Global Supply Chain Data: Synchronize or Swim

GS1 has reached a new high-water mark, surpassing 15 million product items within its GS1 Global Registry, the world's most widely used supply chain standards system. In concert with GS1's Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN), the registry helps global trading partners synchronize standardized product data.

In the 10 years since it established the GDSN, Brussels, Belgium-based GS1 has expanded from a handful of companies sharing data on 74,000 items across 13 countries to more than 25,000 companies and 15 million items in 150 countries.

As data saturates the supply chain, companies have even more incentive to find synergies. Demand is growing in verticals such as retail, food service, and healthcare. For example, GS1 has seen an uptick in medical devices joining the registry, which parallels a recent push by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to create a Unique Device Identification rule.

With more accurate data, companies can create greater efficiencies and economies, reduce supply chain disruptions, and improve on-shelf availability.

"Our main reasons for adopting global data synchronization were to increase speed to market, improve accuracy, and create a more efficient supply chain," explains Roman Coba, chief information officer at McCain Foods. "GS1 also gives us the data quality we're looking for."

GS1 expects regulatory pressures and consumer demand will drive even greater need for data that specifies how a product is delivered to market, including handling instructions, traceability attributes, nutrition information, compliance, and classification.

Source: http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/global-logistics-november-2014/#christmas