The synchronisation of data and the efficient tracking of products, services and information in the supply chain has become of critical importance, driven by factors such as globalisation, e-commerce and safety concerns.

GS1, the not-for-profit organisation present in 108 countries, plays a significant role in designing , implementing and advocating global standards for use in the supply chain, based on the vision of moving things and related information efficiently and securely for the benefit of businesses and consumers.

According to Tarryn Daniels, Automatic Identification and Data Capture Program Manager at GS1 South Africa, an important part of proliferating GS1 standards is ongoing engagement with local small to large enterprises, multinationals and solution providers.

“Our standards ensure effective exchanges between companies, and act as basic guidelines that facilitate interoperability and provide structure to many industries, bringing together companies representing all parts of the supply chain – manufacturers, distributors, retailers, hospitals, transporters, customs organisations, software developers, local and international regulatory authorities, and more.”

Education is key to GS1 success

Education is critical in communicating the benefits and processes of GS1 compliance to businesses in the supply chain. According to Daniels, solution providers play a key role in assisting organisation by providing training workshops, consultation and other services.

Companies such as Zetes, a leading system integrator and provider of supply chain identification and mobility solutions, play a leading role in educating the market place about the benefits of GS1 compliance, as well as encouraging a collaborative and connected supply chain that thinks locally but complies globally with 100% traceability.

According to Zetes SA’s Executive Head of Sales and Marketing, Karin Parker, “GS1 compliance is always core to our technology solution suites, and to this end, we frequently run focused workshops and training sessions to highlight industry risks, challenges and solutions, rules and regulations, supply chain standards and the benefits of being compliant.  Our GS1 workshops are very informative as they accentuate GS1’s vision and mission.”

Daniels says that GS1 standards are used by huge multinational chains and by small corner shops, world-famous brands and individual craftsmen.

Visibility and efficiency

GS1 collaborates with businesses, which may in fact have diverging business interests, but nevertheless work together under GS1 leadership to agree upon standards that make the supply chain faster, more efficient, less complex and less costly. “Without a neutral, not-for-profit and global organisation like GS1, such very diverse companies would probably not be able to agree on standards.”

Originally created by manufacturers and retailers to improve the efficiency of the distribution of food and consumer goods to supermarkets, GS1 standards today are used by millions of companies in dozens of sectors including healthcare, transportation and logistics, aeronautics, defense, chemicals, high tech, and the retail supply chain.

GS1 barcodes are the most well-known and universally recognisable part of the GS1 system of standards, with over 5 billion barcodes read. Ever since they were conceived over thirty years ago, GS1 has been building and managing barcode standards that enable businesses and organisations around the world to automatically identify products, pallets and places.

“GS1 barcodes enable businesses to manage the supply chain more efficiently and in today’s global economy, an efficient supply chain is critical,” says Daniels. “As more businesses adopt global sourcing strategies, the management of supply chains has become more challenging – while at the same time even more important to a company’s success.”

Insufficient or inaccurate data travelling along the supply can damage brands if things go wrong. Improving data quality can result in an immediate benefit to profits. GS1 standards, such as bar codes, enable businesses to respond to the challenges of a globalised supply chain by increasing their efficiency and maximising profitability.

RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, is a technology using tags that contain electronically stored data. RFID technology is used in a selection of applications from passports to ID badges, access control and the “fast lane” at toll booths on bridges or the highway.

According to Karin Parker, Zetes has also been at the forefront of driving the adoption of RFID in South Africa, which, although behind in the use of this technology compared to Europe and the USA, is slowly realizing the benefits, with several large corporate now using this form of identification for niche applications in the supply chain. In line with educating the market place, Zetes has held many RFID workshops to showcase the appropriate usage.

RFID can help manage shipments, inventories and assets, reduce counterfeiting and medical errors, fight theft, and numerous other applications. But because RFID is so complex and multi-faceted, standards are vitally important.

“GS1’s EPCglobal standards put RFID technology to work for businesses and for people,” explains Daniels. “When the GS1 standards encoded onto RFID tags are read, warehouse
workers and store employees can know not only what an item is, but also where it is now and where it has been before. This results in more effective and streamlined processes in a number of different sectors.

As globalisation drives the supply chain, so does need for a standard for the sharing of data become more pressing.  GS1’s Global Data Synchronisation Network or GDSN enables supply chain partners to continuously synchronise information, thereby improving efficiency in their supply chains to provide better service to the consumer.

Enhanced security and safety
According to Daniels, the medical sector is an extremely complex environment in which people, drugs and medical devices need to be permanently traced to ensure that the right drug is administrated to the right patient at the right time in the right dosage.

Parker says that six billion Euros is the amount lost by French companies each year due to counterfeiting. Worldwide, estimated losses from counterfeiting amount to between 200 and 500 billion Euros. For governments, the losses are heavy too - 8 billion Euros shaved off global GDP and 16 million Euros of tax revenues are lost - according to a study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, which began in 2000.

“Challenges such as counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry is a serious problem and GS1 standards are already playing a key role in the fight against counterfeiting.  Our experience in this sector puts us in an excellent position to assist other industries whose products are also frequently counterfeited, such as cosmetics, electronics and automobile parts,” says Daniels.

Traceability is key to efficiency

As the food chain becomes more complex and global, GS1 standards play a vital role in product traceability and recall in order to protect both the supplier chain partners and the consumer. 

Parkers says, “Our clients both in South Africa and overseas in the food and beverage sectors are under constant pressure. Retailers require a high level of accuracy of deliveries, which is subject to fines if unmet. The complexity is growing with mixed products on a single pallet and products with short shelf lives.”

With the globalisation driving business, the importance of communicating efficiently between suppliers, logistics companies, and every facet of the supply chain and sharing of accurate data plays a key role.

GS1 e-commerce standards provide clear guidelines for creating electronic versions of business documents and enable trading partners to smoothly exchange information electronically regardless of hardware, software or language differences.

GS1 provides solutions to match the nature of each enterprise, from entry level barcodes to sophisticated supply chain solutions. With the help of companies who are custodians of GS1 standards, such as Zetes, who trust and believe in the excellence of these standards, communities are enabled to develop and implement global standards in an increasingly complex and global supply chain environment.

“GS1’s supply chain concepts are important to entities. The more companies that are GS1 compliant, the more secure and efficient the supply chain will be for every consumer and enterprise in the supply chain. We encourage companies like Zetes to assist us to drive these standards for the benefit of all stakeholders,” concludes Daniels.

About GS1

GS1 South Africa's goal is to simplify global commerce by connecting the flow of information with the flow of goods.

GS1 offers a range of standards, services and solutions, used across multiple sectors and industries, to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains.

GS1 South Africa provides the numbering structures that companies use to create their bar codes, as well as training and support in bar code number allocation and symbol application. They also provide tools and technologies that ensure full visibility of the flow of goods throughout the supply chain and secure and effective exchange of information and goods between all partners.

About Zetes

Zetes South Africa is part of the leading pan-European company that provides value added solutions and services based on the automatic Identification of Goods and People (Goods ID and People ID).

Zetes uses both emerging and mature technologies (barcode, voice recognition, RFID, smartcards, biometrics), and develops focused solutions to optimise the business performance of many customers through the supply chain across many market segments such as manufacturing, transportation, logistics, retail, healthcare, finance, telecommunication, government and public services.

Zetes’ head office in South Africa is situated in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, with regional offices in Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. www.zetes.co.za

Zetes Industries (Euronext Brussels: ZTS) has its headquarters in Brussels, with subsidiaries in Belgium, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Germany, Greece, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland and the UK.  Zetes employs more than 1000 employees and aspires to achieve sustainable profits and growth, www.zetes.com

Editorial contacts: Trish Pichulik at trish@pandp.co.za or Tsungai Tawanda Dhliwayo at tsungai@pandp.co.za  at P and P Communications on 011 447-3511