Global Location Number​ (GLN Number)​ Germany: A Complete Guide

A Global Location Number (GLN) is a unique GS1 number for your business, warehouse, store, department, or any other business location. Names and addresses can look different in different systems. A GLN doesn't have that problem. The same GLN is used across purchase orders, deliveries, invoices, and ERP systems. Every system refers to the same location. This keeps location matching consistent throughout the transaction.

Key Takeaways

• A GLN is a 13-digit GS1 number that uniquely identifies a business location.
• It keeps purchase orders, deliveries, invoices, and ERP systems aligned.
• Once assigned, a GLN stays with that location, even if its address changes.

What is the Global Location Number​ (GLN)?

A Global Location Number (GLN) is a 13-digit GS1 number that identifies a business, warehouse, store, department, or any other business location. Different systems often save the same location with different names or addresses. A GLN fixes that. It gives every location one unique number. That same number is used across all business documents.

​GLN Number Format and Example

Every GLN follows a standard 13-digit structure defined by GS1. Those 13 digits are split into three parts. One part identifies your business. Another identifies the exact location or function. The last digit is a check digit. It helps systems confirm that the GLN is valid before they accept it.

The last digit is created automatically from the first 12 digits using the GS1 Mod-10 algorithm. Before an ERP, MDM, or e-invoicing system accepts a GLN, it quickly checks this digit. If it doesn't match, the GLN is rejected right away.

Let's look at an example. Take the GLN 4012345000016. You can split it into three parts:

• 4012345 is the GS1 Company Prefix. Prefix lengths vary between businesses, so yours may be shorter or longer.
• 00001 is the location reference that identifies a specific business location, and its length depends on the prefix length.
• 6 is the check digit generated using the GS1 Mod-10 algorithm.

Why is GLN Important in Germany?

German businesses exchange millions of purchase orders (POs), despatch advice, invoices, and shipping documents every day. Most of these move electronically. For everything to flow smoothly between suppliers, buyers, logistics partners, and ERP systems, every business location needs to be identified the same way. That's exactly what a GLN does.

Warehouse names, office addresses, or department descriptions may differ from one system to another. So, it doesn’t match them. Rather, businesses exchange one standardised identifier. This improves master data quality and reduces the manual work involved in validating location information.

Using GLNs helps businesses:

• Exchange POs, despatch advice, and invoices without location mismatches slowing down document processing.
• Keep one correct record for each location. There’s no need to make the same location again and again.
• Share verified GLNs with suppliers right from the onboarding stage. That means fewer master data fixes before you start doing business together.
• Send deliveries, invoices, and goods receipts straight to the right warehouse, billing office, or receiving location. There’s no guesswork and manual routing.
• Cut down on delivery mistakes, invoice routing issues, and duplicate supplier records. That means one GLN for one GLN and thus less confusion for everyone.
• Run multiple factories, warehouses, stores, hospitals, or branch offices without juggling different names for the same place. Every location gets its own unique identity.

How to Get a GLN in Germany?

Getting a GLN starts with registering your business with GS1 Germany. After receiving a GS1 Company Prefix, you can create and manage GLNs for your business locations and functions.

Step 1: Register with GS1 Germany

Get a GS1 Company Prefix from GS1 Germany. The size of your prefix depends on how many GLNs you'll need. That means a business with one office and one warehouse needs far fewer GLNs than a retailer managing hundreds of stores across Germany.

Step 2: Identify locations that need a GLN

Now decide which places need their own GLN. Assign GLNs to every location or function that must be identified independently. Be it some legal entities, warehouses, branch offices, departments, and operational functions. For example, a manufacturer can give one GLN to the factory and another to the warehouse. A hospital can do the same for its pharmacy and receiving area.

Step 3: Assign unique GLNs

Now start assigning GLNs. Store each GLN with its address, operational role, status, and effective dates. Don't reuse the same GLN somewhere else. Once a GLN belongs to a location, it stays with it.

Step 4: Maintain GLN master data

Save each GLN with the right details. Add the address, role, status, and active dates. If a warehouse shifts to a new address, just update the details. The GLN stays exactly the same.

Step 5: Share GLNs with trading partners

Before going live, share your GLNs with suppliers, customers, logistics partners, and software providers. That way, everyone's working with the same location data.

How to Use GLN in E-Invoicing and Supply Chain

A GLN works best when all your business systems use it. Add it to your ERP, procurement, logistics, and e-invoicing systems. Then use the same GLN across POs, invoices, delivery documents, and other business records. That way, every document points to the right business location or trading partner.

GLN in e-invoicing

Businesses use GLNs in supplier and customer master data so electronic documents consistently identify the correct party or location. A GLN can be used in:

• purchase orders
• electronic invoices
• shipping notices
• goods receipt documents 

In Peppol, a GLN is used as a participant identifier under scheme 0088, which is registered in the ISO 6523 code list as the EAN Location Code issued by GS1, and it identifies trading partners during electronic document exchange.

For German B2B e-invoicing, using a GLN is optional. Businesses may use it as their commercial identifier, but German e-invoicing regulations do not require it.

GLN in supply chain operations

GLNs identify locations involved in the movement of goods, helping systems route products and process transactions accurately.

For example:

• A PO references the warehouse GLN.
• The shipping notice uses the same GLN for the delivery location.
• The invoice uses it for the bill-to or ship-to location.

Use the same GLN everywhere. You'll spend less time checking things manually. Your data stays the same across systems. Tracking stock and products becomes much easier.