Step 1: Go to the GS1 standards site

Go to www.gs1.org/standards

Step 2: Find the published GPC schemas

Click on Global Product Classification (GPC)

Then on View the GPC standards

Step 3: Select Segment where your product could be found

From the list of GPC Published Standards, identify the relevant sector or category. For example, for Fresh Milk choose "Food, Beverage and Tobacco (FBT)".

Note: Should you have difficulty identifying an appropriate Segment, select the Combined Published Schema. This contains all published Segments. You can use it to search for the relevant Bricks.

Step 4: Open or Download the files

From the list, select the files and download (all files are in a Zip files containing relevnat XML, Excel and Word files).

Step 5: Search the hierarchies and Brick definitions to find your Brick

There are two ways to find your Brick in the Excel file: using Filters or the Find function. Make sure you are working on the Attribute classification sheet.

Using Filters

• If Filters are not displayed, go to Data > Filter > AutoFilter .
• Click the filter arrow at the top of the Brick Description column and select the relevant Brick Description from the unique list.
• Identify and note the Brick Code and Brick Description. For example, for Fresh Milk the Brick Code is "10000025" and the Brick Description is "Milk (Perishable)".

Using the Find function

• Select the 'Brick Description' column
• Press Ctrl+F to bring up the Find dialogue box
• Type in the keyword (for example, "Milk"), change 'Search:' from "By Rows" to "By Columns" and click the Find Next button
• Identify and note the Brick Code and Brick Description. For example, for Fresh Milk the Brick Code is "10000025" and the Brick Description is "Milk (Perishable)".

Note: Currently, there are two special bricks located in the Cross Segment Segment. These bricks should only be used as a last resort:

1. Cross Segment Variety Packs: for variety packs that contain items that go across Segments and cannot be placed into one Segments
2. Temporary Classification: for products that have not been developed in the GPC schema.

Step 6: Locate the GPC Brick definition

Go to GPC standards page and select the relevant GPC Publication Schema and select the area of interest to you.
There are two ways to find your Brick in the file: using Bookmarks or the Find function.

Using Bookmarks

• Open the PDF and click the bookmarks tab to make it easier to navigate through the document
• Look through the bookmarks and click on the matching Brick Code and Brick Description

Using the Find function

• Press Ctrl+F and enter the Brick Code (for example, "10000025") in the box that appears
• Click on the Next button to locate the text

Step 7: Review the GPC Brick definition to confirm your product falls in this category

Read the definition for the Brick and confirm that your product meets these criteria.

If so, move on to the next step. If not, review the definitions of the other bricks that fall within this sector. For "milk", you could look at Milk (Shelf Stable) or (Frozen).

Note: Should you require GPC attribute information, it can be found below the GPC Brick definition. A similar process should be followed to determine which information is relevant to you product.

Step 8: Record the information that will be required for data synchronisation

The GPC Brick number and description are both required for data synchronisation. Record this information for each of your products. Review the GPC Brick definition to confirm your product falls in this category.

If attributes are required, note the four elements for each attribute. For example:

• GPC Attribute Type Code - 20000142
• GPC Attribute Type Description - If Organic
• GPC Attribute Value Code - 30002960
• GPC Attribute Value Description - NO

Step 9: Use the information in your internal systems or selected data pool.

Once you have determined the GPC information to be used, either add it to your internal product information or supply it when you submit your product information to your chosen data pool for data synchronisation.