National Item Identification Number (NIIN)

A NATO Stock Number, or National Stock Number as it is known in the US, is a 13-digit numeric code, identifying all the ‘standardized material items of supply’ as they have been recognized by all NATO countries. Pursuant to the NATO Standardization Agreements, the NSN has come to be used in all treaty countries.
The NSN is a 13-digit numeric code, identifying all the standardized material items of supply as they have been recognized by all NATO countries including United States Department of Defense (DOD).

Here another example the 13-digit NSN # 3120-01-152-2039 is comprised of

• First 2 digits – Federal Supply Group (FSG) number (31 in case of NSN 3120-01-152-2039)
• First 4 digits – Federal Supply Class (FSC) number (3120 in case of NSN 3120-01-152-2039)
• Last 9 digits – National Item Identification Number (NIIN) (01-152-2039 in case of 3120-01-152-2039)

The nine digits, comprise the National Item Identification Number (NIIN). This format improves readability but is optional as NIINs are often listed without hyphens.

The first two digits of the NIIN is used to record which country was the first to codify the item—which one first recognized it as an important item of supply. This is generally the country of origin, meaning the country of final manufacture. The formal name of the field is CC for Country Code or NCB, because NCB also stands for National Codification Bureau. The NCB is the organization, typically a government agency, in charge of maintaining the NCS database within a given country. The other seven characters are a non-significant identification code.

The Federal Supply Group (FSG) is part of the Federal Supply Classification System, which was developed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense for use in classifying items of supply identified under the Federal Cataloging Program.

The Federal Supply Group (FSG) identifies, by title, the commodity area covered by classes within the group. Each class covers a relatively homogeneous area of commodities, in respect to their physical or performance characteristics, or in the respect that the items included therein are such as are usually requisitioned or issued together, or constitute a related grouping for supply management purposes.

Currently, there are 79 Federal Supply Groups, which are subdivided into Federal Supply Classes (FSCs).

The Federal Supply Classification is a commodity classification designed to serve the functions of supply and is sufficiently comprehensive in scope to permit the classification of all items of personal property. In order to accomplish this, Federal Supply Groups and Federal Supply Classes have been established for the universe of commodities, with emphasis on the items known to be in the supply systems of the Federal Government.

Groups 21, 27, 33, 50, 57, 64, 82, 86, 90, 92, 97, and 98 are currently unassigned.