WE MAKE IT

POSSIBLE …

GS1 Standards enableorganisations to identifyitems, locations, entitiesand more; toautomatically capturedata about those itemsand to share thatinforamtion in a mutuallyunderstandable way.

1. MASTER DATA

GDSN Global Data Synchronisation Network

2. TRANSACTIONAL DATA

EDI Electronic Data Interchange

3. PHYSICAL EVENT DATA

EPCIS Electronic Product Code Information Services

Why Use GS1 Standards?

GS1 Standards allow companies and trading partners to use a “commonlanguage” to identify items, locations, entities and more and captureinformation throughout the supply chain. This common language allowscompanies to then share supply chain information globally. Mostimportantly, GS1 Standards enable collaboration between trading partnersand facilitate an optimised supply chain and more efficient businessprocesses that reduce human error and cut costs.

Consumers benefit from the GS1 Standards. Companies can communicateaccurate product information electronically to the consumer via smartphones and barcode-scanning mobile applications.

There are 3 ways in which GS1 Standards enable the sharing ofinformation:

THE GLOBAL LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS

GS1 STANDARDS FOR DATA EXCHANGE

www.gs1ie.org

Master Data is the core information about the“who” and “what” in a trading relationship. The“who” can include the name, address andidentification codes of the buyer and seller plusdetails of shipping, delivery and billinglocations. The “what” is product informationsuch as product name, description, size andbarcode number.

Global Location Number (GLN) RegistryThe GLN Registry is a source of accurate andup-to-date location information for tradingpartners. Location types include ship to/shipfrom, bill to and deliver to locations in Irelandwith their corresponding GLNs. The Irish GLNRegistry enables companies to optimiselogistical processes and trading partnerauthentication.

GDSN Package Measurement Standards The GDSN Package Measurement Standardswere developed to increase the accuracy ofpackage measurements. Accuratemeasurements add stability to supply chains byimproving logistics, warehouse management,space management, outbound shipping, newitem introduction, financial processes, andcustomer service.

The GDSN Package Measurement Standardsinclude the GDSN Package Measurement Rules.These rules facilitate the dimensionalmeasurement and weighing of retail and non-retail products and they include the consumerunit to the pallet and all intermediate packaginglevels in between.

GDSN Data Quality FrameworkGS1, along with AIM, CGF, ECR Europe, FMI, andGMA have developed a best practiceframework for global data quality whichincludes:

• A data quality management system to helpimprove the quality of data published inthe network.

• An assessment procedure to validate theexistence and effectiveness of key datamanagement business processes.

• An inspection procedure to physicallyvalidate product attributes.

Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) The GDSN enables the sharing of accurate andup-to-date information between tradingpartners; any changes made to one company’sdatabase are automatically and immediatelyprovided to all its trading partners instantly.The GDSN ensures that all partners have accessto the same, accurate information, drivingoperational costs down.

What goes into GDSN?• Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs)• Global Location Number (GLN) of Brand

Owner• Product Information and Descriptions• Product Classification

WHAT GOES INTO THE GDSN

GTINs

Brand Owner Identification

Product Descriptions

Product Classification

PRODUCT MASTER DATA WITH GDSN®

GLN

MANUFACTURER ITEM CASE CASEPALLET TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT

GLN

STORE CONSUMERPALLET

GLN

DISTRIBUTOR

GLN

DISTRIBUTIONCENTER

ITEM

MASTER DATA

2

Transactional Data is the informationexchanged between two organisations aboutthe products and services they are selling,ordering, delivering, receiving, invoicing andpaying for. This process is also known as theOrder-to-Cash cycle. A large number ofdocuments such as orders, despatch docketsand invoices are required for this process tofunction effectively. However, by replacingthese traditional paper-based documents withstandardised electronic message equivalents,organisations can realise a range of operationaland commercial benefits.

The automation of the order-to-cash cycle andthe exchange of electronic business messagesdirectly between the computer systems of twoorganisations is called EDI (Electronic DataInterchange).

The benefits of EDI are:• Reduced operational costs• Faster receiving and storing of goods• More accurate data; fewer order, delivery

and invoice queries• Improved stock accuracy and availability• Shorter lead time from order to payment• Better trading relationships

GS1 Standards for EDIGS1 manages two standards for the exchangeof transactional data; these are EANCOM andGS1 XML. In GS1 standardised EDI messageseach product, trading partner and location isidentified by a unique GS1 Identification Key.

These identification keys are often representedin barcode symbols, which when scannedcreate a link between physical goods andlocations and the digital information aboutthem.

What transactional business documents areavailable in EDI?Within the Harmonised EDI (H-EDI) Guidelinescurrently in use in Ireland the followingmessages are included:• Price Catalogue Message (PRICAT)• Order and Order Response (ORDERS and

ORDRSP)• Despatch Advice, Instruction to Despatch

and Receiving Advice (DESADV, INSDESand RECADV)

• Invoice (INVOIC) including credit notes• Account Summary and Remittance Advice

(COACSU and REMADV)• Application Acknowledgement and General

Messages (APEAK and GENRAL)• Announcement of Returns (RETANN)

GS1 Standards used in EDI• Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) for

product identification• Global Location Numbers (GLNs) for

trading partner and shipping/deliverylocation identification

• Serial Shipping Container Codes (SSCCs)for logistics unit identification

• Standardised EDI Message Formats(EANCOM or GS1 XML)

GTIN, GLN, SSCCPurchase OrdersDelivery & Receiving NotificationsInvoice & Payment

WHAT GOES INTO EDI

TRANSACTIONAL DATA WITH EDI

TRANSACTIONAL DATA

3

This illustration shows transactional data exchange with

EDI between any two parties in the

supply chain.PAYMENT

PURCHASE ORDER

RECEIVING ADVICE

DESPATCH ADVICE

INVOICE

PAYMENT

PURCHASE ORDER

RECEIVING ADVICE

DESPATCH ADVICE

INVOICE

GLN GTIN GTIN

MANUFACTURER ITEM CASE CASEPALLET TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT

GLNGTINGTIN

STORE CONSUMERPALLET

GLN SSCC

DISTRIBUTOR

GLN

DISTRIBUTIONCENTER

ITEM

SSCC

Physical Event Data is the information generated by anitem as it moves through the supply chain. It includesthe what, where, when and status of an object eachtime the RFID tag is read. Physical event data createsvisibility across the supply chain for all trading partnerswith whom the data is shared.

Electronic Product Code Information Services(EPCIS)An EPC, or Electronic Product Code, based on GTINsand SSCCs, provides a unique, serialised identifier forany kind of object. Electronic Product CodeInformation Services (EPCIS) is a standard for storingand sharing EPC-related information between tradingpartners.

EPCIS provides capabilities to improve efficiency,security and visibility in the global supply chain. Thesestandards facilitate internal data capture as well assecure external sharing of information about themovement and status of goods in the physical world.

Companies that handle physical goods, such asmanufacturers, distributors, resellers or logisticsproviders, can benefit from EPCIS by cost-effectivelysharing information with finer granularity of detail forbetter visibility and efficiency.

THE GLOBAL LANGUAGE OF BUSINESSSecond Floor The Merrion Centre, Nutley Lane, Dublin 4, Ireland. T: +353 1 2080660 E: info@gs1ie.org W: www.gs1ie.org

EPCIS EPCIS EPCIS EPCIS

GLN

MANUFACTURER ITEM CASE CASEPALLET TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT

GLN

STORE CONSUMERPALLET

GLN

DISTRIBUTOR

GLN

DISTRIBUTIONCENTER

ITEM

PHYSICAL EVENT DATA WITH EPCIS

WHAT GTIN (5391234567892)

WHERE GLN (5391234000009)

WHEN Date & Time Stamp (2009-10-27 10:00:00)

WHY Business Step (receiving)

WHAT GOES INTO EPCIS

PHYSICAL EVENT DATA

Enabling VisibilityTo share product information,companies previously had tomanually record all movementsthroughout the supply chain. Withthe dawn of computers and everadvancing technology, massiveamounts of Information is nowshared automatically.

Over the past forty years, we havemoved from computer-to-computer data exchange to EDI toglobal data synchronisation. Nowin this new era of “big data” andcloud computing, data sharing isevolving to meet the demands ofomni-channel commerce and data-hungry consumers.

www.gs1ie.org