The question sounds technical but is strategic: which URI does the QR code on your product carry? The answer ties you - or not - to a provider over the entire product lifetime.
Three answers you regularly see in DPP projects:
- A short link
qr.anbieter.com/a7f2-xy9. No meaningful structure, dead when you change provider. - Your own domain
dpp.ihre-firma.com/p/123456. Better, but still proprietary. - A GS1 Digital Link
https://id.ihre-firma.com/01/04012345678901. A structured standard, GTIN-based, resolvable in a provider-neutral way.
Only the third route lets you change provider without reprinting the QR code. The reason:
What GS1 Digital Link is
GS1 Digital Link is a standard that has been stable since 2018 and was ratified as ISO/IEC 18975 in 2024. It defines how a web link carries product identifiers - typically the GTIN, that is, the long-familiar barcode number block - in a standardised URL structure.
Example:
https://id.ihre-firma.com/01/04012345678901/10/LOT-2026-03
-
01/04012345678901- the GTIN (Application Identifier01) -
10/LOT-2026-03- batch number (Application Identifier10)
The Application Identifiers are the same ones that have appeared in GS1-128 barcodes on Euro pallets for decades. The only thing new is that they now fit into an HTTPS URL.
Why redirect services are a problem
A short link qr.anbieter.com/a7f2 works as long as the provider exists and keeps the service running. That sounds trivial but it is not:
- the provider discontinues the service or is acquired
- you want to switch to a different DPP provider
- the provider raises prices and you have no bargaining power (because your codes are already printed)
For DPP-relevant products one has to assume lifecycles of 10 years and more. In that time a lot changes in the IT world. The QR code on the product does not change - it was lasered into a battery casing.
The trick: resolver decoupling
GS1 Digital Link separates the identifier (GTIN) and the resolver (the URL that resolves the QR code). As long as both stay in the same scheme, you can switch the resolver without reprinting the code.
Concretely:
- the QR code points to
https://id.ihre-firma.com/01/04012345678901 -
id.ihre-firma.comis a DNS entry that you control - today this DNS entry points to your current DPP provider
- in three years you can move it to another one - the QR code does not change
This is the same decoupling that email has done for 40 years: max@firma.de works regardless of whether you use Exchange, Google Workspace or IONOS for mail hosting.
One QR code, several views
A GS1 Digital Link can deliver different resources depending on the request context. By default GS1 defines Link Types for different audiences:
-
gs1:pip- Product Information Page for end consumers -
gs1:safetyInformation- safety data for supervisory authorities -
gs1:productSustainabilityInformation- ESG and circular-economy data -
gs1:recyclingInformation- disposal instructions
A resolver delivers the appropriate resource depending on the linkType parameter or the Accept header. For you this means: one printed code, many user groups. The DPP for end consumers and the data set for the recycling operation are reachable under the same URL.
GTIN alternatives for products without a trade identifier
Not every product has a GTIN. Industrial plant, bespoke manufactures, bulk goods such as cement, construction products with an individual batch identifier. GS1 defines further Application Identifiers for this:
-
8004- GIAI, Global Individual Asset Identifier -
01 + 21- GTIN plus serial number (individualised) -
253- Global Document Type Identifier for documents
For genuinely non-GS1 products there is the route via a URI in your own namespace - as long as the structure is documented and stable.
What you should concretely check
If you are currently evaluating a DPP provider:
- Does the provider generate GS1 Digital Links on a domain that you control?
- Can the provider respect your own GS1 prefix management, or does it roll out its own numbering logic?
- Which Link Types are supported?
- Can you export your entire data inventory - as CSV, XLSX, JSON-LD and SQL or via a REST API?
- How does the provider bind to a different resolver?
The last question is the litmus test. If a provider answers it with “that is not foreseen”, you tie yourself to its platform for the lifetime of the product.