Define NATO Stock Number

Explanation

Use this activity to define a NATO Stock Number (NSN). 

Countries that participate in the NATO Codification System (NCS) follow common standards and techniques to assign NSNs to their defense inventory supply items. The National Codification Bureau (NCB) in each country centrally assigns national NSNs. The assignment of an NSN fixes the identity of each distinctive item of supply. All NSNs are uniform in composition, length, and structure. Each NSN is a 13-digit number, divided into three unique parts as follows:

• digits 1-4 are the NATO Supply Classification (NSC) code, which relates the item to the group and class of similar items
• digits 5 and 6 indicate an assigned NCB code. Each country has its own two-digit NCB code. The United States for example, uses 00 and 01.
• digits 7-13 are assigned sequentially and correlate with a single item of supply within the codifying country.

When entering a seven-digit number in the Item Identification Number (IIN) field, the valid formats are XXXXXXX or XXX-XXXX. The 4th position may contain a dash; the other positions must be numeric.

The value entered in the fields NSC; NCB; and IIN appears automatically in the NATO Stock Number field when the record is saved. Three standard formats of the NATO Stock Number are supported.

• XXXXXXXXXXXXX (NSC||NCB||IIN)
• XXXX-XX-XXXXXXX (NSC-NCB-IIN)
• XXXX-XX-XXX-XXXX (NSC-NCB-IIN)

Prerequisites

• NSC and NCB codes must be defined before NATO Stock Numbers can be defined.

System Effects

As a result of this activity, the NSN can be connected to one or more parts registered in IFS/Part Catalog

Pages

NATO Stock Numbers

Activity Diagrams

Define and Maintain NATO Stock Numbers