Publication of the new GS1 Benelux FMCG & Foodservice data model (November 2025)

Error message

If gpcCategoryCode [161] is NOT equal to one of the bricks in GPC segment '92000000' or ('10005844' or '10005845') and isTradeItemAConsumerUnit [57] equals 'true' and preliminaryItemStatusCode [64] is NOT equal to ‘PRELIMINARY’ or preliminaryItemStatusCode [64] is NOT used, then netWeight [3779] SHALL be used.

What?

In the DIY sector, net weight will be mandatory from November for every consumer unit.

How?

It’s best to do this via Excel, since this information is product-specific.

1. Enter the information for one product sheet, validate and release it.
2. Go back to the product overview.
3. Filter on ‘Consumer Unit’ = Yes and ‘Discontinued’ = No.
4. Select everything you want to export and follow the steps to perform the download.
   Too many items? Try splitting them into categories or brands to make it more manageable and avoid overwriting other data when fixing errors.
5. In Excel, look for ‘Net Weight’. In one column enter the weight, and in the next column the unit of measure (MGM, GRM, KGM).
6. Repeat for the other products and re-upload the file.

Error message

If isTradeItemAConsumerUnit [57] equals ‘true', then there SHALL be at least one iteration of class TradeItemContactInformation where contactTypeCode [127] equals 'BZL'.

What?

In the DIY sector, contact information will be mandatory from November for every consumer unit. The contact type code must be BZL.

More info

How?

Option 1 – Bulk update (if all items have the same details or can be filtered by brand):

1. Go to ‘My Products’.
2. Filter on ‘Consumer Unit’ = Yes and ‘Discontinued’ = No.
3. Optionally filter further by brand if applicable.
4. Select all and choose ‘Bulk Action’.
5. In the selection view, choose ‘Update Attributes’, then ‘Contact’.
6. Fill in the contact information module and validate.

Option 2 – Excel

1. Enter the information for one product sheet, validate and release it.
2. Go back to the product overview.
3. Filter on ‘Consumer Unit’ = Yes and ‘Discontinued’ = No.
4. Select everything for export and follow the download steps.
   Too many items? Split them by category or brand to make it easier to manage and avoid overwriting data.
5. In Excel, look for the BZL field – this is the start of the contact information columns (to the right).
6. Fill in the data for the other products and re-upload the file.

Error message

if isTradeItemAConsumerUnit [57] equals 'true' and preliminaryItemStatusCode [64] is NOT equal to ‘PRELIMINARY’ or preliminaryItemStatusCode [64] is NOT used, then countryOfOrigin/countryCode [2794] SHALL be used.

What?

In the DIY sector, the country of origin will be mandatory from November for every consumer unit.

How?

Option 1 – Bulk update (if all items come from the same country or can be grouped by brand):

1. Go to ‘My Products’.
2. Filter on ‘Consumer Unit’ = Yes and ‘Discontinued’ = No.
3. Optionally filter further by brand if applicable.
4. Select all and choose ‘Bulk Action’.
5. In the selection view, choose ‘Update Attributes’, then ‘Origin’, and select the correct country.
6. Fill in the country of origin module and validate.

Option 2 – Excel

It’s best to do this via Excel, since this information is product-specific.

1. Enter the info for one product sheet, validate and release it.
2. Go back to the product overview.
3. Filter on ‘Consumer Unit’ = Yes and ‘Discontinued’ = No.
4. Select everything you want to export and follow the steps to perform the download.
   Too many items? Split by category or brand to avoid errors.
5. In Excel, look for the ‘Country of Origin’ field.
6. Fill in for the other products and re-upload the file.

Error message

If packagingTypeCode [2186] is NOT equal to 'NE' and preliminaryItemStatusCode [64] is NOT equal to ‘PRELIMINARY’ or preliminaryItemStatusCode [64] is NOT used, then packagingMaterialTypeCode [2206] must be used.

What?

Validation was simulated as an error, but from November it will remain as a warning. To resolve it, specify what material your packaging is made of.

Error message

If targetMarketCountryCode [112] equals '056' (Belgium) and dutyFeeTaxTypeCode [1152] equals ‘BTW’, ‘TVA’, ‘VAT’ or ‘VAT_S’, then dutyFeeTaxCategoryCode [1175] SHALL NOT equal ‘HIGH’ in the same iteration.

What?

For the Belgian domestic market, you must use the code value “STANDARD” to indicate a VAT rate of 21%.

How?

Use Excel for this.

1. Correct the information in one product sheet, validate and release it.
2. Go back to the product overview.
3. Filter on ‘Consumer Unit’ = Yes and ‘Discontinued’ = No.
4. Select everything for export and follow the download steps.
5. In Excel, look for the ‘Tax information per target market’ column.
6. If the code is HIGH, change it to STANDARD.
   Note: If multiple lines are selected, you’ll need to make the same change in all other columns with that title.
7. Re-upload the file.

Error message

If (isTradeItemAConsumerUnit [57] equals 'true' or tradeItemUnitDescriptorCode [66] equals 'BASE_UNIT_OR_EACH') and (brandOwner/gln [75] is NOT used or brandOwner/gln [75] is NOT equal to one of the values in the list PrivateLabel (see tab Used Lists)) and gpcCategoryCode [161] is NOT in GPC Segment '92000000' and startAvailabilityDateTime [1025] is less than or equals today's date, then there SHALL be at least one iteration of class ReferencedFileHeader [2985] where referencedFileTypeCode [2999] equals 'PRODUCT_IMAGE' and the corresponding fileName [2995] and uniformResourceIdentifier [3000] SHALL be used.

What?

In the FMCG sector, the packshot requirement is being reinforced. An error will appear for all items already on the market if they don’t have an image available according to their availability date.

More info about packshots and naming

How?

You can add a product image in two ways:

1. Upload the image directly in the web interface via My Product Manager.
2. Add the image URL directly in the product sheet (or via Excel).

Technical specifications for image URLs:

• The URL must be publicly accessible (no login required).
• The URL must point directly to the image, not to a webpage containing the image.
• The URL must support a HEAD call.
• The URL must include a content_length so the system can validate the file size upon download.
• The DAM system must be able to process the request within a reasonable time, without time-out.
• If the DAM returns an error message (e.g. HTTP 429: too many requests), a validation error will be raised. 

Error message

If dimensionTypeCode [3761] is used, then depth [3759], height [3762], width [3764] or diameter [6567] SHALL be used at least once in the same interation of class additionalTradeItemDimensions [3758].

What?

If an item code does not yet include additional dimensions, you must at least enter one height, width, depth, or diameter (one measurement can be sufficient).

How?

This must be done via Excel:

1. Fill in the information for one product sheet, validate and release it.
2. Return to the product overview.
3. Filter on ‘Consumer unit’ = ‘yes’ and ‘Discontinued’ = ‘No’.
4. Select all, choose export and follow the steps to download.
   Too many items? Then try splitting by categories or brands to keep it manageable and avoid overwriting other data if you also need to fix other errors.
5. In the Excel file search for ‘additional dimension’. That is the start of the columns (to the right).
6. Complete for the other products and upload it again.