Consumer Electronics

Consumer electronics include electronic equipment intended for everyday use. Some products classed as consumer electronics include personal computers, televisions, DVD players, refrigerators, hairdryers as well as products often used in entertainment, communications and office productivity.

Consumer electronics manufacturers, distributors and retailers are working toward the day when life-cycle tracking of computers, TVs and other electronic products will deliver benefits for businesses, consumers and the environment. GS1 Standards will improve the Consumer Electronics (CE) supply chain in all aspects of these products’ life cycle.

With the globalization of the CE business model, increasing visibility and optimising business processes become central to an organisation’s success. CE companies of all sizes are now forming partnerships and alliances in order to gain greater access to customers on domestic, cross-border and global markets. Hence, the need for a standard approach to:

 

 

  • Identifying products – using GS1 System identification standards
  • Capturing product identifiers -which can be encoded into GS1 System identifiers (bar code or radio frequency identification tag)
  • Capturing product location – which can be used for tracking, traceability, process time analysis, product flow simulation and other techniques for improving supply chain operations
  • Sharing product related information - numerous GS1 data exchange standards exist to help trading partners share information.

 

Challenges for the CE Supply Chain

The CE supply chain faces particular challenges that GS1 Standards can help to address:

  • A smooth passage through total product life cycle is essential for cost competitiveness and consumer service as CE supply chains can be geographically dispersed with a high ratio of goods manufactured in Asia and then shipped into markets all over the world. It is essential for all players involved to use the same identification and communication standards along the entire supply chain.
  • Lean and global supply chain management becomes more and more of a crucial success factor in today’s increasingly competitive business environment characterised by high cost pressure, global sourcing, long lead and transportation times, etc..
  • Consumer electronic products typically have a short life cycle. Therefore, providing rich product data in high quality and in a standardised way is crucial for a successful sales process, managing the correct inventory into point of sale and minimising write offs. At the POS, technical and sales related information is a requirement for CE products.

Benefits GS1 Standards can bring to the Consumer Electronics industry

The most significant benefits are:

  • Decreased cost of procurement and production
  • Optimised stock inventories – less capital lockup
  • Reduced number of supply chain partner disputes
  • Increased product availability and less out-of-stocks
  • Time and cost savings in product preparation, shipping and receiving - increased speed to market
  • Improved sales information and optimised assortments
  • Advanced traceability secures efficient management of product recalls and makes counterfeiting more difficult
  • Intensified collaboration helps to better meet customers’ needs
  • Improvement of after sales services ensuring a more efficient service experience for customers.
  • Improved product recall capacity, product authentication and efficient administration of consumer guarantees.

For more information you may contact a local GS1 organisation. Full contact details are available from www.gs1.org/contact.