GS1 India: A Standards Organisation

Did you know that the products you are consuming could have an expired FSSAI license or ISI mark and could yet be using their quality mark on the product labelling? Moreover, at times, the product information printed on its label is not legible? The bigger question is how to access authentic and complete information on products in legible form? The answer lies in the scanning of product barcodes. Yes, those black and white parallel lines printed on the label that we most often ignore. Every barcode has a unique 13-digit code encoded in it, known as GTINs. These are based on global GS1 standards , which are used by manufacturers across the globe to identify their trade objects (products) uniquely. This number is often linked to the reliable, accurate and complete product details. This is why barcodes are scanned at billing counters in shops to fetch its price and other related information, while recording a purchase. To help brand owners share accurate, reliable and complete informati...

In retailing, accurate product information is important for several retail processes, related to merchandising, purchasing, shipping, record taking, planograming, FIFO & expiry control, stock tracking, customer marketing, etc. In many instances, retailers/retailers struggle to get trusted product information which is consistent & accurate. Several instances of incomplete information or wrong depiction of products resulting in loss of consumer confidence. Brand owners/manufacturers share data with multiple retailers, vendors, partners and distributors in their different/proprietary data masters which are tailored to their needs. In the process of presenting information multiple times in multiple buyer formats, a lot of data discrepancy occurs resulting in the passing of inaccurate and inconsistent product information. In 2014, when GS1 India presented the idea of building a GTIN management module to Indian retail industry, the industry members collaborated with GS1 Ind...

In these turbulent times, the technological revolution has taken over the various industries worldwide and the supply chain is no exception. Various industries are estimating the challenges presented by the situation and making strategies to overcome these by realigning the processes. It is also considered necessary for businesses to evolve with changing marketplace trends, consumer buying patterns, delivery expectations, and restructuring market synergies. Latest developments and trends in the supply chain have put more emphasis on technology-driven processes to reduce operating costs and increase efficiencies. Digitization in the supply chain means faster processes and better visibility using the technological solutions. One such digitization is aimed at achieving better visibility to the movement of goods in the supply chain. It is known as product traceability. Although most people equate traceability with product recalls, however, the traceability program is much more than jus...

If you’re planning to sell your products in a retail market and want to ensure its effective movement in the supply chain, you need to have a 13-digit GTIN number encoded in your barcode of your product. For a manufacturer, a GTIN or barcode number labeled at the back of the product packaging is an important thing to consider before introducing its product in the market. This key enables him to easily manage and identify his products across the globe. Let’s understand what GTIN is and why it is important for your products. Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is an internationally recognized code to identify trade items that uniquely identifies products globally and fetch accurate and efficient product information when scanned at the billing counters in a store or at a warehouse when receiving goods. GTINs are also used in pharmaceutical drugs, where they are scanned while administering medication in a hospital to enhance patient safety or scanned while effecting receiving or despat...

In today’s retail environment, effective & accurate flow of product information between trading partners in the supply chain is crucial. With online shopping becoming the norm today, consumers demand detailed product information on health, wellness, quality of product , origin, and sustainability to make right purchase decisions. Accurate product information is also essential for retail processes related to merchandising, ordering, supplies’ receipts, planograming, FIFO & expiry management, stock monitoring, running consumer promotions, etc. However, sharing of product information is considered tedious, as manufacturers/ brand owners have to fill dozens of excel sheets manually for each product to share its information in desired, multiple formats of retailers and online marketplaces. This meant spending hundreds of man hours in doing this monotonous task. Despite all the efforts, errors arising out of manual processes resulted in sharing of incomplete/incorrect information ...

With technology made available to everyone with ease, just one click can help people gather information about anything & everything. From gathering news from around the world to translating different languages, and getting to know about new product ranges, to purchasing them, everything is just a click away. Since we live in a digitally connected world, more than 80 percent of people who own mobile devices search for products and services online. Among those 80 percent, 27 percent are looking for smartphone devices that are connected to the products or services they wish to buy. But with a lot of information available offline and online, there is only one question that pops up in our mind. Is the information we are consuming about products reliable and complete? We all know that barcodes play an integral role in establishing product identity and verifying product claims. In addition to being used in a variety of B2B operations, barcodes are also used by customers to verify the pr...