GS1 the Global system of standards in the field of shaped coding and RFID
What is standards? Standards are agreements which structure any activity or the industry. They can be expressed in the form of rules or instructions to which everyone conforms. It can be a measurement method, the description or classification of goods or services.
Think of that how difficult not standardized business processes for the international companies which make products from a large number of the components arriving from a set of different places are. Think also of as far as growth of expenses on energy in total with expansion of international trade influences production costs.
For these reasons such considerable attention is paid to search of methods of increase in efficiency of logistics in the international supply chains. And for this reason standards play such important role both for the enterprises, and for consumers. Standards are a basis for accurate, intelligible exchange between the companies in the conditions of growth of globalization of economy. They help to contain growth of expenses for all and everyone.
GS1 projects the global system of standards and manages it in a supply chain. GS1 devoted the last 30 years of the activity to design and implementation of global standards for use in supply chains. GS1 standards provide infrastructure which allows products, it is effective and safe to services and information on them to move to advantage to the enterprises and for increase in the standard of living of people - always and everywhere. GS1 standards guarantee effective exchange between the companies and act as the main managements facilitating interaction and providing a post swarming of structure for many industries.
GS1 standards bring together the companies representing everything to a part of a supply chain - producers, distributors, retail sellers, hospitals, transport companies, the customs organizations, software developers, local and international regulating authorities, etc. GS1 standards are used by the huge multinational supply chains and small little shops world famous of brands and certain handicraftsmen. These companies which business interests in practice can disperse work together under the direction of GS1, approving standards which do supply chains faster, more effective, less difficult and less expensive.
Without the independent, non-profit and GS1 global organization such very different companies, most likely, could not agree about standards.
GS1 is the global organization and has offices in more than 100 countries of the world, and more than 2,000 people working in them help it to implement its concept.
Originally created by producers and retail sellers for increase in efficiency of merchandising of food products and consumer goods in shops, GS1 Standards are used by millions of the companies in many sectors, including health care, transport and logistics, aeronautics, defense, chemical industry, high technologies and, certainly, retail supply chains today.
Shaped GS1 codes are, of course, the most known and world-wide recognizable part of a System of GS1 standards. Since they were invented more than thirty years ago, GS1 organization creates standards of shaped coding which allow the enterprises and the organizations to identify around the world automatically products, pallets and location, and manages them.
Already thirty years GS1 Standards are used for creation to consumers of the best conditions in supermarkets and shops around the world. Some of services are connected with emergence of the new shaped code.
Today our old acquaintance - shaped GS1 code (GS1 BarCode) - appears in the new version which received the name GS1 DataBar.
GS1 DataBar is less by the size, than his predecessor, but, nevertheless, it may contain more information. As a result, it can be placed on very small goods, for example, on separate segments of fruit. And it can contain many data, for example, an expiration date. Besides, it can be used for execution of coupons on a discount because it can contain all information required for processing of such coupons in cash registers.
Radio frequency identification or RFID is the technology using tags which can be found in many places today - from passports to the identification breastplates and beepers opening access to "a band of the high-speed movement" on posts of collecting of payment for journey on bridges or high-speed trunks.
These tags of RFID contain silicon chips and antennas, and they can contain many data which can be "read out", without carrying out directly via the scanning device. It is very technological and difficult process.
Use of RFID means proper management of all elements participating in process: the tags and their very small components, portable reader devices, reader devices installed by the size of gate, the software, exact frequencies to whom tags should transfer information, even by selection of the types of paper and glue used for creation of the stickers containing tags of RFID.
Around the world the companies are going to take advantages of revolutionary improvements which this technology bears to supply chains and consumers. RFID will help to manage batches, trade inventories and assets, to reduce a counterfeit and medical errors, to fight against theft and also has many other appendices. And as the RFID technology is difficult and many-sided, standards become vital.
The GS1 EPCglobal® standards force RFID technology to work for the enterprises and people.
When GS1 Standards coded in tags of RFID are read out, warehouse workers and employees of shops can learn not only what the subject, but also where it is now and where it was earlier is. It leads to increase in efficiency and streamlining of processes in a number of different sectors.
The GS1 EPCglobal organization, GS1 affiliated enterprise, directs development of RFID technology, defining and supporting implementation of standards which allow RFID to remain operable in all geographical zones, crossing borders of the countries and sectors. Besides, she guarantees observance by her members of strict standards of confidentiality to provide respect of the rights of consumers.
GS1 standards play a large role in health care. The medical sector is extremely difficult environment in which to guarantee purpose of proper medicine to the proper patient in proper time and in a proper dosage, permanent tracing of people, drugs and medical equipment is necessary.
But doctors and nurses - all go only people and, unfortunately, it means that daily in hospitals of the whole world mistakes are made. Tired with long working hours, often forced to work overtime because of undermanning with the personnel, sometimes they give to the patient an inadequate dose of medicine. Or give not that medicine. Or proper dose of proper medicine, but... not to that patient.
Every day hundreds of people die because of errors of drug treatment similar to described above. The majority of these errors could be prevented easily, and the medical sector works in this direction. And GS1 helps it.
The group of Health care of GS1 integrates hospitals, the pharmaceutical companies, producers of medical equipment, carriers and other participants of process. These companies, many of which compete among themselves, together work under the direction of GS1 to develop standards which will increase safety of patients and will improve care of them, thanks to reduction of number of errors of drug treatment and improvement of traceability of products.
GS1 standards already play a key role in fight against counterfeit products. The GS1 EPCglobal Electronic Pedigree Messaging Standard standard (The standard of electronic message exchange about origin of a product) for pharmaceutical industry are only one example from number of several projects over which work is conducted.
And, of course, work of GS1 on prevention of use of counterfeit pharmaceutical products gives us the excellent chance to help also other industries which products are also often forged such as, for example, cosmetics, electronics and parts of cars.
GS1 standards provide an opportunity for work of a system of traceability on a global scale - irrespective of how many companies are involved in process or how many borders crossed food products and components of foodstuff on all way from the beginning of a supply chain to the consumer.
The traceability of goods becomes especially important if something goes not as it is necessary, and food products need to be withdrawn. The last laws of the European Union oblige producers to inform the authorities and consumers on any potential risk for consumers connected with their products. Many countries review the own legislation connected with this question. The certain producers of agricultural products, producers and suppliers aiming to protect the brands from the damage caused by the spoiled materials or badly managed process of a withdrawal of products actively develop the own internal strategy and methodology of a withdrawal of products.
GS1 standards can play the vital role at a withdrawal of a product.
As they are global and work on all chain on rates from its beginning and up to the end, they guarantee an immediate access to exact information on products that does possible its a fast and full-scale response.
But, perhaps, even the fact that GS1 standards also facilitate a quality assurance and exact control of the level of trade inventories is more important. And, thanks to it, cases of a withdrawal of products become so unnecessary and rare as far as it is possible.
The GS1 eCom standards give accurate instructions for creation of electronic versions of all these types of business documentation. GS1 standards allow trading partners to communicate freely with the help of electronics irrespective of what their internal hardware or the systems of the software irrespective of in what language they speak at home.
With such standards supply chain partners can combine efforts more quickly to react to consumer requirements. The quantity of the mistakes made because of bad work with the keyboard or bad handwriting decreases. Not a lot of paper is wasted. And nobody should seize dozen of foreign languages to succeed internationally.
The global network of synchronization of data of GS1 (Global Data Synchronization Network or GDSN ®) allows the companies connected with each other by business relations to have always in the systems the same information. Any changes made by one company automatically and immediately become available to all other companies doing the business with it.
The exact, detailed and up-to-date information about products helps both the companies, and consumers. Owners of brands can bring to the market new products quicker and with smaller obstacles. At retail sellers the volume of administrative work and quantity of errors in orders decreases and at shipment. And buyers of shops will be able to purchase products which are necessary to them instead of beholding the empty shelve.
The global network of synchronization of data of GS1 allows supply chain partners to synchronize not preryvno information, increasing these efficiency in the supply chains and providing better services to consumers.
To succeed in the global projects connected with the international integration, hundreds of interested persons around the world should combine the efforts. For this reason there was such organization as GS1.
In GS1 there was a concept of the world where physical items and information on them move effectively and safely to the benefit of the enterprises and for quality improvement of life of the people - daily and everywhere.
GS1 sees the mission in being the neutral leader giving to communities opportunities for development and implementation of the global standards providing the means, trust and confidentiality necessary for achievement of an effective objective.
GS1 offers the complete range of services and solutions, a post of GS1 standards, royenny on the base of a System, and its identification GS1 keys. GS1 also have a complete range of solutions which integrate a set of GS1 Standards in the packet providing the valid commercially focused compliance to subject such, for example, as traceability.
If your company needs number of the shaped code, it wants to install the program of tracing of goods, asks a question of the capacity of RFID, wishes to begin to exchange electronic accounts with partners or is interested any of a set of other solutions and services which became possible thanks to GS1 Standards just contact National organization GS1 Rus / Yuniskan.