The Global Service Relation Number (GSRN) is part of the GS1 system of standards. It is a simple tool used to identify a service and can identify services uniquely where required.
The Global Service Relation Number (GSRN) is the GS1 Identification Key used to identify the relationship between a service provider and service recipient. The GSRN can identify business relationships between businesses or individuals. It does not identify a business or individual specifically for purposes other than the service being provided and therefore does not raise privacy concerns. In simple terms a company or business will issue a GSRN to a customer to identify their relationship. This could be a club membership, a member of a loyalty program or to identify a patient attending hospital.
The GSRN will be the key that links to a database to identify the specific detail of the service offered and the contract with the individual. The GSRN may be held as a database record and may be encoded in a barcode that the customer may use to identify themselves to the service provider. The GSRN may be encoded in a code 128, or held in an Electronic Product Code (EPC) tag or used in a database. The function of a GSRN is to provide an identification point which can be used to retrieve information held in a database associated that particular service relation.