“It's all about having accurate item data from point of creation to point of sale.”

“The GDSN and data synch ensures that trade item information about a product--such as dimensions, descriptions, GTIN, price--are accurate across trading partner systems at any given point in time. The EPCglobal network tracks the whereabouts of products at any point in the supply chain. The two are extremely powerful together. RFID can locate a razor between supplier and retailer within the supply chain, but if the dimensions, description, or price data for that razor has just changed, then the retailer organization systems will not match what has just been received. This is why both of these systems are important.”

Sally Herbert, President, GS1 GDSN, on the momentum toward GDSN

“The GDSN has more than 10,000 members and over 1,000,000 GTINs registered today, and that is more than just a number. It shows real momentum. We've seen as well the number of items in the Registry increasing. This reflects how many suppliers are posting item information and how many retailers are interested in that data! We're seeing the activity and the transactions in the network now, and that's the most significant point. It's not theory, it's not projections. It's real demonstrated value.

As we look ahead, we see 2007 as a year of focus on implementation locally and globally, further building the foundation for retailers and suppliers of all sizes to truly leverage the GDSN.”

“We're seeing tangible benefits on both sides of the supply chain, such as reductions in out-of-stocks, and reductions in the amount of time it's taking to reconcile purchase order and invoice mismatches.
These are real efficiencies trading partners are seeing in the supply chain thanks to GDS.”

“GDSN Inc. focuses on support of the data pool community. They are our core customers. We serve their needs because they are front- facing organisations to the user community. It is our responsibility to work with the Member Organisations and to understand their requirements so they can add value to end users. It is one of our most important roles.”

“Starting a data synchronisation activity is hard work and it takes time. It involves far-reaching business processes across Supply Chain, Merchandising, Sales, Finance, and IT.
It is about changing the way you currently do business. But you must start now, because your competition and your customers are starting. You can see by the numbers that the wave is here.”

“GS1 has been asked on behalf of the industry to be stewards of the Data Quality Protocol, which is a set of best practices and standard guidelines for companies to institute data accuracy programs internally. It is clear, practical, and will help companies when they are ready to begin. Data Quality is essential to any data synchronisation programme.”

“The most important challenge of GDSN is to get a strong committment from top management, otherwise you'll never meet your goals. You also really need to build a leadership team to drive the adoption of GDSN in your company and between your business partners.”

“Cross-border sales will become more and more important, and we'll have to follow the flow of goods. This means the GDSN has to follow this too, with the right information across borders.”

“In Germany, one of the major promoters of GDSN is METRO. They are pushing suppliers to deliver very high-quality data for GDSN and we are working closely together as their home data pool. METRO is really driving the business in this direction.”

“The XML language is the basis for interoperability between data pools. It's important that every certified data pool has fulfilled the requirements for XML.”

Maria Palazzolo, CEO GS1 Australia on the costs of bad data:

“Bad data can ultimately cost an organisation a huge amount of inefficiences. If you look at the principles of ECR – getting the right product to the right place at the right time – the reality is that if you don't have accurate data, you can't realize any of those principles.”

“Data accuracy is critical, if data synchonisation benefits are to be realized.”

“Consumers will benefit from GDSN by the realization of the benefits of the ECR principles: having the right product, at the right place, at the right time and at the right price.”