mail. IP plays the role of post office, allowing the networks and routers involved in the delivery process to talk to each other as the packet finds its way to the addressee. See also TCP, TCP/IP, and UDP.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
A digital telephone network that transmits data in digital form (1's and 0's) rather than analog form. Provided it's available in your area, ISDN is a quick and convenient way to access the Internet from your home or small office at speeds of up to 128 Kbps.

ISP (Internet Service Provider)
A company, usually a local one that provides connections to the Internet for a monthly or hourly fee.

ITEM HIERARCHY
The classification of items indicating the parent/child relationships between items.

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J

JIT
See Just-in-time.

JUST-IN-TIME
An operational strategy that requires receiving materials just-in-time for the next manufacturing process. Fast turnaround is essential in this effort to reduce inventories at the manufacturing site.

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K

KILO CHARACTER
1000 characters; a unit of measure for tracking and reporting traffic volume on VANs and exchanges

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L

LINE SPEED
The rate of characters, which can be transmitted over a telecommunications line. Often measured in bits per second (bps) or baud.

LOOP
The repetition of a segment or group to segments in an EDI transaction set.

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M

MAILBOX
See Electronic Mailbox.

MAPPING
The associating of one set of values or format to a different set of values or format. Often it is the linking of EDI file formats to internal company file formats.

MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND OPERATIONS (MRO)
The utilitarian materials and requirements to operate a business.

MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS PLANNING (MRP)
A production schedule which organizes the placement of materials where and when they are required.

MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)
A protocol for sending non-ASCII data - for example, sound, video, and graphics - over the Internet using text-based transport protocols such as SMTP. See also POP and SMTP.

MRP
See Material Requirements Planning.

MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)
A document required for specific products by United States Federal Law, 29 CFR 1910.1200. According to federal law, manufacturers and importers of certain products must produce a MSDS for each hazardous product they produce or import. This law also requires U.S. employers to have a MSDS in the workplace. A MSDS explains the hazards associated with the product, as well as what precautions to take to avoid those hazards.

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N

NAED
National Association of Electrical Distributors.

NEMA
National Electrical Manufacturers Association.

NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol)
The protocol used to transmit Usenet messages across the Internet.

NEMRA
National Electrical Manufacturers Representative Association

NRF
National Retail Federation. Formerly call NRMA, National Retail Merchants Association.

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O

ODETTE
An EDI standard employed in the European automotive industry.

ORDER STATUS INQUIRY
The 869 document of the ANSI X12 EDI transaction sets. A request for information regarding the status of an order.

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P

PAR LEVEL
The specified amount of inventory an enterprise wishes to have at a certain location.

PDD or PDDB
Product Descriptor Database: an electrical industry interpretation of the ANSIX12 standard that NAED, NEMA, and NEMRA has jointly agreed upon, to define a common method of digitally describing every product, along with other data fields important to the product1s application. These include UPC Code, part number, packaging indicators, published price information, cubes and weights, and other miscellaneous information that helps fully describe a product.

PIDX
Petroleum Industry Data Exchange.

PING (Packet Internet Groper)
A TCP/IP application used to determine whether other machines are online and available. Pinging is performed by sending an ICMP echo request and waiting for a reply. See also ICMP.

POINT OF SALE (POS)
A software, which enables the seller of a product to gather product information at the time of the sale, usually including the price. Bar codes are often used in this process.

POP (Post Office Protocol)
The text-based protocol used to send and retrieve Internet e-mail messages. Unlike SMTP, which is used primarily to transfer mail messages between mail servers, POP provides a way for mail programs to interact with virtual mailboxes in which messages wait until they are sent or retrieved. POP comes in two flavors: POP2 and POP3. The two are related in name only and are not compatible.

POS
See Point of Sale.

PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol)
An enhanced form of PPP that uses "tunneling" - encapsulating packets of data written for one network protocol inside packets used by another - to allow TCP/IP data to be transmitted over non-TCP/IP networks. The most common use for PPTP is to join physical networks together to form "virtual internets" using the Internet as a go- between.

PRODUCT CODE
A number or code that uniquely identifies a product.

PRODUCT HIERARCHY
Refers to the 'contains' and 'contained by' data requirements for identifying product relationships, such as a case 'contains' these consumer units, or a consumer unit is 'contained by' a specific case.

PROPRIETARY FORMAT
A specific EDI standard format used by a company or limited group. It is not ANSI X12 compliant.

PROTOCOL
set of common rules (or language) that allow computers to communicate with each other. The standard protocol is TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The Web utilizes the HTTP protocol Server: any computer providing access to files, printing, communications and other services available to other users over a network.

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Q

QUALIFIER
A data element that gives a generic data element a specific meaning.

QUICK RESPONSE (QR)
A retail industry strategy using business rules and technologies that shortens cycle time from suppliers to vendors in response to retail customers' demands.

QR
See Quick Response.

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R

RARP (Reverse Address Resolution Protocol)
The Internet protocol that permits a physical network address (for example, a 48-bit Ethernet address) to be translated into an IP address by sending a request to anRARP server. This protocol is used by diskless workstations to determine their own IP addresses at startup. See also ARP.

RECIPIENT DATA POOL
A data pool that has retailers or distributors and provides data synchronization services such as Subscription Requests and others specific to this group.

RFC (Request for Comments/Change)
An online document containing proposals, standards, and other information regarding Internet technologies. RFCs are available by anonymous FTP from a variety of locations, including InterNIC's own ds.internic.net. They may also be requested by email (mailserv@ds.internic.com) or by phone (800-444-4345). IDEA uses RFCs for soliciting requests for improvements to the IDX2 and IDW

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)
An automatic identifcation method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. An RFID tag is a small object that can be attached to or incorporated into a product. RFID tags contain antennas to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver. Passive tags require no internal power source, whereas active tags require a power source.

RFID READER
An RFID reader communicates via radio waves with RFID tags and delivers the information in a digital format to a computer system. Also known as an Interrogator or a reader,

RFID TAG
A microchip attached to an antenna that sends data to an RFID reader. The RFID tag contains a unique serial number, and can also contain additional data. RFID tags can be active, passive, or semi-passive tags.

RosettaNet
A not-for-profit consortium dedicated to the collaborative development and rapid deployment of open, Internet-based e-business process standards that align processes within the global trading network. More than 500 multinational and regional companies in the computer and consumer electronics, electronic components, logistics, semiconductor manufacturing, and telecommunications industries, and solution providers participate in RosettaNet's strategic standards and services development. Fortune 1000 companies worldwide have implemented RosettaNet e-business process standards. RosettaNet is a subsidiary of GS1 US™. To date, the consortium has established several regional affiliate organizations - in the Americas, Australia, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan - giving a voice to various business economies seeking to adopt and influence RosettaNet's global standards. Information on RosettaNet's worldwide activities, including a complete list of member companies and participating organizations, is available at www.RosettaNet.org

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S

SEGMENT
A predefined set of functionally related data elements that make up a specific unit in an EDI transaction set.

SEGMENT IDENTIFIER
The unique 2-3-character code that identifies a specific segment, and is the first characters of that segment.

SEGMENT TERMINATOR
The control character that marks the end of a specific variable-length segment.

SOURCE DATA POOL
A data pool that has suppliers or distributors and provides data synchronization services such as Data Loading, Publication, Notification, Registration, etc., specific to this group.

SPA (Special Pricing Authorization)
A discounted price granted by a manufacturer to a distributor to meet a competitive situation. Depending on a manufacturer's published procedures and guidelines, such transactions may be known as Ship and Debit, Direct Ship Quote or Sale, Distributor In-to-Stock Price Program or Quote, or Promotional Quote.

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T

T1
A leased line that provides high-speed 1.544-Mbps (megabit per second) connections to the Internet. Typically available in large company and university settings. Also known as "Web Surfer's Heaven."

T3
A leased line that provides ultra-high-speed 45 Mbps connections to the Internet.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
The TCP/IP protocol that provides reliable stream delivery service to Internet applications. Using TCP, and Internet client can open a virtual connection to another Internet client and transmit streams of data. Unlike its counterpart, UDP, the TCP protocol ensures reliable delivery by retransmitting lost and corrupted data packets. It also guarantees that an application on the receiving end of a TCP connection will receive bits and bytes in the same order in which they were sent. See also UDP.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
A suite of networking protocols that includes TCP, IP, UDP, ARP, RARP, and ICMP, to name just a few. Often referred to as the "the glue that binds the Internet." TCP/IP allows disjoint, dissimilar, and spatially separated physical networks to be joined together to form one large virtual network, or "internet."

TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol)
A simplified version of FTP that lacks the authentication services FTP provides and relies on UDP rather than TCP for data transport. TFTP is less complex and easier to program than FTP. See also FTP.

TDCC (TRANSPORTATION DATA COORDINATING COMMITTEE)
See EDIA.

THIRD PARTY NETWORK
A commercial service which transports and houses information between trading partners, e.g., a VAN.

TRANSACTION SET
A collection of EDI segments which create a document, which can perform a standard business transaction. Each transaction set includes a header, detail and a summary.

TRANSACTION SET DETAIL AREA
The set of EDI standard segments, which contain information relating to the line items in the transaction, set.

TRANSACTION SET HEADER AREA
The segments in the header section, which contain information relating to the entire transaction, set.

TRANSACTION SET TRAILER SEGMENT
The segment with indicates the end of the transaction set.

TRANSLATION
The use of maps to convert non-standard EDI record formats into standard EDI record formats.

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U

UCC
Uniform Code Council. The organization, which administers the Uniform Code Standard, the Universal Product Code and other EDI standards. The UCC assigns the first six digits of the UPC number; the remaining five are assigned by the vendor.

UCS
Uniform Communication Standard. It is an EDI standard developed for the grocery industry.

UDP (User Data gram Protocol)
The TCP/IP protocol that allows packets of data, or data grams, to be sent from one Internet application to another. UDP is a "connectionless" protocol, because, unlike TCP, it does not require the sender and receiver to establish a connection before data is transmitted. It's considered "unreliable," because it doesn't guarantee that data grams will arrive in the same order they were sent, or even that they will arrive at all. If reliability is desired, it's up to the application using UDP to provide it. See also TCP.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
A human-readable string that identifies the location of a resource on the Internet (for example, a page of HTML data or a .GIF file) and the protocol used to retrieve it. The URL for a document published by the World Wide Web Consortium that describes the format of URLs is http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Addressing/Addressing.html

UNSPSCĀ® (United Nations Standard Products and Services CodeĀ®
Provides an open, global multi-sector standard for efficient, accurate classification of products and services.

UN/EDIFACT
See EDIFACT.

UPC
Universal Product Code. The bar code system administered by the UCC for the retail industry. There are three basic components: 1) the first six digits identify the manufacturer of the product and are assigned by the UCC, 2) the next six digits are assigned by the manufacturer for identification purposes, 3) the next two digits are a check number.

UPC-A
A version of the UPC for the retail and apparel industry.

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V

VAN
Value Added Network. A third party network that transmits data between trading partners.

VARIABLE LENGTH FIELD
A data element that's number of characters may range over a specified minimum and maximum length. Only meaningful characters in the field are transmitted. All public EDI standards are of variable length.

VARIABLE LENGTH FILE
A file containing variable length fields which are delimited by a specified character, for example a comma.

VICS
Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards. An EDI standard which applies in the apparel retail industry.

VMI
Vendor managed inventory. Vendor managed inventory is a complete re-engineering of the traditional replenishment cycle. VMI uses EDI transactions, but unlike EDI, which merely automates existing work tasks, VMI eliminates work and tasks. It completely eliminates routine, repetitive purchasing activities for both the distributor and the manufacturer providing the program. The distributor retains control of his inventory by setting the objectives for service level or inventory investment. The manufacturer's computer operates the process, and measures the joint progress toward the objectives. The intended result is the achieving of the distributor's targeted service level to the end customer at the lowest possible total cost over time.

VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language)
The 3-D counterpart to HTML, VRML is a script like language that permits rich 3-D scenes to be described in simple text files and displayed in VRML-capable Web browsers. VRML solves the problem of the high bandwidth required to transmit bitmapped scenes by minimizing the flow of information from the Web server to the browser and allowing the browser to render the scene - and thus do the bulk of the work required to display the scene - locally. See also HTML.

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W

WWW (World Wide Web)
A virtual world formed by Internet HTTP servers containing richly formatted pages that can be downloaded upon request to browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. It is more commonly known as "the Web.' It was the creation of this network in 1994 (and the proliferation of browsers that followed soon after) that made Internet a household word. See also HTML, HTTP, and VRML.

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X

X12
See ANSI X12.

X.25
The communication protocol used in the X.400 environment.

X.400
A standard in electronic messaging in which a header precedes the message and thereby allows the sender the reference information relating to the transmission, or delivery or request notices.

X.435
A version of the X.400 standard that more effectively tackles EDI transmission requirements

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