{
  "schema_version": "1.0.0",
  "title": "Missing GTIN evidence review",
  "example_status": "fictional; no actual product assignment or provider submission",
  "canonical": "https://www.iamgeorgekelly.com/field-guide/missing-gtin-identifier-exists",
  "scope": "Internal manual-review template and illustrative cases; not a provider upload, executable validator, or product-record checker input.",
  "null_semantics": "Unresolved or not recorded; never an implicit false.",
  "assignment_states": [
    "unknown",
    "confirmed_absent",
    "confirmed_present",
    "conflicting"
  ],
  "template": {
    "item_id": null,
    "variant_options": {},
    "pack_quantity": null,
    "brand": null,
    "gtin": null,
    "mpn": null,
    "gtin_assignment": "unknown",
    "mpn_assignment": "unknown",
    "identity_conflict": null,
    "evidence": [],
    "decision": "hold",
    "reason": null,
    "next_action": null,
    "owner": null,
    "reviewer": null,
    "reviewed_at": null,
    "approved_mapping": null,
    "destination_response": null,
    "destination_checked_at": null
  },
  "filled_example": {
    "item_id": "DEMO-MUG-BLUE",
    "variant_options": {
      "color": "blue",
      "capacity": "350 ml"
    },
    "pack_quantity": 1,
    "brand": "Example Workshop",
    "gtin": null,
    "mpn": "DEMO-350-B",
    "gtin_assignment": "confirmed_absent",
    "mpn_assignment": "confirmed_present",
    "identity_conflict": false,
    "evidence": [
      {
        "source": "Fictional manufacturer statement; no real document or lookup",
        "observed_at": null,
        "supports": "No assigned GTIN for this exact blue mug; brand and MPN documented in this fictional scenario"
      }
    ],
    "decision": "review_brand_mpn",
    "reason": "GTIN absence is documented in the fictional scenario, but other identifiers exist.",
    "next_action": "Reviewer checks the source and destination requirements before approving the brand/MPN mapping.",
    "owner": "Fictional catalog owner",
    "reviewer": null,
    "reviewed_at": null,
    "approved_mapping": null,
    "destination_response": null,
    "destination_checked_at": null
  },
  "cases": [
    {
      "case_id": "G1",
      "scenario": "Supplier export has a blank GTIN",
      "evidence": "Only the export was checked. The manufacturer has not answered.",
      "gtin_assignment": "unknown",
      "mpn_assignment": "unknown",
      "identity_conflict": false,
      "decision": "hold",
      "next_action": "Request evidence for the exact item; leave identifier_exists unresolved."
    },
    {
      "case_id": "G2",
      "scenario": "No assigned GTIN; manufacturer part is documented",
      "evidence": "Fictional manufacturer confirms no GTIN for DEMO-MUG-BLUE and documents brand Example Workshop and MPN DEMO-350-B.",
      "gtin_assignment": "confirmed_absent",
      "mpn_assignment": "confirmed_present",
      "identity_conflict": false,
      "decision": "review_brand_mpn",
      "next_action": "Map the documented brand and MPN under applicable destination rules. Do not classify all identifiers as absent."
    },
    {
      "case_id": "G3",
      "scenario": "One-off object with no assigned identifiers",
      "evidence": "Fictional maker confirms this new, one-off object has no assigned GTIN, MPN, or brand.",
      "gtin_assignment": "confirmed_absent",
      "mpn_assignment": "confirmed_absent",
      "identity_conflict": false,
      "decision": "review_identifier_exists_no",
      "next_action": "Review no/false for identifier_exists, retain evidence, and check all remaining destination requirements."
    },
    {
      "case_id": "G4",
      "scenario": "Candidate code belongs to a different variant",
      "evidence": "Supplier identifies the candidate as the white mug; the target is the blue mug. No actual GTIN is included in this example.",
      "gtin_assignment": "conflicting",
      "mpn_assignment": "unknown",
      "identity_conflict": true,
      "decision": "hold",
      "next_action": "Resolve the conflicting selection; do not borrow the sibling code or declare identifiers absent."
    },
    {
      "case_id": "G5",
      "scenario": "Exact item assignment is documented",
      "evidence": "Fictional manufacturer assignment record matches the item, variant, and pack. Numeric GTIN intentionally omitted from this teaching case.",
      "gtin_assignment": "confirmed_present",
      "mpn_assignment": "unknown",
      "identity_conflict": false,
      "decision": "review_assigned_gtin",
      "next_action": "Retrieve the documented string and validate formatting before mapping; this fixture contains no submittable GTIN."
    },
    {
      "case_id": "G6",
      "scenario": "Personalization is mistaken for absence",
      "evidence": "A fictional engraved standard mug retains a documented base-product GTIN assignment. Numeric code omitted.",
      "gtin_assignment": "confirmed_present",
      "mpn_assignment": "unknown",
      "identity_conflict": false,
      "decision": "review_customization_rules",
      "next_action": "Review Google customization guidance and the underlying assignment; handmade or personalized wording alone does not establish absence."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "gtin",
      "title": "Google Merchant Center: GTIN",
      "url": "https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324461?hl=en",
      "checked": "2026-10-02",
      "note": "Supports using the correct assigned GTIN, withholding uncertain values, and treating variants and customization carefully."
    },
    {
      "id": "exists",
      "title": "Google Merchant Center: Identifier exists",
      "url": "https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324478?hl=en",
      "checked": "2026-10-02",
      "note": "Supports using no or false only when the product has no assigned unique product identifiers; documents source-specific Boolean formats."
    },
    {
      "id": "mpn",
      "title": "Google Merchant Center: MPN",
      "url": "https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324482?hl=en",
      "checked": "2026-10-02",
      "note": "Supports manufacturer-assigned part numbers, the no-GTIN requirement and its exceptions, and not inventing an MPN."
    }
  ],
  "source_reviewed_utc": "2026-10-02"
}