« NSN » tab on the part record
The NSN (NATO Stock Number) is an item’s NATO codification number: thirteen digits, written XXXX-XX-XXX-XXXX. A part can carry several.
What the number says
| Part | Example | What it designates |
|---|---|---|
| Supply class | 5306 |
The item’s family in the NATO classification — here, bolts. |
| Codification bureau | 14 |
The country that assigned the number — here, France. |
| Item number | 267-0126 |
The item itself, within that bureau. |
The last nine digits (14-267-0126) form the NIIN, the item’s identifier.
The class is checked at entry
An NSN whose supply class does not exist is refused when you add it. The refusal appears under the field and your entry is kept: just correct the first four digits.
The reference is the NATO classification (ACodP-2) — the very one your exchange files are checked against.
Why at entry: otherwise a wrong NSN goes unnoticed until the day it is sent to a partner. The schema then rejects the whole file — an entire spare-parts list blocked by a single bolt — long after the mistake was made, and far from whoever could have fixed it.
Correcting an NSN
A recorded NSN cannot be edited: add the right one, then remove the old one. Every addition and every removal is recorded in the audit trail, with its author and the value entered.
The NSN returned by the codification bureau
An NSN can also come from the codification bureau, in reply to a codification request. Its result is dropped on an inbound flow under data exchanges; the assigned NSN is proposed on the part there, to accept on the review screen. Once applied, it shows here as an entered addition — audit trail included — and never removes an NSN already present.