The NATO Codification System (NCS) is a Standardization Agreement approach to identify, classify, and number items of supply.
[1] The result is a unique identification and a data set that can be easily shared and understood by a wide range of users.
The process of codification (or cataloging) involves naming, classifying, describing the item, and assigning of a 13 digit NATO Stock Number (or NSN).
Further, it allows different organizations and countries to cooperate in providing logistics support to military, disaster relief, peacekeeping, and other operations.
This identification takes place utilizing a NATO Stock Number (NSN), which is composed of a 4-digit NATO Supply Classification Code, a 2-digit code for the National Codification Bureau (NCB) representing the country that codifies the item, and a 7-digit non-significant number that is assigned by this NCB.