Global location number (GLN)

A Global Location Number (GLN) is a globally unique 13 digit number that identifies an entity or location. This could be a physical location such as a warehouse or a legal entity such as a company or customer or a function that takes place within a legal entity. It can also be used to identify something as specific as a particular storage location, such as a bin.

A GS1 GLN Executive Summary is located at: http://www.gs1.org/sites/default/files/docs/idkeys/GS1_GLN_Executive_Summary.pdf

For information about GLNs, see the GS1 website: www.gs1.org

In addition to the benefits for tracking and reporting locations, GLNs are used to simplify the setup and maintenance of the EDI system.

Without GLNs, locations are typically identified by vendor assigned account numbers. Those account numbers are cross referenced with your Infor proprietary values, for example, company, ship to, vendor. Each vendor has a different account number for each location. If you have one company with five locations and 10 vendors, that could be up to 50 account numbers and 50 cross reference entities to maintain; add in multiple companies and vendor purchase forms and the list and maintenance of account numbers grows even more. GLNs are assigned by the "owner" of a location. You enumerate your locations with the GS1 organization and use the GLNs in the transactions. Instead of 50 account numbers, you have five GLNs.