gs1 australia link magazine - issue 9

THE SUPPLY CHAINLINKISSUE NO. 09 // MARCH/APRIL 2006

Now circulated to over 25,000 people

Discover, Learn, Connect at Impetus 2006

GS1’s CMT to be the backbone of Woolworths’ electronic trade

Australian Healthcare adopts EANnet®

No guessing games

CEO Insights

CEO, GS1 Australia,Maria Palazzolo

With every new year comes

a flurry of so-called ‘expert’

predictions for the year ahead. Not

here at GS1 Australia.

Instead, the new year signals a

time to re-evaluate our strategy by

garnering the views of the people

who really count – our members

and staff – on how we might

better meet their needs as we

head into another exciting year.

The feedback from these talks

has been instrumental in helping

us focus on our priorities as we

develop our ambitious business

plan for 2006 to 2008, which will

be announced in April/May this

year in time for the new fiscal year.

As always, GS1 Australia remains

committed to providing

members with real-world advice

on best practice supply chain

management and making the

implementation of the GS1 System

a reality in all Australian industries.

And while our specific business

plans are still being developed

and aligned with GS1 global office,

planning is already underway for

a constellation of major events

which will provide members with

face-to-face interactions with GS1

staff and the ability to learn more

about the GS1 System.

In March, the Transport and

Logistics Road Show takes

place, the Sydney Supply Chain

Knowledge Centre will be

launched in April, and EANnet

workshops will be held along with

Education & Training Open Days in

Sydney and Melbourne.

In May, CeBIT embraces Sydney,

and on July 25th and 26th,, the

annual GS1 Australia Impetus

conference and expo will be held

in Melbourne.

All this adds up to what’s already

an exciting year but there’s more

to come. GS1 Australia is always

open to your feedback on what

we can do to serve you better

and I look forward to updating

you on all our plans for the next

two years in the June edition of

Supply Chain LINK.

02 LINK ISSUE NO.9 March/April 2006

Contents02 Chairman’s message

03 CEO insights

04 Your guide to new GS1 terminology

06 Read all about it: GS1 Australia annual report released

Nominate now for GS1 Awards

07 ‘Power to the people’: ads reflect the human face of GS1 Australia

08 GS1 opens door to small business savings

09 Learn about GS1 anywhere, anytime

10 GS1’s Community Management Tool (CMT) to be the backbone of Woolworth’s electronic trade

11 Lessons from the RFID National Demonstrator

ALLIANCE PARTNER EDITORIAL:

GS1 Australia working together with CeBit

12 GS1 for the Foodservice industry explained on CD

13 Discover, Learn, Connect at Impetus 2006

14 Connecting EANnet® with the world

15 Patties EPC trial results to be released at Impetus

16 Valvoline oils their supply chain with EANnet®

18 Employment Opportunities

GS1 Australia off ering you help online!

19 Frequently asked questions

20 INDUSTRY UPDATE:

21 New EANnet Data Manager TM tool launched

22 Sweet success with pick and scan system

23 Transport & Logistics Roadshow Event

24 ALLIANCE PARTNER EDITORIAL:

Oracle hosts RFID thought leadership seminar at GS1 Supply Chain Knowledge Centre

Winners of the 2006 GS1 Australia Half Scholarships

25 Four fundamental demand driven steps to supply chain excellence

26 91,000 bar codes tested in 2005

Applie-com refocuses

27 Spotlight on GS1 people, Elsa Lai

27 GS1 Australia Events Diary

Some things should never change

Chairman’s Message

Chairman, GS1 Australia,Russell Stucki

Tell us what you think

We are interested in your feedback. The newsletter’s primary role is to keep GS1

Australia members informed and updated on the latest developments in supply

chain management and eCommerce. If you have any ideas, comments, points-

of-view or criticisms, please forward to [email protected]

Thank you for the honour of

chairing GS1 Australia for the

third consecutive year, for it’s the

readers of Supply Chain LINK who

make it all so worthwhile.

Fostering trading relations

across 18 different industries,

representing dynamic young

companies to multinational

corporations – our membership

is incredibly diverse and growing

increasingly so every year.

As our membership grows, so

too does GS1 Australia’s service

offering, in scale, scope and

quality. This year, we’re investing

in an array of training, new

programs and powerful customer

relationship technology to

underpin the support we offer

members. It will be easier than

ever before to reach the right

expert at the right time and

our new systems will help us

understand your needs better.

There are some things about the

way we work with you, that will

never change and represent the

heart of GS1 Australia – our six

core beliefs:

1. GS1 Australia is a not-for-profit

organisation

2. GS1 Australia is neutral with

respect to our business partners

3. GS1 Australia is user-driven

and governed

4. GS1 Australia serves all

companies, no matter what

their size

5. GS1 Australia is a platform

for collaborative agreements

between businesses

6. GS1 Australia believes our

people – both employees and

members – are our most

important asset

It is this set of unwavering

principles that will steady GS1

Australia’s course this year towards

our vision, as we evolve to adapt

to a changing world. The vision

itself is surprisingly simple: to

implement the GS1 System across

all Australian industries for the

benefit of all users.

No guessing games

CEO Insights

CEO, GS1 Australia,Maria Palazzolo

With every new year comes

a flurry of so-called ‘expert’

predictions for the year ahead. Not

here at GS1 Australia.

Instead, the new year signals a

time to re-evaluate our strategy by

garnering the views of the people

who really count – our members

and staff – on how we might

better meet their needs as we

head into another exciting year.

The feedback from these talks

has been instrumental in helping

us focus on our priorities as we

develop our ambitious business

plan for 2006 to 2008, which will

be announced in April/May this

year in time for the new fiscal year.

As always, GS1 Australia remains

committed to providing

members with real-world advice

on best practice supply chain

management and making the

implementation of the GS1 System

a reality in all Australian industries.

And while our specific business

plans are still being developed

and aligned with GS1 global office,

planning is already underway for

a constellation of major events

which will provide members with

face-to-face interactions with GS1

staff and the ability to learn more

about the GS1 System.

In March, the Transport and

Logistics Road Show takes

place, the Sydney Supply Chain

Knowledge Centre will be

launched in April, and EANnet

workshops will be held along with

Education & Training Open Days in

Sydney and Melbourne.

In May, CeBIT embraces Sydney,

and on July 25th and 26th,, the

annual GS1 Australia Impetus

conference and expo will be held

in Melbourne.

All this adds up to what’s already

an exciting year but there’s more

to come. GS1 Australia is always

open to your feedback on what

we can do to serve you better

and I look forward to updating

you on all our plans for the next

two years in the June edition of

Supply Chain LINK.

Contents02 Chairman’s message

03 CEO insights

04 Your guide to new GS1 terminology

06 Read all about it: GS1 Australia annual report released

07 ‘Power to the people’: ads reflect the human face of GS1 Australia

08 GS1 opens door to small business savings

09 Learn about GS1 anywhere, anytime

10 GS1’s Community Management Tool (CMT) to be the backbone of Woolworth’s electronic trade

11 Lessons from the RFID National Demonstrator

ALLIANCE PARTNER EDITORIAL:

GS1 Australia working together with CeBit

12 GS1 for the Foodservice industry explained on CD

13 Discover, Learn, Connect at Impetus 2006

14 Connecting EANnet® with the world

15 Patties EPC trial results to be released at Impetus

16 Valvoline oils their supply chain with EANnet®

18 Employment Opportunities

GS1 Australia off ering you help online!

19 Frequently asked questions

20 INDUSTRY UPDATE:

21 New EANnet Data Manager TM tool launched

22 Sweet success with pick and scan system

23 Transport & Logistics Roadshow Event

24 ALLIANCE PARTNER EDITORIAL:

25 Four fundamental demand driven steps to supply chain excellence

26 91,000 bar codes tested in 2005

27 Spotlight on GS1 people, Elsa Lai

27 GS1 Australia Events Diary

Some things should never change

Chairman’s Message

Chairman, GS1 Australia,Russell Stucki

Tell us what you think

We are interested in your feedback. The newsletter’s primary role is to keep GS1

Australia members informed and updated on the latest developments in supply

chain management and eCommerce. If you have any ideas, comments, points-

of-view or criticisms, please forward to [email protected]

Thank you for the honour of

chairing GS1 Australia for the

third consecutive year, for it’s the

readers of Supply Chain LINK who

make it all so worthwhile.

Fostering trading relations

across 18 different industries,

representing dynamic young

companies to multinational

corporations – our membership

is incredibly diverse and growing

increasingly so every year.

As our membership grows, so

too does GS1 Australia’s service

offering, in scale, scope and

quality. This year, we’re investing

in an array of training, new

programs and powerful customer

relationship technology to

underpin the support we offer

members. It will be easier than

ever before to reach the right

expert at the right time and

our new systems will help us

understand your needs better.

There are some things about the

way we work with you, that will

never change and represent the

heart of GS1 Australia – our six

core beliefs:

1. GS1 Australia is a not-for-profit

organisation

2. GS1 Australia is neutral with

respect to our business partners

3. GS1 Australia is user-driven

and governed

4. GS1 Australia serves all

companies, no matter what

their size

5. GS1 Australia is a platform

for collaborative agreements

between businesses

6. GS1 Australia believes our

people – both employees and

members – are our most

important asset

It is this set of unwavering

principles that will steady GS1

Australia’s course this year towards

our vision, as we evolve to adapt

to a changing world. The vision

itself is surprisingly simple: to

implement the GS1 System across

all Australian industries for the

benefit of all users.

GS1 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Old term New term Explanation

EAN/UPC Symbology EAN/UPC Symbology A family of bar code symbols including EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A, and UPC-E

Bar Code Symbols.A family of bar code symbols including EAN-8, EAN-13,

UPC-A, and UPC-E Bar Code Symbols.

EAN-13 Bar Code Symbol EAN-13 Bar Code Symbol A bar code symbol of the EAN/UPC Symbology that encodes a GTIN-13 or

data for special applications (e.g., coupons).

EAN-8 Bar Code Symbol EAN-8 Bar Code Symbol A bar code symbol of the EAN/UPC Symbology that encodes a GTIN-8.

EAN•UCC Check Digit GS1 Check Digit A GS1 System algorithm for the calculation of a Check Digit to verify

Calculation Calculation accuracy of data.

EAN•UCC Company Prefix / GS1 Company Prefix A 6 to 12 digit number assigned to a given user company by a GS1 Member

UCC Company Prefix Organisation that shall entitle that user company to create any of the GS1

Identification Keys, namely GTIN, GLN, SSCC, GRAI, GIAI, GSRN, GDTI or

any other GS1 data element, for example consignment number, that derives

from a GS1 Company Prefix. It is constructed from a GS1 Prefix and a GS1

Company Number to ensure global uniqueness.

none GS1 data structure A piece of GS1 data defined in structure and meaning.

none GS1 Global Office GS1 Global Office, based in Brussels, Belgium, and Princeton, USA, is an

organisation of GS1 Member Organisations that manages the GS1 System.

none GS1 Identification Keys Globally unique numbers that are used to access database information

related whatever they identify (an item, location, relationship, etc). The GS1

Identification Keys are GTIN, GLN, SSCC, GRAI, GIAI, GSRN and GDTI and are

constructed using a GS1 Company Prefix.

EAN Member Organisation EAN Member Organisation A member of GS1 that is responsible for administering the GS1 System in its

country (or assigned area). This task includes, but is not restricted to, ensuring

user companies make correct use of the GS1 System, have access to

education, training, promotion and implementation support and have

access to play an active role in GSMP.

EAN•UCC Prefix GS1 Prefix A number with two or more digits, administered by GS1 Global Head Office,

denoting the format and meaning of a particular data structure.

EAN•UCC System GS1 System The specifications, standards, and guidelines administered by GS1.

UCC/EAN-128 Bar Code Symbol GS1-128 Bar Code Symbol A subset of the Code 128 that is utilised exclusively for GS1 data standards.

GTIN Format GTIN Format The format in which Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) can be

represented in a 14-digit reference field (key) in computer files to ensure

uniqueness of the identification numbers.

UCC-12 Identification Number GTIN-12 The 12-digit GS1 data standard composed of a GS1 Company Prefix starting

with a zero, Item Reference, and Check Digit used to identify trade items.

EAN/UCC-13 Identification GTIN-13 The 13-digit GS1 data standard composed of a GS1 Company Prefix and

Number Check Digit used to identify trade items.

EAN/UCC-14 Identification GTIN-14 The 14-digit GS1 data standard composed of an Indicator, GTIN of an

Number contained item (without check-digit), and a Check Digit used to identify

trade items.

EAN/UCC-8 Identification GTIN-8 The eight-digit GS1 data standard composed of GS1 Prefix, Item

Number Reference and Check Digit, normally directly assigned by a GS1 Member

Organisation used to identify trade items.

ITF-14 Bar Code Symbol ITF-14 Bar Code Symbol An ITF Symbol of 14-dgits used by the GS1 System to encode a GTIN.

UPC-A Bar Code Symbol UPC-A Bar Code Symbol A bar code symbol of the EAN/UPC Symbology that encodes a GTIN-12 or

UPC-E Bar Code Symbol UPC-E Bar Code Symbol A bar code symbol of the EAN/UPC Symbology encodes a GTIN-12 in six

explicitly encoded digits using zero-suppression techniques.

The first thing that changed was the EAN•UCC

system which became the GS1 System and as

this year progresses, all 105 GS1 organisations

will adopt a single set of names for the

integrated set of standards for users spanning

140 countries that make the system work.

GS1 has been careful to make the changes as

straightforward as possible. The GS1 brand is

used for all terms and replaces any reference to

EAN and UCC. For example, the ‘UCC/EAN-128

Bar Code Symbol’ becomes the ‘GS1-128 Bar

Code Symbol’.

The new terminology is being introduced

slowly to allow users time to adapt. In

addition, some of the terms, including

the EAN/UPC bar code symbology, must

be approved by other bodies such as the

International Standards Organisation (ISO),

so there will be a transition phase.

“Members can expect to begin to see these

changes incorporated into our web site, user

manuals and brochures,” said GS1 Australia’s

General Manager, Standards Development,

Fiona Wilson.

To assist with the changes, GS1 Australia has

produced a quick guide to the new terminology

in this edition of Supply Chain LINK. Refer to page

5 for a shortened version of the changes made.

“We’re recommending members stick the

glossary somewhere handy and use it as a

reference guide as they embrace the changes”

Fiona said.

“In the past, different countries had their own

sets of terminologies for essentially the same

things. Adopting one global set of terminology

throughout the entire GS1 organisation will

avoid confusion for members and make

international trade simpler, which is what the

GS1 System is all about.”

Now that GS1 is the

number one name in

supply chain standards

around the world, the GS1

System and many of the

terms that describe it are

also changing.

Your guide to new GS1 terminology

GS1 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Old term New term Explanation

EAN/UPC Symbology EAN/UPC Symbology A family of bar code symbols including EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A, and UPC-E

Bar Code Symbols.A family of bar code symbols including EAN-8, EAN-13,

UPC-A, and UPC-E Bar Code Symbols.

EAN-13 Bar Code Symbol EAN-13 Bar Code Symbol A bar code symbol of the EAN/UPC Symbology that encodes a GTIN-13 or

EAN-8 Bar Code Symbol EAN-8 Bar Code Symbol A bar code symbol of the EAN/UPC Symbology that encodes a GTIN-8.

EAN•UCC Check Digit GS1 Check Digit A GS1 System algorithm for the calculation of a Check Digit to verify

Calculation Calculation accuracy of data.

EAN•UCC Company Prefix / GS1 Company Prefix A 6 to 12 digit number assigned to a given user company by a GS1 Member

UCC Company Prefix Organisation that shall entitle that user company to create any of the GS1

Identification Keys, namely GTIN, GLN, SSCC, GRAI, GIAI, GSRN, GDTI or

any other GS1 data element, for example consignment number, that derives

from a GS1 Company Prefix. It is constructed from a GS1 Prefix and a GS1

Company Number to ensure global uniqueness.

none GS1 data structure A piece of GS1 data defined in structure and meaning.

none GS1 Global Office GS1 Global Office, based in Brussels, Belgium, and Princeton, USA, is an

organisation of GS1 Member Organisations that manages the GS1 System.

none GS1 Identification Keys Globally unique numbers that are used to access database information

related whatever they identify (an item, location, relationship, etc). The GS1

Identification Keys are GTIN, GLN, SSCC, GRAI, GIAI, GSRN and GDTI and are

constructed using a GS1 Company Prefix.

EAN Member Organisation EAN Member Organisation A member of GS1 that is responsible for administering the GS1 System in its

country (or assigned area). This task includes, but is not restricted to, ensuring

user companies make correct use of the GS1 System, have access to

education, training, promotion and implementation support and have

access to play an active role in GSMP.

EAN•UCC Prefix GS1 Prefix A number with two or more digits, administered by GS1 Global Head Office,

denoting the format and meaning of a particular data structure.

EAN•UCC System GS1 System The specifications, standards, and guidelines administered by GS1.

UCC/EAN-128 Bar Code Symbol GS1-128 Bar Code Symbol A subset of the Code 128 that is utilised exclusively for GS1 data standards.

GTIN Format GTIN Format The format in which Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) can be

represented in a 14-digit reference field (key) in computer files to ensure

uniqueness of the identification numbers.

UCC-12 Identification Number GTIN-12 The 12-digit GS1 data standard composed of a GS1 Company Prefix starting

with a zero, Item Reference, and Check Digit used to identify trade items.

EAN/UCC-13 Identification GTIN-13 The 13-digit GS1 data standard composed of a GS1 Company Prefix and

Number Check Digit used to identify trade items.

EAN/UCC-14 Identification GTIN-14 The 14-digit GS1 data standard composed of an Indicator, GTIN of an

Number contained item (without check-digit), and a Check Digit used to identify

trade items.

EAN/UCC-8 Identification GTIN-8 The eight-digit GS1 data standard composed of GS1 Prefix, Item

Number Reference and Check Digit, normally directly assigned by a GS1 Member

Organisation used to identify trade items.

ITF-14 Bar Code Symbol ITF-14 Bar Code Symbol An ITF Symbol of 14-dgits used by the GS1 System to encode a GTIN.

UPC-A Bar Code Symbol UPC-A Bar Code Symbol A bar code symbol of the EAN/UPC Symbology that encodes a GTIN-12 or

UPC-E Bar Code Symbol UPC-E Bar Code Symbol A bar code symbol of the EAN/UPC Symbology encodes a GTIN-12 in six

explicitly encoded digits using zero-suppression techniques.

The first thing that changed was the EAN•UCC

system which became the GS1 System and as

this year progresses, all 105 GS1 organisations

will adopt a single set of names for the

integrated set of standards for users spanning

140 countries that make the system work.

GS1 has been careful to make the changes as

straightforward as possible. The GS1 brand is

used for all terms and replaces any reference to

EAN and UCC. For example, the ‘UCC/EAN-128

Bar Code Symbol’ becomes the ‘GS1-128 Bar

Code Symbol’.

The new terminology is being introduced

slowly to allow users time to adapt. In

addition, some of the terms, including

the EAN/UPC bar code symbology, must

be approved by other bodies such as the

International Standards Organisation (ISO),

so there will be a transition phase.

“Members can expect to begin to see these

changes incorporated into our web site, user

manuals and brochures,” said GS1 Australia’s

General Manager, Standards Development,

Fiona Wilson.

To assist with the changes, GS1 Australia has

produced a quick guide to the new terminology

in this edition of Supply Chain LINK. Refer to page

5 for a shortened version of the changes made.

“We’re recommending members stick the

glossary somewhere handy and use it as a

reference guide as they embrace the changes”

Fiona said.

“In the past, different countries had their own

sets of terminologies for essentially the same

things. Adopting one global set of terminology

throughout the entire GS1 organisation will

avoid confusion for members and make

international trade simpler, which is what the

GS1 System is all about.”

Now that GS1 is the

number one name in

supply chain standards

around the world, the GS1

System and many of the

terms that describe it are

also changing.

Your guide to new GS1 terminology

The friendly face of a

member service organisation,

rather than a faceless

standards body, will be the

focus of a new advertising

campaign by GS1 Australia.

Launching the campaign in February,

Marketing & Communications Manager Sharyn

Perry said advertisements would show the

human side of GS1 Australia.

“This campaign communicates GS1 Australia’s

sole mission - to help its members implement

the GS1 system of standards,” she said. “That

translates to an open, honest and supportive

culture that unashamedly adopts the ‘power

to the people’ ideal and that’s what we want to

get across with this campaign.”

Three taglines will dominate the 15-month

campaign, beginning with “GS1 is everywhere”,

followed by “GS1 makes it happen” and

“GS1 is there for you”. A mix of national print,

online media and direct mail will carry the

advertisements that demonstrate the value

of GS1 Australia to businesses striving for

exceptional supply chain management.

The first will appear in trade magazines,

including Retail World, Global Food and Wine,

Australian Hardware Journal, Packaging,

Manufacturers Monthly, Automotive

Aftermarket, Transport & Logistics Magazine,

Supply Chain Review, Packaging News and

Materials Handling & Distribution.

Seven themes, spanning leisure, work,

productivity and entrepreneurship have been

chosen for the campaign by GS1 Australia and

advertising agency Fuel Marketing Solutions.

“We’ve worked very closely with Fuel to

identify the issues that are important to

members and mapped those results to the

campaign’s creative execution,” Sharyn said.

“The new adverts back-up the successful

‘EAN evolves into GS1’ campaign that was

recognised in marketing texts Marketing,

Creating and Delivering Value and Consumer

Behaviour: Implications for Marketing Strategy

Enhanced. It’s satisfying to have leading

marketers endorse our approach.”

‘Power to the people’ : Ads refl ect the human face of GS1 Australia

Obscure product?Our Supply Chain systemcan help you track it.GS1 is everywhere.

GS1 Australia: your local link to the largest Supply Chain Industry Association in the World.

Our solutions reduce high inventory costs, increase profits and grow business.

• We provide leading, unbiased supply chain advice • We employ experts to improve your supply chain practice effectiveness

• We help unlock your eCommerce opportunities using one global standard • We keep you updated on evolving supply

chain technologies• We offer access to other experts within the supply chain industrywww.gs1au.org

1300 366 033

The newly released annual

report for 2005 details how

your industry organisation,

GS1 Australia, helped

members profit from supply

chain management last year.

The report contains highlights of GS1

Australia’s year and outlines the progress

of major projects across a diverse range

of industry sectors. Although the 2006

document is the second annual report

produced by the organisation, it is the first

under the new name, GS1 Australia.

The evolution from EAN Australia to GS1

Australia at the Impetus 2005 Conference and

Exhibition is highlighted in the report.

Other highlights include the explosion

of members joining the EANnet data

synchronisation community; the selection

of GS1 Australia to host the National Product

Catalogue for Healthcare; world-firsts in EPC

and radio frequency identification and the

acceleration in the number of industries

adopting it; and a raft of initiatives securing

Australia’s position as innovators on the global

supply chain stage.

The report also flags a refocusing of GS1

Australia for 2006, with CEO Maria Palazzolo

pointing to extra support staff, even more

training, streamlined systems, a revitalised web

site and greater accountability for customer

service standards.

The annual report is available online at

www.gs1au.org or, to have a hard copy

mailed to you, call Rebecca Owen at

GS1 Australia on 1300 366 033

Read all about it: GS1 Australia annual report released

The prestigious awards; ‘Standards in Action’

and ‘Leadership in Standards’ will be

presented to the winning company and

individual at the annual Impetus conference

on 25th July 2006.

The 2006 Leadership in Standards Award

recognises an individual for championing

the promotion and implementation of

the GS1 System, within a company, sector

or industry.

Companies that have used the services of

GS1 Australia to enhance the knowledge

of staff and trading partners during the

implementation of GS1 standards are eligible

for the 2006 Award for Standards in Action.

This award recognises the winner’s role as a

catalyst for change in its sector or industry.

Both the company and individual

awards recipients must reflect the values

of GS1, according to GS1 Australia’s CIO,

Steven Pereira.

“GS1 Australia created these awards to

recognise the great work that is being

done by outstanding companies and

individuals, for their innovation, boldness,

commitment, leadership and pioneering spirit,”

he said.

The two awards which are not industry-

specific are judged against a set of weighted

criteria by a panel of GS1 senior management

and board members.

If you think your company or someone you

know deserves industry recognition, now is

the time to nominate! Visit www.gs1au.org

and fill out the nomination form or mail a

hard copy to:

GS1 Australia Excellence Awards

Judging Panel

Locked Bag 10

Oakleigh, VIC 3166

For more information, contact Steven

Pereira at [email protected] or on

1300 366 033, nominations close on

Friday 30 June 2006.

Nominations are now open

for the 2006 GS1 Australia

Supply Chain Excellence

Awards.

The friendly face of a

member service organisation,

rather than a faceless

standards body, will be the

focus of a new advertising

campaign by GS1 Australia.

Launching the campaign in February,

Marketing & Communications Manager Sharyn

Perry said advertisements would show the

human side of GS1 Australia.

“This campaign communicates GS1 Australia’s

sole mission - to help its members implement

the GS1 system of standards,” she said. “That

translates to an open, honest and supportive

culture that unashamedly adopts the ‘power

to the people’ ideal and that’s what we want to

get across with this campaign.”

Three taglines will dominate the 15-month

campaign, beginning with “GS1 is everywhere”,

followed by “GS1 makes it happen” and

“GS1 is there for you”. A mix of national print,

online media and direct mail will carry the

advertisements that demonstrate the value

of GS1 Australia to businesses striving for

exceptional supply chain management.

The first will appear in trade magazines,

including Retail World, Global Food and Wine,

Australian Hardware Journal, Packaging,

Manufacturers Monthly, Automotive

Aftermarket, Transport & Logistics Magazine,

Supply Chain Review, Packaging News and

Materials Handling & Distribution.

Seven themes, spanning leisure, work,

productivity and entrepreneurship have been

chosen for the campaign by GS1 Australia and

advertising agency Fuel Marketing Solutions.

“We’ve worked very closely with Fuel to

identify the issues that are important to

members and mapped those results to the

campaign’s creative execution,” Sharyn said.

“The new adverts back-up the successful

‘EAN evolves into GS1’ campaign that was

recognised in marketing texts Marketing,

Creating and Delivering Value and Consumer

Behaviour: Implications for Marketing Strategy

Enhanced. It’s satisfying to have leading

marketers endorse our approach.”

‘Power to the people’ : Ads refl ect the human face of GS1 Australia

Obscure product?Our Supply Chain systemcan help you track it.GS1 is everywhere.

GS1 Australia: your local link to the largest Supply Chain Industry Association in the World.

Our solutions reduce high inventory costs, increase profits and grow business.

• We provide leading, unbiased supply chain advice • We employ experts to improve your supply chain practice effectiveness

• We help unlock your eCommerce opportunities using one global standard • We keep you updated on evolving supply

chain technologies• We offer access to other experts within the supply chain industrywww.gs1au.org

1300 366 033

The newly released annual

report for 2005 details how

your industry organisation,

GS1 Australia, helped

members profit from supply

chain management last year.

The report contains highlights of GS1

Australia’s year and outlines the progress

of major projects across a diverse range

of industry sectors. Although the 2006

document is the second annual report

produced by the organisation, it is the first

under the new name, GS1 Australia.

The evolution from EAN Australia to GS1

Australia at the Impetus 2005 Conference and

Exhibition is highlighted in the report.

Other highlights include the explosion

of members joining the EANnet data

synchronisation community; the selection

of GS1 Australia to host the National Product

Catalogue for Healthcare; world-firsts in EPC

and radio frequency identification and the

acceleration in the number of industries

adopting it; and a raft of initiatives securing

Australia’s position as innovators on the global

supply chain stage.

The report also flags a refocusing of GS1

Australia for 2006, with CEO Maria Palazzolo

pointing to extra support staff, even more

training, streamlined systems, a revitalised web

site and greater accountability for customer

service standards.

The annual report is available online at

www.gs1au.org or, to have a hard copy

mailed to you, call Rebecca Owen at

GS1 Australia on 1300 366 033

Read all about it: GS1 Australia annual report released

The prestigious awards; ‘Standards in Action’

and ‘Leadership in Standards’ will be

presented to the winning company and

individual at the annual Impetus conference

on 25th July 2006.

The 2006 Leadership in Standards Award

recognises an individual for championing

the promotion and implementation of

the GS1 System, within a company, sector

or industry.

Companies that have used the services of

GS1 Australia to enhance the knowledge

of staff and trading partners during the

implementation of GS1 standards are eligible

for the 2006 Award for Standards in Action.

This award recognises the winner’s role as a

catalyst for change in its sector or industry.

Both the company and individual

awards recipients must reflect the values

of GS1, according to GS1 Australia’s CIO,

Steven Pereira.

“GS1 Australia created these awards to

recognise the great work that is being

done by outstanding companies and

individuals, for their innovation, boldness,

commitment, leadership and pioneering spirit,”

he said.

The two awards which are not industry-

specific are judged against a set of weighted

criteria by a panel of GS1 senior management

and board members.

If you think your company or someone you

know deserves industry recognition, now is

the time to nominate! Visit www.gs1au.org

and fill out the nomination form or mail a

hard copy to:

GS1 Australia Excellence Awards

Judging Panel

Locked Bag 10

Oakleigh, VIC 3166

For more information, contact Steven

Pereira at [email protected] or on

1300 366 033, nominations close on

Friday 30 June 2006.

Nominations are now open

for the 2006 GS1 Australia

Supply Chain Excellence

Awards.

Please include an image of a super-market, please see cd sent to FUEL

A new online learning

service, developed by

GS1 Global Office, allows

members to access GS1

System training anytime,

anywhere.

Launched by GS1 Australia in March, the new

LEARN service enables GS1 Australia members

to update their understanding of the GS1

System at their own convenience through

seven modules that are self-directed

and interactive.

The LEARN series provides multiple

business benefits:

• Reduces the gap between your current level

of knowledge and that required to optimise

your productivity and supply chain efficiency

• Provides an ideal orientation and career

development tool that helps you apply

fundamental supply chain concepts within

two weeks of your start date if you are a new

or redeployed employee

• Enhances your understanding of complex

supply chain processes, enabling you to

apply such knowledge toward continually

improving existing processes

• Grants you a globally-endorsed certificate

upon your successful completion of all seven

LEARN modules

• Offers a cost effective educational format,

allowing you to LEARN at their own desk,

eliminating travel expenses

GS1 Australia’s CIO Steven Pereira feels that

LEARN will enhance the existing Education

& Training service offerings while resolving

members issues for not taking advantage of past

sessions due to distance and time restraints.

“LEARN gives members 24/7 access to

information about the GS1 System,” he said. “This

new accessibility will ensure that GS1 members

are given every opportunity to learn the system

and best practice supply chain management.”

The new LEARN modules follow from a

member survey conducted by Monash

University and GS1 Australia to uncover the

education and training needs of supply chain

managers. The survey compared a sample of

members who attended previous GS1 Australia

training with members who did not. The

findings uncovered a real need for members to

learn more about the software and hardware

used to operate the GS1 System. As a result,

GS1 Australia will hold Open Days in March,

June and October throughout Australia to give

members this opportunity.

“At the Open Days, members will hear

experienced supply chain managers share

their stories and find out how GS1 members

profit from supply chain standards”, said Steven.

“The program has been structured into three

streams to provide different subject matter

training for different member groups”.

Open Day specific topics include industry

updates on health, traceability and transport

with an explanation of the verification

services of GS1 Australia. Participants can

also choose to hear about Global Product

Classification, an important part of the

Global Data Synchronisation Network, and a

technical expert will explain how GS1 bar code

verification equipment works.

During the Education Open Day, members

will discover how to structure numbers for

different products, shipments and locations.

Bar codes and the different types of printing

methods are also explained.

In addition, the Supply Chain Knowledge

Centre will be on display during the Open

Day, allowing members an interactive

experience of how the GS1 System works

across the supply chain.

Education and Training Road Shows

8th June Brisbane

14th & 15th June Sydney

20th & 21st June Melbourne

22nd June Adelaide

27th June Perth

For more information about the

GS1 Education and Training program,

call GS1 Australia on 1300 366 033.

Learn about GS1 anywhere, anytime

BIG PICTURE

Option 1

Classroom Learning

Standards in Action – Supply Chain

Knowledge Centre (SCKC)

Option 2

Online Learning

LEARN Modules 1,2 & 3

SCM PROCESS DEFINITION

NUTS & BOLTS OF THEGS1 SYSTEM

SPECIFIC APPLICATION TRAINING

Option 1

Classroom Learning

The Chain Reaction – Supply Chain

Option 2

Online Learning

LEARN Modules 4, 5 & 6

Option 1

Classroom Learning

Specifi c topical sessions (Open Day)

Option 2

Online Learning

LEARN Module 7

Option 1

Classroom Learning

POS Training

GS1 Knowledge 101 Series

• EDI 101

• XML 101

• Data Capture 101

• CPFR 101

• GPC 101

Supply Chain Knowledge Centre (SCKC)

• EPC/RFID (available 2006)

• Data Sync (available 2006)

• Traceability (available 2006)

• EANnet (available 2006)

GS1 Australia Education & Training Progression Chart

Each Progression Chart section builds upon previous one and members can choose

to take each section either online or in a classroom setting.

The Door Store’s ambitious goals make sense

in the light of the operational changes it has

planned with GS1 Australia’s Professional

Services team and one of GS1 Australia’s

Alliance Partners. The plan takes The Door

Store from using a purely manual stock control

process and point of sale system to automatic

data capture (bar code scanning) as part of

everyday operations.

As one of Melbourne’s leading retailers of

doors and accessories, The Door Store carries

6500 stock keeping units, ranging from doors

through to grub screws. According to The

Door Store’s System Administrator, Sarah

Casey, under the current system, supplier

representatives and the company’s Hardware

Manager Mark Polson maintain stock levels

with a skilled eye.

“Mark tries to keep track of what’s selling and

what’s not and, when it’s time to re-order, he

goes out into the warehouse to get a visual

indication of stock levels,” she said. “With so

many lines and the sheer volume of stock, it’s

an enormous responsibility for one person.”

The product range’s breadth also impacts on

the salesforce. Currently, each sale is a time

consuming manual process, with sales people

required to identify the items being sold, write

up the details in a cash book and calculate

discounts for special accounts.

“Training is a huge issue because salespeople

must recognise thousands of items,” Sarah

said. “Manual systems were adequate when

The Door Store was much smaller but we’ve

outgrown them and can save time and

money with a more sophisticated system.”

After the required operational changes

were identified, The Door Store’s first step

was to organise the bar coding of stock.

By using bar codes, the requirement for staff

to be able to visually identify items will be

removed and the time taken to complete a

sale will be substantially reduced. In addition,

inventory levels will be able to be

maintained electronically.

GS1 Australia’s Member & Industry Support

Team helped Mark draft a letter to suppliers

asking them to apply GS1 bar codes at each

packaging level.

“GS1 Australia’s assistance was invaluable and

took the burden from us while we were busy

implementing changes,” Sarah said. “It’s great

to know they’re always there to help us move

to the next stage.”

As Supply Chain LINK went to press, The Door

Store was approaching what Sarah called

“D-day”, when the new POS system went live.

“It’s been a long but worthwhile process,”

Sarah said. “With our salespeople spending

less time as cashiers and more time on the

floor, plus fewer out of stocks, sales should

increase. The data captured during each sale

and the new reporting tools will put the

information we need at our fingertips

so there’ll be less buffer stock and we

hope that this year, we’ll be able to do

stocktake electronically.”

By combining GS1

identifiers and bar codes

with a new point of sale

(POS) system, the family-

owned business The Door

Store expects to decrease

inventories, reduce out of

stocks, cut the time spent

on stock takes and as a

result allow salespeople to

spend more time selling.

GS1 opens door to small business savings

Please include an image of a super-market, please see cd sent to FUEL

A new online learning

service, developed by

GS1 Global Office, allows

members to access GS1

System training anytime,

anywhere.

Launched by GS1 Australia in March, the new

LEARN service enables GS1 Australia members

to update their understanding of the GS1

System at their own convenience through

seven modules that are self-directed

and interactive.

The LEARN series provides multiple

business benefits:

• Reduces the gap between your current level

of knowledge and that required to optimise

your productivity and supply chain efficiency

• Provides an ideal orientation and career

development tool that helps you apply

fundamental supply chain concepts within

two weeks of your start date if you are a new

or redeployed employee

• Enhances your understanding of complex

supply chain processes, enabling you to

apply such knowledge toward continually

improving existing processes

• Grants you a globally-endorsed certificate

upon your successful completion of all seven

LEARN modules

• Offers a cost effective educational format,

allowing you to LEARN at their own desk,

eliminating travel expenses

GS1 Australia’s CIO Steven Pereira feels that

LEARN will enhance the existing Education

& Training service offerings while resolving

members issues for not taking advantage of past

sessions due to distance and time restraints.

“LEARN gives members 24/7 access to

information about the GS1 System,” he said. “This

new accessibility will ensure that GS1 members

are given every opportunity to learn the system

and best practice supply chain management.”

The new LEARN modules follow from a

member survey conducted by Monash

University and GS1 Australia to uncover the

education and training needs of supply chain

managers. The survey compared a sample of

members who attended previous GS1 Australia

training with members who did not. The

findings uncovered a real need for members to

learn more about the software and hardware

used to operate the GS1 System. As a result,

GS1 Australia will hold Open Days in March,

June and October throughout Australia to give

members this opportunity.

“At the Open Days, members will hear

experienced supply chain managers share

their stories and find out how GS1 members

profit from supply chain standards”, said Steven.

“The program has been structured into three

streams to provide different subject matter

training for different member groups”.

Open Day specific topics include industry

updates on health, traceability and transport

with an explanation of the verification

services of GS1 Australia. Participants can

also choose to hear about Global Product

Classification, an important part of the

Global Data Synchronisation Network, and a

technical expert will explain how GS1 bar code

verification equipment works.

During the Education Open Day, members

will discover how to structure numbers for

different products, shipments and locations.

Bar codes and the different types of printing

methods are also explained.

In addition, the Supply Chain Knowledge

Centre will be on display during the Open

Day, allowing members an interactive

experience of how the GS1 System works

across the supply chain.

Education and Training Road Shows

8th June Brisbane

14th & 15th June Sydney

20th & 21st June Melbourne

22nd June Adelaide

27th June Perth

For more information about the

GS1 Education and Training program,

call GS1 Australia on 1300 366 033.

Learn about GS1 anywhere, anytime

BIG PICTURE

Option 1

Classroom Learning

Standards in Action – Supply Chain

Option 2

Online Learning

LEARN Modules 1,2 & 3

SCM PROCESS DEFINITION

NUTS & BOLTS OF THEGS1 SYSTEM

SPECIFIC APPLICATION TRAINING

Option 1

Classroom Learning

The Chain Reaction – Supply Chain

Option 2

Online Learning

LEARN Modules 4, 5 & 6

Option 1

Classroom Learning

Specifi c topical sessions (Open Day)

Option 2

Online Learning

LEARN Module 7

Option 1

Classroom Learning

POS Training

GS1 Knowledge 101 Series

• EDI 101

• XML 101

• Data Capture 101

• CPFR 101

• GPC 101

Supply Chain Knowledge Centre (SCKC)

• EPC/RFID (available 2006)

• Data Sync (available 2006)

• Traceability (available 2006)

• EANnet (available 2006)

GS1 Australia Education & Training Progression Chart

Each Progression Chart section builds upon previous one and members can choose

to take each section either online or in a classroom setting.

The Door Store’s ambitious goals make sense

in the light of the operational changes it has

planned with GS1 Australia’s Professional

Services team and one of GS1 Australia’s

Alliance Partners. The plan takes The Door

Store from using a purely manual stock control

process and point of sale system to automatic

data capture (bar code scanning) as part of

everyday operations.

As one of Melbourne’s leading retailers of

doors and accessories, The Door Store carries

6500 stock keeping units, ranging from doors

through to grub screws. According to The

Door Store’s System Administrator, Sarah

Casey, under the current system, supplier

representatives and the company’s Hardware

Manager Mark Polson maintain stock levels

with a skilled eye.

“Mark tries to keep track of what’s selling and

what’s not and, when it’s time to re-order, he

goes out into the warehouse to get a visual

indication of stock levels,” she said. “With so

many lines and the sheer volume of stock, it’s

an enormous responsibility for one person.”

The product range’s breadth also impacts on

the salesforce. Currently, each sale is a time

consuming manual process, with sales people

required to identify the items being sold, write

up the details in a cash book and calculate

discounts for special accounts.

“Training is a huge issue because salespeople

must recognise thousands of items,” Sarah

said. “Manual systems were adequate when

The Door Store was much smaller but we’ve

outgrown them and can save time and

money with a more sophisticated system.”

After the required operational changes

were identified, The Door Store’s first step

was to organise the bar coding of stock.

By using bar codes, the requirement for staff

to be able to visually identify items will be

removed and the time taken to complete a

sale will be substantially reduced. In addition,

inventory levels will be able to be

maintained electronically.

GS1 Australia’s Member & Industry Support

Team helped Mark draft a letter to suppliers

asking them to apply GS1 bar codes at each

packaging level.

“GS1 Australia’s assistance was invaluable and

took the burden from us while we were busy

implementing changes,” Sarah said. “It’s great

to know they’re always there to help us move

to the next stage.”

As Supply Chain LINK went to press, The Door

Store was approaching what Sarah called

“D-day”, when the new POS system went live.

“It’s been a long but worthwhile process,”

Sarah said. “With our salespeople spending

less time as cashiers and more time on the

floor, plus fewer out of stocks, sales should

increase. The data captured during each sale

and the new reporting tools will put the

information we need at our fingertips

so there’ll be less buffer stock and we

hope that this year, we’ll be able to do

stocktake electronically.”

By combining GS1

identifiers and bar codes

with a new point of sale

(POS) system, the family-

owned business The Door

Store expects to decrease

inventories, reduce out of

stocks, cut the time spent

on stock takes and as a

result allow salespeople to

spend more time selling.

GS1 opens door to small business savings

As the radio frequency

identification (RFID) National

Demonstrator Project went

live, participants said many

lessons had already been

learned.

Managed by GS1 Australia and the CSIRO, the

project involves companies from across the

fast moving consumer goods supply chain,

including Gillette, Procter & Gamble, Metcash,

Visy Industries, CHEP, Linfox, Australian Food &

Grocery Council (AFGC), Nugan Estate, Capilano

Honey, Sun Microsystems and Verisign.

The value of a big picture perspective is clear

to Murray Fane, Manager, Information Systems,

Asia Pacific, CHEP.

“We have seen an individual piece of CHEP

equipment move from the beginning to the

end of the supply chain - leave CHEP, arrive at

Visy, move to Gillette, then to Linfox, and on to

Metcash - and it is very exciting to think of the

possibilities,” he said.

Murray said a single pallet identifier shared by

multiple partners meant the efficiency of entire

supply chains could be assessed. First, however,

there were practical obstacles to overcome.

“The consortium is working with new

processes, new technology, new systems and a

new way at looking at the goods,” he said.

“There is also a lot of data and, since the

technology is so new, there are no ready-made

business intelligence systems available to easily

analyse it – we have to build them. Over the

next few months we will continue researching

how the data can be used to improve

equipment flow.”

Gillette’s Bruce Grant outlined three areas

critical to success, beginning with the

engagement of everyone from senior

management through to operational staff.

Involving other staff members meant that

all were prepared for the impacts of the trial,

including workplace safety concerns.

“Secondly is the execution itself,” Bruce said.

“Be patient, because you and your partners will

make mistakes but ensure you have a solid

plan and stick to project managment principles.”

Bruce recommends writing detailed use cases

and careful planning around integration with

other business operations.

“The deeper you go, the more complexity

you create and the more impact you have

on existing processes and systems. Keep it as

simple as possible while still achieving trial

objectives,” he said.

Finally, Gillette benefited from upskilling ahead

of the project’s implementation.

“Training really paid off. Because we are very

self sufficient from a hardware and reader

software perspective – we can deal with issues

as they arise,” Bruce said. “It also gave our team

an excellent practical understanding of RFID

- what is possible and what is not.”

The National Demonstrator Project received

funding from the federal government’s

Department of Communications, Information

Technology and the Arts (DCITA). Final

outcomes are expected mid-year.

Lessons from the RFID National Demonstrator

Refer to page13 for further details about when and where the RFID Demonstrator

Project will be presented.

GS1 is partnering closely

with CeBIT - the world’s largest IT event - to promote the GS1 System and supply chain solutions to Australian and international business - CeBIT’s target visitors.

At CeBIT Hannover in Germany, the largest IT

event in the world, held from 9-15 March, RFID

is a hot topic for 2006. CeBIT is launching a

dedicated ‘Auto ID/RFID’ display category and

GS1 Germany is organising a CeBIT RFID forum.

Topics on the agenda are mobility and

transport, real-time enterprises and data

protection as well as consumer protection.

The European Commission has chosen CeBIT

Hannover to launch a wide-ranging public

debate on the opportunities and challenges

posed by RFID for government, industry and

society at large.

GS1 will also have a strong presence at CeBIT

Australia, from 9-11 May in Darling Harbour,

Sydney. CeBIT Australia is Australasia’s largest

ICT event, and will be attended by over 30,000

business visitors, all looking for ICT solutions to

grow and improve their business.

Recognising the increasing importance of

supply chain technology to business, CeBIT

Australia will this year feature an exhibition

area dedicated to Supply Chain Solutions. In

this area GS1 will have a stand showcasing the

solutions of their Alliance partners like Oracle

and IBM. GS1 will also be participating in the

Supply Chain Seminar that will be held on the

exhibition floor near their stand.

It’s still not too late to be part of this

dynamic exhibition and promote your

company to 30,000 potential clients. For

more information on exhibiting, visit

www.cebit.com.au or contact the CeBIT

Sales team, on (02) 9280 3400.

GS1 Australia working together with CeBitALLIANCEPARTNEREDITORIAL

GS1’s Community Management Tool (CMT) to be the backbone of Woolworths’ electronic trade

The GS1 Community

Management Tool (CMT)

is set to play a pivotal role

in retailer Woolworths’

progress towards electronic

trading.

“The CMT release in March is a critical

component of all current and future

electronic business initiatives providing

flexibility and a method of a self-test

approach to our vendor community as well

as greater visibility and tracking of vendor

readiness,” said Woolworths Senior Manager

Peter Roebers.

A web-based system, the CMT allows

suppliers to test both their own eMessaging

files for compliance with the required syntax,

content against defined business rules as

well as allowing the online generation of

test messages at any time as if they had

come from their retail trading partner.

The CMT also ensures suppliers follow the

required implementation steps in the correct

order and gives their trading partner, such as

Woolworths, visibility as to their progression.

Due to the web based nature of the CMT,

vendors can work independently through

the testing process and CMT provides

instant feedback 24 hours per day.

The savings can be immense for large trading

communities involving hundreds of suppliers,

something Woolworths’ Peter Roebers says

the giant retailer has long recognised.

“With the rapid expansion and proliferation of

eBusiness through various business units and

processes, GS1’s CMT was identified quite early

on as a tool aimed at managing the partner

enablement process for implementing new

EDI (electronic data interchange) messages

more effectively,” he said.

“With limited dependency on Woolworths

as the retailer, trading partners are able to

test the new messages and comply earlier,

requiring less time and effort, thus reducing

the overall cost of implementation.”

Woolworths expects the CMT to achieve

savings across several of its business units,

including supply chain and logistics, buying,

replenishment and finance.

“The CMT allows greater partner

management, reduced roll out costs, more

accurate benefit realisation and faster

implementration of eBusiness initiatives”

Peter said. “As a result, the CMT will be used

as a strategic part of all future message

implementation initiatives.”

“The CMT facilitates a win-win proposition in

our eTrading environment leading to shorter,

more efficient implementation schedules.

It also empowers the various internal

business units with greater visibility of partner

capabilities through the reporting functions,

helping us align our activities more closely

and achieve business benefits on time.”

John Hearn, General Manager of GS1

Australia’s Professional Services team said the

Woolworths’ roll out of the CMT to suppliers

would have a huge impact on electronic

trading in Australia.

“The Professional Services team is extremely

pleased to be working with Woolworths to

introduce the CMT,” he said.

“It allows suppliers to run as many tests as they

like, whenever they want to, with minimal

fuss. The CMT makes eTrading suddenly

much easier to implement,” he said. “We think

the support of Woolworths will encourage

hundreds more Australian businesses to take

on electronic trading, adding millions to their

collective bottom lines.”

For more information, please contact Marcel

Sieira from GS1 Australia on 1300 366 033.

As the radio frequency

identification (RFID) National

Demonstrator Project went

live, participants said many

lessons had already been

learned.

Managed by GS1 Australia and the CSIRO, the

project involves companies from across the

fast moving consumer goods supply chain,

including Gillette, Procter & Gamble, Metcash,

Visy Industries, CHEP, Linfox, Australian Food &

Grocery Council (AFGC), Nugan Estate, Capilano

Honey, Sun Microsystems and Verisign.

The value of a big picture perspective is clear

to Murray Fane, Manager, Information Systems,

Asia Pacific, CHEP.

“We have seen an individual piece of CHEP

equipment move from the beginning to the

end of the supply chain - leave CHEP, arrive at

Visy, move to Gillette, then to Linfox, and on to

Metcash - and it is very exciting to think of the

possibilities,” he said.

Murray said a single pallet identifier shared by

multiple partners meant the efficiency of entire

supply chains could be assessed. First, however,

there were practical obstacles to overcome.

“The consortium is working with new

processes, new technology, new systems and a

new way at looking at the goods,” he said.

“There is also a lot of data and, since the

technology is so new, there are no ready-made

business intelligence systems available to easily

analyse it – we have to build them. Over the

next few months we will continue researching

how the data can be used to improve

equipment flow.”

Gillette’s Bruce Grant outlined three areas

critical to success, beginning with the

engagement of everyone from senior

management through to operational staff.

Involving other staff members meant that

all were prepared for the impacts of the trial,

including workplace safety concerns.

“Secondly is the execution itself,” Bruce said.

“Be patient, because you and your partners will

make mistakes but ensure you have a solid

plan and stick to project managment principles.”

Bruce recommends writing detailed use cases

and careful planning around integration with

other business operations.

“The deeper you go, the more complexity

you create and the more impact you have

on existing processes and systems. Keep it as

simple as possible while still achieving trial

objectives,” he said.

Finally, Gillette benefited from upskilling ahead

of the project’s implementation.

“Training really paid off. Because we are very

self sufficient from a hardware and reader

software perspective – we can deal with issues

as they arise,” Bruce said. “It also gave our team

an excellent practical understanding of RFID

- what is possible and what is not.”

The National Demonstrator Project received

funding from the federal government’s

Technology and the Arts (DCITA). Final

outcomes are expected mid-year.

Lessons from the RFID National Demonstrator

Refer to page13 for further details about when and where the RFID Demonstrator

Project will be presented.

GS1 is partnering closely

with CeBIT - the world’s largest IT event - to promote the GS1 System and supply chain solutions to Australian and international business - CeBIT’s target visitors.

At CeBIT Hannover in Germany, the largest IT

event in the world, held from 9-15 March, RFID

is a hot topic for 2006. CeBIT is launching a

dedicated ‘Auto ID/RFID’ display category and

GS1 Germany is organising a CeBIT RFID forum.

Topics on the agenda are mobility and

transport, real-time enterprises and data

protection as well as consumer protection.

The European Commission has chosen CeBIT

Hannover to launch a wide-ranging public

debate on the opportunities and challenges

posed by RFID for government, industry and

society at large.

GS1 will also have a strong presence at CeBIT

Australia, from 9-11 May in Darling Harbour,

Sydney. CeBIT Australia is Australasia’s largest

ICT event, and will be attended by over 30,000

business visitors, all looking for ICT solutions to

grow and improve their business.

Recognising the increasing importance of

supply chain technology to business, CeBIT

Australia will this year feature an exhibition

area dedicated to Supply Chain Solutions. In

this area GS1 will have a stand showcasing the

solutions of their Alliance partners like Oracle

and IBM. GS1 will also be participating in the

Supply Chain Seminar that will be held on the

exhibition floor near their stand.

It’s still not too late to be part of this

dynamic exhibition and promote your

company to 30,000 potential clients. For

more information on exhibiting, visit

www.cebit.com.au or contact the CeBIT

Sales team, on (02) 9280 3400.

GS1 Australia working together with CeBitALLIANCEPARTNEREDITORIAL

GS1’s Community Management Tool (CMT) to be the backbone of Woolworths’ electronic trade

The GS1 Community

Management Tool (CMT)

is set to play a pivotal role

in retailer Woolworths’

progress towards electronic

trading.

“The CMT release in March is a critical

component of all current and future

electronic business initiatives providing

flexibility and a method of a self-test

approach to our vendor community as well

as greater visibility and tracking of vendor

readiness,” said Woolworths Senior Manager

Peter Roebers.

A web-based system, the CMT allows

suppliers to test both their own eMessaging

files for compliance with the required syntax,

content against defined business rules as

well as allowing the online generation of

test messages at any time as if they had

come from their retail trading partner.

The CMT also ensures suppliers follow the

required implementation steps in the correct

order and gives their trading partner, such as

Woolworths, visibility as to their progression.

Due to the web based nature of the CMT,

vendors can work independently through

the testing process and CMT provides

instant feedback 24 hours per day.

The savings can be immense for large trading

communities involving hundreds of suppliers,

something Woolworths’ Peter Roebers says

the giant retailer has long recognised.

“With the rapid expansion and proliferation of

eBusiness through various business units and

processes, GS1’s CMT was identified quite early

on as a tool aimed at managing the partner

enablement process for implementing new

EDI (electronic data interchange) messages

more effectively,” he said.

“With limited dependency on Woolworths

as the retailer, trading partners are able to

test the new messages and comply earlier,

requiring less time and effort, thus reducing

the overall cost of implementation.”

Woolworths expects the CMT to achieve

savings across several of its business units,

including supply chain and logistics, buying,

replenishment and finance.

“The CMT allows greater partner

management, reduced roll out costs, more

accurate benefit realisation and faster

implementration of eBusiness initiatives”

Peter said. “As a result, the CMT will be used

as a strategic part of all future message

implementation initiatives.”

“The CMT facilitates a win-win proposition in

our eTrading environment leading to shorter,

more efficient implementation schedules.

It also empowers the various internal

business units with greater visibility of partner

capabilities through the reporting functions,

helping us align our activities more closely

and achieve business benefits on time.”

John Hearn, General Manager of GS1

Australia’s Professional Services team said the

Woolworths’ roll out of the CMT to suppliers

would have a huge impact on electronic

trading in Australia.

“The Professional Services team is extremely

pleased to be working with Woolworths to

introduce the CMT,” he said.

“It allows suppliers to run as many tests as they

like, whenever they want to, with minimal

fuss. The CMT makes eTrading suddenly

much easier to implement,” he said. “We think

the support of Woolworths will encourage

hundreds more Australian businesses to take

on electronic trading, adding millions to their

collective bottom lines.”

For more information, please contact Marcel

Sieira from GS1 Australia on 1300 366 033.

MELBOURNEJULY 25-26SOFITEL HOTEL

The pilot compares a fully integrated ‘pick

pack’ process with a manual system at PFD

Foodservices and evaluates the impacts on

suppliers, Patties Foods, KR Castlemaine and

Sunbeam Foods. As Supply Chain LINK went

to print, pallets of product being delivered to

PFD bore logistics labels that were scanned

on receipt. Testing of the electronic messages

had also been finalised with Patties and were

close to completion with Sunbeam and KR

Castlemaine.

GS1 Australia’s Andrew Steele, Manager,

Industry Services reports impressive early

results reports impressive early results.

“While these results are only indicative

because we’re so early in the trial, things are

looking good,” he said. “PFD is saving a lot of

time during stock receivals. The paperwork

has been dramatically streamlined, making

the dock and warehouse receival office more

efficient, while eliminating delays of up to an

hour to get information into the system.”

As the project progresses and incorporates

data synchronisation, Andrew hopes to see

added benefits in terms of fewer picking and

delivery errors, a decrease in pricing errors and

faster invoice processing times.

“Other industries have made big time and

cost savings with automatic data collection

based on the GS1 System and we expect the

foodservices industry has just as much to gain,”

he said. “Still, there’s nothing like seeing it work

in real life.”

“With such promising results, PFD have

already surveyed their top 50 suppliers

to gauge their interest in implementing

electronic messaging and automatic data

capture standards. The response to date

has been favourable, with many willing

to participate. Of course, there are a lot of

foodservice suppliers already using the GS1

System in partnership with grocery retailers.”

To help foodservice businesses adopt the GS1

System, a new compact disc has been released

showing how the System is being used by the

industry both locally and internationally.

“The CD is like a GS1 bible for the foodservices

industry,” Andrew said. “All the guidelines for

both bar coding and eMessaging are on it,

together with useful contact details for support

and links to international foodservice initiatives.”

The guidelines are also available in hard

copy. Both the hard copy guidelines and

the CD can be requested by contacting

GS1 Australia on 1300 366 033.

A complete guide to the

benefits and use of the

GS1 System specifically

for members of the

foodservices industry has

been released on compact

disc. Meanwhile, the sector’s

automatic identification

and data collection (AIDC)

trial has already reaped

significant time savings for

participants.

GS1 for the Foodservice industry explained on CD

Impetus 2006 Gold Sponsors

Above: MC Jean Kittson

Impetus 2006 Platinum Sponsor

Preparations for Impetus in

2006 are ramping up, with a

conference program bursting

with local and global experts

ready to share their knowledge

and Jean Kittson as MC.

There is also a free expo with its own

theatrette featuring case studies and

presentations, and a glittering cocktail party

to celebrate the launch of the RFID National

Demonstrator Project report.

This year’s program concentrates on the

foundations necessary for supply chain

management success: data synchronisation,

eMessaging, bar codes, and globally

recognised standards.

SME’s in particular will be encouraged to

discover what the global GS1 System of

standards can achieve for them. Steven Pereira,

CIO of GS1 Australia will discuss how companies

can engage with GS1 Australia, to learn of the

assistance GS1 Australia can provide, and to

connect with GS1 Australia to take advantage of

all the benefits of membership.

Other program features will include:

• Ian Robertson of EPCglobal talking about

what’s happening in RFID around the world

and providing an update on the EPC network.

• Art Smith, CEO of GS1 Canada. Canada

is in the process of joining the Global Data

Synchronisation Network (GDSN). Mr Smith

will be talking about the costs to businesses

if they fail to consider synchronising their data.

• Fiona Wilson of GS1 Australia co-presenting

with Chep Asia-Pacific, Gillette, Metcash and

other participating organisations about

the RFID National Demonstrator Project.

Returning to Impetus after a year’s absence is

Chris Richardson, Director of Access Economics

and BRW columnist. Mr Richardson will present

an insight into local and global economic

trends for the next 12 to 24 months, and

explain how these will affect local industry.

There will be plenty of Australian case studies,

industry expert presentations and updates

concerning the manufacturing, retail,

healthcare, transport and logistics, automotive

aftermarket & hardware industries. Among

these is Patties, and Australian manufacturer

who will discuss the process and benefits of

implementing the GS1 System. There will also

be an update about the data synchronisation

project currently underway in the Australian

healthcare industry.

The first day of the conference will conclude

with a cocktail launch to celebrate and formally

present the RFID National Demonstrator

Project report. This RFID report forms an

important part of the of the CSIRO and GS1

Australia-led RFID pilot, funded through the

Technology and the Arts (DCITA) Information

Technology Online (ITOL) program.

To keep business people connected while

they attend the conference and expo, Intel

is sponsoring an internet café, located in the

expo. The café will have six terminals and be a

wireless hot spot.

The expo is a free event and this year will feature

over thirty GS1 accredited solution providers

including Impetus Platinum sponsor Leadtec

and Gold sponsors GXS, insignia, innovit,

Matthews, and Telstra. Others include Cedar

Creek, Intermec and Bizcaps. A theatrette inside

the expo will be running a free program for

attendees where solution providers will present

case studies showing the latest technologies

and solutions available to assist with supply

chain management best practice.

For more information about Impetus 2006,

please call Rebecca Owen at GS1 Australia

on 1300 366 033

The pilot compares a fully integrated ‘pick

pack’ process with a manual system at PFD

Foodservices and evaluates the impacts on

suppliers, Patties Foods, KR Castlemaine and

Sunbeam Foods. As Supply Chain LINK went

to print, pallets of product being delivered to

PFD bore logistics labels that were scanned

on receipt. Testing of the electronic messages

had also been finalised with Patties and were

close to completion with Sunbeam and KR

Castlemaine.

GS1 Australia’s Andrew Steele, Manager,

Industry Services reports impressive early

results reports impressive early results.

“While these results are only indicative

because we’re so early in the trial, things are

looking good,” he said. “PFD is saving a lot of

time during stock receivals. The paperwork

has been dramatically streamlined, making

the dock and warehouse receival office more

efficient, while eliminating delays of up to an

hour to get information into the system.”

As the project progresses and incorporates

data synchronisation, Andrew hopes to see

added benefits in terms of fewer picking and

delivery errors, a decrease in pricing errors and

faster invoice processing times.

“Other industries have made big time and

cost savings with automatic data collection

based on the GS1 System and we expect the

foodservices industry has just as much to gain,”

he said. “Still, there’s nothing like seeing it work

in real life.”

“With such promising results, PFD have

already surveyed their top 50 suppliers

to gauge their interest in implementing

electronic messaging and automatic data

capture standards. The response to date

has been favourable, with many willing

to participate. Of course, there are a lot of

foodservice suppliers already using the GS1

System in partnership with grocery retailers.”

To help foodservice businesses adopt the GS1

System, a new compact disc has been released

showing how the System is being used by the

industry both locally and internationally.

“The CD is like a GS1 bible for the foodservices

industry,” Andrew said. “All the guidelines for

both bar coding and eMessaging are on it,

together with useful contact details for support

and links to international foodservice initiatives.”

The guidelines are also available in hard

copy. Both the hard copy guidelines and

the CD can be requested by contacting

GS1 Australia on 1300 366 033.

A complete guide to the

benefits and use of the

GS1 System specifically

for members of the

foodservices industry has

been released on compact

disc. Meanwhile, the sector’s

automatic identification

and data collection (AIDC)

trial has already reaped

significant time savings for

participants.

GS1 for the Foodservice industry explained on CD

Impetus 2006 Gold Sponsors

Above: MC Jean Kittson

Impetus 2006 Platinum Sponsor

Preparations for Impetus in

2006 are ramping up, with a

conference program bursting

with local and global experts

ready to share their knowledge

and Jean Kittson as MC.

There is also a free expo with its own

theatrette featuring case studies and

presentations, and a glittering cocktail party

to celebrate the launch of the RFID National

Demonstrator Project report.

This year’s program concentrates on the

foundations necessary for supply chain

management success: data synchronisation,

eMessaging, bar codes, and globally

recognised standards.

SME’s in particular will be encouraged to

discover what the global GS1 System of

standards can achieve for them. Steven Pereira,

CIO of GS1 Australia will discuss how companies

can engage with GS1 Australia, to learn of the

assistance GS1 Australia can provide, and to

connect with GS1 Australia to take advantage of

all the benefits of membership.

Other program features will include:

• Ian Robertson of EPCglobal talking about

what’s happening in RFID around the world

and providing an update on the EPC network.

• Art Smith, CEO of GS1 Canada. Canada

is in the process of joining the Global Data

Synchronisation Network (GDSN). Mr Smith

will be talking about the costs to businesses

if they fail to consider synchronising their data.

• Fiona Wilson of GS1 Australia co-presenting

with Chep Asia-Pacific, Gillette, Metcash and

other participating organisations about

the RFID National Demonstrator Project.

Returning to Impetus after a year’s absence is

Chris Richardson, Director of Access Economics

and BRW columnist. Mr Richardson will present

an insight into local and global economic

trends for the next 12 to 24 months, and

explain how these will affect local industry.

There will be plenty of Australian case studies,

industry expert presentations and updates

concerning the manufacturing, retail,

healthcare, transport and logistics, automotive

aftermarket & hardware industries. Among

these is Patties, and Australian manufacturer

who will discuss the process and benefits of

implementing the GS1 System. There will also

be an update about the data synchronisation

project currently underway in the Australian

healthcare industry.

The first day of the conference will conclude

with a cocktail launch to celebrate and formally

present the RFID National Demonstrator

Project report. This RFID report forms an

important part of the of the CSIRO and GS1

Australia-led RFID pilot, funded through the

Technology and the Arts (DCITA) Information

Technology Online (ITOL) program.

To keep business people connected while

they attend the conference and expo, Intel

is sponsoring an internet café, located in the

expo. The café will have six terminals and be a

wireless hot spot.

The expo is a free event and this year will feature

over thirty GS1 accredited solution providers

including Impetus Platinum sponsor Leadtec

and Gold sponsors GXS, insignia, innovit,

Matthews, and Telstra. Others include Cedar

Creek, Intermec and Bizcaps. A theatrette inside

the expo will be running a free program for

attendees where solution providers will present

case studies showing the latest technologies

and solutions available to assist with supply

chain management best practice.

For more information about Impetus 2006,

please call Rebecca Owen at GS1 Australia

on 1300 366 033

Radio frequency

identification (RFID) and

the Electronic Product Code

(EPC) that governs its use

in the supply chain is still

very new, but international

experience, and now local

trials will help ready GS1

Australia and its alliance

partner community

for its widespread EPC

implementation.

The most high profile of the local trials

scheduled by the GS1 Professional Services

team is between food manufacturer

Patties Foods and Montague Cold Storage

with input and support from GS1Alliance

Partners, VeriSign and Matthews Intelligent

Identification who are each supplying and

installing the required elements of RFID / EPC

hardware and software.

Under the trial, believed to be the first ever

to take place in freezers, second generation

EPC tags are used to track the movement

of pallets from Patties production facilities

and into Montague’s warehouse. The trial is

also one of the first to use all the elements

of the EPC network to enable sharing of

data between all business partners using the

EPCglobal standards.

GS1 Professional Services’ Senior Advisor, John

Szabo said the trial would be implemented

over a month during March and the results

presented at GS1 Australia’s annual conference,

Impetus 2006, in July. With other pilots already

in the pipeline, he said GS1 Professional Services

was preparing themselves to assist GS1 Australia

members with RFID / EPC projects.

“Since it first came to prominence just a couple

of years ago, the EPC standards for RFID have

moved swiftly from small scale trials into broad

scale implementation overseas,” John said.

“GS1’s Professional Services team are excited to

be working with our members and partners to

gain valuable EPC implementation experience,

and we fully expect more implementations to

follow here very soon.”

Mark Dingley, Identification Systems

manager at Matthews, says its main aim is

to determine the reliability and integration

ease of RFID Class 1 Gen 2 technology into a

production environment, in a true business-

to-business setting.

Dingley says, “Matthews has made a

significant investment in this pilot with the

hardware and software we’ve supplied. We

really believe in the benefits of RFID, and, as

with the other partners, deem this pilot an

excellent beginning.”

Joe Rettino, Patties Foods General Manager

(Purchasing and Supply) says RFID is the next

natural step in improving the company’s

inventory control, having spent previous years

improving its bar coding and eMessaging

systems.

“Even though bar coding technology gives

us transparency of our inventory, RFID goes

one step further in achieving better visibility of

products,” he said.

The tracking of pallets between Patties and

Montagues will be achieved by interfacing the

Matthews RFID equipment installed at Patties

and Montague back to the VeriSign-managed

EPC-IS system. Information is uploaded to the

EPC-IS when a pallet is labelled, goes into the

Freezer storeroom, is dispatched from Patties

and arrives at Montague.

A detailed overview of this project and the

valuable learnings will be presented at GS1’s

annual Impetus 2006 conference in July. For

further information please contact Marcel

Sieira at GS1 Australia on 1300 366 033.

Patties EPC trial results to be released at Impetus

Just as bar codes allow

businesses to identify

product from anywhere in

the world, the EANnet data

pool will soon be accessible

to retailers around the globe.

Data synchronisation is sweeping the world

as companies embrace eCommerce and

national data pools like EANnet are formed.

Now, international project, the Global Data

Synchronisation Network (GDSN), has begun

to link the data pools.

Last year, 26 data pools, including GS1 Australia

were linked by the GDSN and global standards

have been developed for item information

to be synchronised between them. Item

price information exchange standards were

approved in February this year, meaning the

last piece of the puzzle is in place for a solid

push forward towards unification.

Steps towards global

transparency

The GDSN will make Australian products

even more visible to the world’s retailers, an

opportunity too great to ignore, and work

has already begun to prepare EANnet for

alignment with the GDSN.

The first two phases of a five phase migration

plan were completed in 2005 and the third

is scheduled for July 2006 with the release of

EANnet version 4.0. The final phases will make

EANnet completely GDSN-compliant and

poised for full migration under the new name,

GS1net, which is expected in late 2007.

How EANnet members will

be affected

Many existing EANnet fields are compatible

with GDSN and will not need to change but

those due for change with this year’s EANnet

update include brand, sub brand and use by or

best before.

There will also be modifications to code lists

for fields such as packaging type, packaging

material, country of origin, and unit of measure.

In addition, a Global Product Classification

code will replace the UNSPSC coding system,

while a target market country code at a

supplier catalogue level will be introduced.

Making the transition as

easy as possible

GS1 Australia will make the migration process

as simple as possible for everyone involved.

The Client Services team has conducted a

detailed analysis of each user’s EANnet data

to highlight any data fields that need changes

and has contacted all affected suppliers to

explain the best way to make adjustments.

Data that is unchanged during the transition

will be automatically transferred to the new

database and in many other cases, third party

data extraction software will be able to assist.

GS1 Australia is liaising with software providers

so that packages are upgraded to cater for the

full GDSN data set.

How to get started

Help is available from GS1 Australia at every

stage of the process but, to get started, we

recommend you:

• Read the EANnet version 4.0 release notes at

www.gs1au.org

• Assess your data against the new

requirements

• Work with GS1 Australia Client Services to

identify required changes

• Work with solution providers to determine

the best method of updating data

• Create a migration plan

For more information please contact GS1

Australia on 1300 366 033.

Connecting EANnet® with the world

Radio frequency

identification (RFID) and

the Electronic Product Code

(EPC) that governs its use

in the supply chain is still

very new, but international

experience, and now local

trials will help ready GS1

Australia and its alliance

partner community

for its widespread EPC

implementation.

The most high profile of the local trials

scheduled by the GS1 Professional Services

team is between food manufacturer

Patties Foods and Montague Cold Storage

with input and support from GS1Alliance

Partners, VeriSign and Matthews Intelligent

Identification who are each supplying and

installing the required elements of RFID / EPC

hardware and software.

Under the trial, believed to be the first ever

to take place in freezers, second generation

EPC tags are used to track the movement

of pallets from Patties production facilities

and into Montague’s warehouse. The trial is

also one of the first to use all the elements

of the EPC network to enable sharing of

data between all business partners using the

EPCglobal standards.

GS1 Professional Services’ Senior Advisor, John

Szabo said the trial would be implemented

over a month during March and the results

presented at GS1 Australia’s annual conference,

Impetus 2006, in July. With other pilots already

in the pipeline, he said GS1 Professional Services

was preparing themselves to assist GS1 Australia

members with RFID / EPC projects.

“Since it first came to prominence just a couple

of years ago, the EPC standards for RFID have

moved swiftly from small scale trials into broad

scale implementation overseas,” John said.

“GS1’s Professional Services team are excited to

be working with our members and partners to

gain valuable EPC implementation experience,

and we fully expect more implementations to

follow here very soon.”

Mark Dingley, Identification Systems

manager at Matthews, says its main aim is

to determine the reliability and integration

ease of RFID Class 1 Gen 2 technology into a

production environment, in a true business-

to-business setting.

Dingley says, “Matthews has made a

significant investment in this pilot with the

hardware and software we’ve supplied. We

really believe in the benefits of RFID, and, as

with the other partners, deem this pilot an

excellent beginning.”

Joe Rettino, Patties Foods General Manager

(Purchasing and Supply) says RFID is the next

natural step in improving the company’s

inventory control, having spent previous years

improving its bar coding and eMessaging

systems.

“Even though bar coding technology gives

us transparency of our inventory, RFID goes

one step further in achieving better visibility of

products,” he said.

The tracking of pallets between Patties and

Montagues will be achieved by interfacing the

Matthews RFID equipment installed at Patties

and Montague back to the VeriSign-managed

EPC-IS system. Information is uploaded to the

EPC-IS when a pallet is labelled, goes into the

Freezer storeroom, is dispatched from Patties

and arrives at Montague.

A detailed overview of this project and the

valuable learnings will be presented at GS1’s

annual Impetus 2006 conference in July. For

further information please contact Marcel

Sieira at GS1 Australia on 1300 366 033.

Patties EPC trial results to be released at Impetus

Just as bar codes allow

businesses to identify

product from anywhere in

the world, the EANnet data

pool will soon be accessible

to retailers around the globe.

Data synchronisation is sweeping the world

as companies embrace eCommerce and

national data pools like EANnet are formed.

Now, international project, the Global Data

Synchronisation Network (GDSN), has begun

to link the data pools.

Last year, 26 data pools, including GS1 Australia

were linked by the GDSN and global standards

have been developed for item information

to be synchronised between them. Item

price information exchange standards were

approved in February this year, meaning the

last piece of the puzzle is in place for a solid

push forward towards unification.

Steps towards global

transparency

The GDSN will make Australian products

even more visible to the world’s retailers, an

opportunity too great to ignore, and work

has already begun to prepare EANnet for

alignment with the GDSN.

The first two phases of a five phase migration

plan were completed in 2005 and the third

is scheduled for July 2006 with the release of

EANnet version 4.0. The final phases will make

EANnet completely GDSN-compliant and

poised for full migration under the new name,

GS1net, which is expected in late 2007.

How EANnet members will

be affected

Many existing EANnet fields are compatible

with GDSN and will not need to change but

those due for change with this year’s EANnet

update include brand, sub brand and use by or

best before.

There will also be modifications to code lists

for fields such as packaging type, packaging

material, country of origin, and unit of measure.

In addition, a Global Product Classification

code will replace the UNSPSC coding system,

while a target market country code at a

supplier catalogue level will be introduced.

Making the transition as

easy as possible

GS1 Australia will make the migration process

as simple as possible for everyone involved.

The Client Services team has conducted a

detailed analysis of each user’s EANnet data

to highlight any data fields that need changes

and has contacted all affected suppliers to

explain the best way to make adjustments.

Data that is unchanged during the transition

will be automatically transferred to the new

database and in many other cases, third party

data extraction software will be able to assist.

GS1 Australia is liaising with software providers

so that packages are upgraded to cater for the

full GDSN data set.

How to get started

Help is available from GS1 Australia at every

stage of the process but, to get started, we

recommend you:

• Read the EANnet version 4.0 release notes at

www.gs1au.org

• Assess your data against the new

requirements

• Work with GS1 Australia Client Services to

identify required changes

• Work with solution providers to determine

the best method of updating data

• Create a migration plan

For more information please contact GS1

Australia on 1300 366 033.

Connecting EANnet® with the world

maintained to ensure we were in alignment

with Valvoline’s 150 affiliates worldwide.”

The Valvoline and GS1 Professional Services

teams began by analysing Valvoline’s

business processes and applications

systems to see how data flowed around the

organisation. A data GAP analysis revealed

the need for data cleansing and validation

before new systems could be put in place.

For Peter, this step was critical.

“Data management and cleansing was the

biggest challenge of the entire project but

also one of the most valuable,” he said. “GS1

Professional Services helped us put a better

data management system in place so that

clean data stays clean.”

The range of products was limited to those

supplied to Coles / GHPL. In all, fifty stock

keeping units (SKU), complete with product

and price data, images and attachments were

uploaded – a deliberately small percentage of

Valvoline’s product range.

“In Coles, we had an experienced EANnet user

who purchased a relatively small product range,”

Peter said. “We decided it was wise to crawl

before we tried to run and wanted to work out

all the bugs before a more extensive roll out -

fifty SKU’s was a manageable size for us.”

Such prudent planning paid dividends.

Together, Valvoline and the GS1 Australia

Professional Services project management

team achieved EANnet Ready status in the

twelve weeks Peter had allocated for the

project with few hiccups.

“There really weren’t many surprises,” Peter

said. “We were extremely well prepared and

having the expertise of Professional Services

supporting us at every stage of the process

meant the implementation went

“very smoothly.”

Valvoline now plans to extend its success with

other trading partners in the automotive after

market and grocery industries.

Asked if he had any advice for others

considering adopting EANnet, Peter said: “The

trick is to do your research on the benefits to

your organisation and to your customers so

that you have a strong rationale for the project.

Here at Valvoline, we found being EANnet

Ready was a definite competitive advantage

and that, together with the Coles mandate,

certainly built momentum.”

For Valvoline, the move to

EANnet was a ‘no-brainer’.

“We see it as the future

direction of our major

customer groups and it

will open the door to EDI

(electronic data interchange)

for many more of our smaller

accounts too,” says Valvoline’s

Peter Fitzgerald.

Peter, who is Valvoline’s Director of

Operations & Technical Services (Supply

Chain), has just overseen the company’s

move to become EANnet ReadyTM with

project guidance and assistance from the

GS1 Professional Services team.

“Coles gave us the impetus to become EANnet

Ready but it’s something we would definitely

have done soon anyway,” he said. “We wanted

to be able to say to all our customers ‘Valvoline

is ready to trade electronically when you are’.”

Aside from the marketing benefits, Peter

expects to see the keying errors associated

with paper-based processes to fall, saving

Valvoline considerable time and money.

With EANnet as the foundation for electronic

trade, Valvoline will replace universal buying

forms (UBFs) for new products; product,

packaging and price changes; and the

announcement of product obsolescence.

“If you’re processing customer orders manually

like we have been, there’s always the potential

for mistakes so, by eliminating so much

paperwork, we’re expecting to gain quite a few

efficiencies,” he said.

Peter assembled a team of around fifteen

people from his own department and across

Valvoline’s operations, including marketing,

retail sales, administration and information

technology. Early on, he also called in specialist

help from GS1 Australia’s expert Professional

Services team, who guided Valvoline through

the planning and implementation phases,

providing invaluable project management and

technical assistance.

“We wanted someone who was dedicated to

driving the project and could give it the focus

it deserved,” Peter said. “Valvoline has a good

history with GS1 and we wanted a solution

that would ensure that standards were

Valvoline oils their supply chain with EANnet®

maintained to ensure we were in alignment

with Valvoline’s 150 affiliates worldwide.”

The Valvoline and GS1 Professional Services

teams began by analysing Valvoline’s

business processes and applications

systems to see how data flowed around the

organisation. A data GAP analysis revealed

the need for data cleansing and validation

before new systems could be put in place.

For Peter, this step was critical.

“Data management and cleansing was the

biggest challenge of the entire project but

also one of the most valuable,” he said. “GS1

Professional Services helped us put a better

data management system in place so that

clean data stays clean.”

The range of products was limited to those

supplied to Coles / GHPL. In all, fifty stock

keeping units (SKU), complete with product

and price data, images and attachments were

uploaded – a deliberately small percentage of

Valvoline’s product range.

“In Coles, we had an experienced EANnet user

who purchased a relatively small product range,”

Peter said. “We decided it was wise to crawl

before we tried to run and wanted to work out

all the bugs before a more extensive roll out -

fifty SKU’s was a manageable size for us.”

Such prudent planning paid dividends.

Together, Valvoline and the GS1 Australia

Professional Services project management

team achieved EANnet Ready status in the

twelve weeks Peter had allocated for the

project with few hiccups.

“There really weren’t many surprises,” Peter

said. “We were extremely well prepared and

having the expertise of Professional Services

supporting us at every stage of the process

meant the implementation went

“very smoothly.”

Valvoline now plans to extend its success with

other trading partners in the automotive after

market and grocery industries.

Asked if he had any advice for others

considering adopting EANnet, Peter said: “The

trick is to do your research on the benefits to

your organisation and to your customers so

that you have a strong rationale for the project.

Here at Valvoline, we found being EANnet

Ready was a definite competitive advantage

and that, together with the Coles mandate,

certainly built momentum.”

For Valvoline, the move to

EANnet was a ‘no-brainer’.

“We see it as the future

direction of our major

customer groups and it

will open the door to EDI

(electronic data interchange)

for many more of our smaller

accounts too,” says Valvoline’s

Peter Fitzgerald.

Peter, who is Valvoline’s Director of

Operations & Technical Services (Supply

Chain), has just overseen the company’s

move to become EANnet ReadyTM with

project guidance and assistance from the

GS1 Professional Services team.

“Coles gave us the impetus to become EANnet

Ready but it’s something we would definitely

have done soon anyway,” he said. “We wanted

to be able to say to all our customers ‘Valvoline

is ready to trade electronically when you are’.”

Aside from the marketing benefits, Peter

expects to see the keying errors associated

with paper-based processes to fall, saving

Valvoline considerable time and money.

With EANnet as the foundation for electronic

trade, Valvoline will replace universal buying

forms (UBFs) for new products; product,

packaging and price changes; and the

announcement of product obsolescence.

“If you’re processing customer orders manually

like we have been, there’s always the potential

for mistakes so, by eliminating so much

paperwork, we’re expecting to gain quite a few

efficiencies,” he said.

Peter assembled a team of around fifteen

people from his own department and across

Valvoline’s operations, including marketing,

retail sales, administration and information

technology. Early on, he also called in specialist

help from GS1 Australia’s expert Professional

Services team, who guided Valvoline through

the planning and implementation phases,

providing invaluable project management and

technical assistance.

“We wanted someone who was dedicated to

driving the project and could give it the focus

it deserved,” Peter said. “Valvoline has a good

history with GS1 and we wanted a solution

that would ensure that standards were

Valvoline oils their supply chain with EANnet®

Question: My US agent tells me I need

‘UPC’s’ on the products I send. Scanning in

the American market now encompasses all

the usual retail bar codes, does it not?

You are right, except in situations where

retailers have not yet enabled their scanning

systems for EAN-13 and EAN-8. Americans

have been using the term “UPC” for retail bar

codes since scanning began there in 1974 so

it is going to take time for them to update

their vocabulary. Just as the term APN is still

often used to refer to a retail level bar code

ask your agent to clarify whether ‘UPC’ is

literally what he or she means, or whether

any of the GS1 retail bar codes is acceptable.

Do not be surprised if you have to explain

the difference and if they have to check with

their retail outlets. The so-called ‘Sunrise

2005’ requirement for scanning capabilities

at point of sale to include EAN-13 and EAN-8

took effect only last January. If you really do

need UPC symbols still and do not have the

necessary prefix, contact GS1 New Zealand

or in this case contact GS1 Australia.

Question: Why are you so fussy about

terminology? Does it really matter if we

say ‘bar code’ when we mean ‘number’?

In fact, not everyone knows the difference

between bar code and number. GS1 New

Zealand regularly sees errors such as correct

numbers encoded in non-GS1 bar code

symbols that retail scanners cannot read,

or various products within a range that all

have the same bar code symbol on them

– and therefore the same number being

read when any of them are scanned – but

different numbers printed beneath the bar

code. When people talk vaguely about ‘bar

codes’ without making it clear whether they

mean the number or the bar code symbol,

there are bound to be misunderstandings.

Products can easily end up in the market

with incorrect numbers, bar codes that

cannot be scanned, or both.

Question: Why do I almost always get

different results on consecutive verification

tests of the same bar code? Can I rely on

the results?

Verifiers report very accurately. However,

each result is based on 10 scans of the

sample being tested and you will never get

precisely the same 10 “slices” of bar code on

consecutive scans. Some variation in the

results is inevitable although they should

consistently show that the same bar code

either passes or fails the test. If you get results

that hover around the pass/fail threshold it

means that your bar code is of very marginal

quality and needs improvement.

Question: I had a novel idea for a bar code

and produced a small test run on which the

bar codes passed verification. Then I did a

production run and the bar codes failed.

What went wrong?

Every print run produces a whole new bar

code because it will involve at least some

things being different from the previous

run. Even if the same equipment and

materials are used, there will be minute

differences in machine settings, perhaps in

the batch or mix of inks, the paper or other

substrate, or just the ambient humidity or

temperature. Verification also tests the

reflective properties of the paper and ink

and even subtle changes in these can affect

the results. There is always the possibility

of changes between test samples and

production runs so when testing samples,

you always need to look for a clear pass.

Marginal passes mean that going ahead

with a full run could be a risk.

Frequently

asked questions

This article was kindly provided to GS1 Australia by GS1 New Zealand.

GS1 Australia are continually

seeking to employ highly

talented and hard working

individuals that have a

passion for developing

their career.

As part of our desire to attract highly energised

professionals, GS1 Australia promotes internally

wherever possible, however employment

opportunities for external applicants do arise.

In the last six months ten roles have been

advertised via the ‘Employment Opportunities’

page on our website. This has helped GS1

Australia to grow all business units within the

organisation.

The ‘Employment Opportunities’ site is

regularly updated and reflects the diversity

of opportunity within GS1 Australia as we

stay abreast of supply chain technology and

anticipate the needs of our members.

For further information about current

employment opportunities see:

www.gs1au.org/employment or

contact Kristy Bethell, HR Manager,

on 1300 366 033

Employment Opportunities

Every month approximately

30 people send an email to

GS1 Australia’s general query

email address. Some are

dealing with GS1 Australia

for the first time and don’t

know where to start, others

have a specific question

and need some help to

find the answer.

The GS1 Australia email address,

[email protected] can be used directly or

via GS1 Australia’s home page by clicking on

‘contact GS1’. The vast majority of emails are

answered within 24 hours; all are answered

within 48 hours.

We now offer members who may not have

time to make a phone call the opportunity

to drop us an email using the GS1 Australia

email address, enabling you to have your

answers in writing should you need to file

it or forward it onto a colleague.

There is alot to know about

GS1 Australia, so if you can’t

find what you are looking

for and don’t know who to ask

[email protected] is a good

place to start.

GS1 Australia off ering you help Online!

Mobile: 0408 431 023 Tel: 61 3 5943 1022 Fax: 61 3 5943 [email protected] www.aecommerce.com.au

CALL APPLIED ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

The Vital LinkTO GET YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN

WORKING FOR YOU

Question: My US agent tells me I need

‘UPC’s’ on the products I send. Scanning in

the American market now encompasses all

the usual retail bar codes, does it not?

You are right, except in situations where

retailers have not yet enabled their scanning

systems for EAN-13 and EAN-8. Americans

have been using the term “UPC” for retail bar

codes since scanning began there in 1974 so

it is going to take time for them to update

their vocabulary. Just as the term APN is still

often used to refer to a retail level bar code

ask your agent to clarify whether ‘UPC’ is

literally what he or she means, or whether

any of the GS1 retail bar codes is acceptable.

Do not be surprised if you have to explain

the difference and if they have to check with

their retail outlets. The so-called ‘Sunrise

2005’ requirement for scanning capabilities

at point of sale to include EAN-13 and EAN-8

took effect only last January. If you really do

need UPC symbols still and do not have the

necessary prefix, contact GS1 New Zealand

or in this case contact GS1 Australia.

Question: Why are you so fussy about

terminology? Does it really matter if we

say ‘bar code’ when we mean ‘number’?

In fact, not everyone knows the difference

between bar code and number. GS1 New

Zealand regularly sees errors such as correct

numbers encoded in non-GS1 bar code

symbols that retail scanners cannot read,

or various products within a range that all

have the same bar code symbol on them

– and therefore the same number being

read when any of them are scanned – but

different numbers printed beneath the bar

code. When people talk vaguely about ‘bar

codes’ without making it clear whether they

mean the number or the bar code symbol,

there are bound to be misunderstandings.

Products can easily end up in the market

with incorrect numbers, bar codes that

cannot be scanned, or both.

Question: Why do I almost always get

different results on consecutive verification

tests of the same bar code? Can I rely on

the results?

Verifiers report very accurately. However,

each result is based on 10 scans of the

sample being tested and you will never get

precisely the same 10 “slices” of bar code on

consecutive scans. Some variation in the

results is inevitable although they should

consistently show that the same bar code

either passes or fails the test. If you get results

that hover around the pass/fail threshold it

means that your bar code is of very marginal

quality and needs improvement.

Question: I had a novel idea for a bar code

and produced a small test run on which the

bar codes passed verification. Then I did a

production run and the bar codes failed.

What went wrong?

Every print run produces a whole new bar

code because it will involve at least some

things being different from the previous

run. Even if the same equipment and

materials are used, there will be minute

differences in machine settings, perhaps in

the batch or mix of inks, the paper or other

substrate, or just the ambient humidity or

temperature. Verification also tests the

reflective properties of the paper and ink

and even subtle changes in these can affect

the results. There is always the possibility

of changes between test samples and

production runs so when testing samples,

you always need to look for a clear pass.

Marginal passes mean that going ahead

with a full run could be a risk.

Frequently

asked questions

This article was kindly provided to GS1 Australia by GS1 New Zealand.

GS1 Australia are continually

seeking to employ highly

talented and hard working

individuals that have a

passion for developing

their career.

As part of our desire to attract highly energised

professionals, GS1 Australia promotes internally

wherever possible, however employment

opportunities for external applicants do arise.

In the last six months ten roles have been

advertised via the ‘Employment Opportunities’

page on our website. This has helped GS1

Australia to grow all business units within the

organisation.

The ‘Employment Opportunities’ site is

regularly updated and reflects the diversity

of opportunity within GS1 Australia as we

stay abreast of supply chain technology and

anticipate the needs of our members.

For further information about current

employment opportunities see:

www.gs1au.org/employment or

contact Kristy Bethell, HR Manager,

on 1300 366 033

Employment Opportunities

Every month approximately

30 people send an email to

GS1 Australia’s general query

email address. Some are

dealing with GS1 Australia

for the first time and don’t

know where to start, others

have a specific question

and need some help to

find the answer.

The GS1 Australia email address,

[email protected] can be used directly or

via GS1 Australia’s home page by clicking on

‘contact GS1’. The vast majority of emails are

answered within 24 hours; all are answered

within 48 hours.

We now offer members who may not have

time to make a phone call the opportunity

to drop us an email using the GS1 Australia

email address, enabling you to have your

answers in writing should you need to file

it or forward it onto a colleague.

There is alot to know about

GS1 Australia, so if you can’t

find what you are looking

for and don’t know who to ask

[email protected] is a good

place to start.

GS1 Australia off ering you help Online!

Mobile: 0408 431 023 Tel: 61 3 5943 1022 Fax: 61 3 5943 [email protected] www.aecommerce.com.au

CALL APPLIED ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

The Vital LinkTO GET YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN

WORKING FOR YOU

A new tool, called the

EANnet Data ManagerTM,

has been released by GS1

Australia aimed at making

it easier for data recipients

such as retailers, wholesalers

or other trading hubs to

use information from the

EANnet data pool.

Typically, says GS1 Australia’s John Hearn, buyers

need special systems and processes to help

them receive data from EANnet, manipulate

it and then integrate it into their back office

systems or merchandising applications.

Although this remains the best approach,

building and implementing these systems

can be time consuming and delay progress

towards EANnet use. In response, GS1 Australia

has developed EANnet Data Manager as a

simple, cost effective solution.

“Put simply, EANnet Data Manager is the

missing link between EANnet and the

buyer’s staff,” John said. “It doesn’t deliver data

automatically into the buyer’s management

information system but it does make it more

readily accessible.”

As an initial step towards data synchronisation

buyers can view and print product and pricing

information using EANnet Data Manager forms

from the internet that can then be rekeyed

into the buyer’s own software. Cleverly, EANnet

Data Manager is also able to route updates to

individual users, according to their roles within

the buyer’s organisation.

An enhanced version, EANnet Data Manager

PlusTM, is also available. ‘Plus’ allows users to add

extra data to forms before printing and as an

advanced step, allows the creation of files

allowing integration with internal back office

or merchandising systems. Significantly,

EANnet Data Manager Plus can send a

response to suppliers via email, which John

says could be used to accept or reject a

specific update from EANnet.

For further information about EANnet Data

Manager, please contact Marcel Sieira on

1300 366 033.

New EANnet Data Manager TM tool launched

The National E-Health Transition Authority

(NEHTA) is coordinating the development

and rollout of the National Product

Catalogue (NPC), incorporating the

Australian Catalogue of Medicines (ACOM),

in association with GS1 Australia

EANnet has been selected to host the NPC,

which will facilitate the exchange of clinical

information about prescription and non-

prescription medicines using ACOM, as well

as the additional supply chain product and

pricing information available on EANnet. The

NPC will be used to synchronise product

and pricing data between supplier and

government planning systems, run price and

product comparisons, conduct tenders, request

quotations and undertake product research.

Until now, each Australian state and territory

has had as many as 70 autonomous

public health procurement centres, all

maintaining and updating their own

databases. Centralisation with the NPC is

expected to bring significant cost savings

for both the public health institutions and

the companies that supply them, while the

ACOM will help to reduce ‘adverse events’

for patients as the accuracy of product

identification improves with the cleansing

of data associated with EANnet.

Implementation of the NPC begins in

March this year and NEHTA expects ACOM

to be fully populated with the Therapeutic

Goods Administration (TGA) sponsored

pharmaceutical product data between June

and December 2006, with the uptake of NPC

completed by mid-2007.

NEHTA’s high level plan of action for the

first half of 2006 includes CEO briefing

sessions targeting the top 200 suppliers of

pharmaceutical products and medical devices

in all states and territories, together with

industry association briefing sessions.

The CEO briefing sessions will be followed

by several rounds of NPC seminars and

training sessions for public health institution

representatives and suppliers.

As part of the roll-out, the TGA Sponsors of

pharmaceutical products will be approached

to verify their product details on the ACOM

(following an upload from TGA and a stringent

quality assurance process), and to start

populating EANnet with data for the NPC.

This exciting initiative by NETHA is expected

to save the sector $200 million by removing

the need for the hundreds of public health

purchasing offices across Australia to maintain

their own product catalogues.

The NPC will also provide the foundation

for swift product recalls and precise product

tracking so that flawed, out-of-date or missing

stock can be discovered and replaced before

supplies become desperately short.

For more information on the NPC and the

ACOM, refer to NEHTA’s Supply Chain fact

sheet on www.nehta.gov.au or contact

Marcel Sieira at GS1 Australia on

1300 366 033.

A national catalogue of

health products hosted

on EANnet will replace

scores of databases

across the country to

become the single source

of information about

medicines for public

hospitals.

Australian Healthcare adopts EANnet® INDUSTRY UPDATE

A new tool, called the

EANnet Data ManagerTM,

has been released by GS1

Australia aimed at making

it easier for data recipients

such as retailers, wholesalers

or other trading hubs to

use information from the

EANnet data pool.

Typically, says GS1 Australia’s John Hearn, buyers

need special systems and processes to help

them receive data from EANnet, manipulate

it and then integrate it into their back office

systems or merchandising applications.

Although this remains the best approach,

building and implementing these systems

can be time consuming and delay progress

towards EANnet use. In response, GS1 Australia

has developed EANnet Data Manager as a

simple, cost effective solution.

“Put simply, EANnet Data Manager is the

missing link between EANnet and the

buyer’s staff,” John said. “It doesn’t deliver data

automatically into the buyer’s management

information system but it does make it more

readily accessible.”

As an initial step towards data synchronisation

buyers can view and print product and pricing

information using EANnet Data Manager forms

from the internet that can then be rekeyed

into the buyer’s own software. Cleverly, EANnet

Data Manager is also able to route updates to

individual users, according to their roles within

the buyer’s organisation.

An enhanced version, EANnet Data Manager

PlusTM, is also available. ‘Plus’ allows users to add

extra data to forms before printing and as an

advanced step, allows the creation of files

allowing integration with internal back office

or merchandising systems. Significantly,

EANnet Data Manager Plus can send a

response to suppliers via email, which John

says could be used to accept or reject a

specific update from EANnet.

For further information about EANnet Data

Manager, please contact Marcel Sieira on

1300 366 033.

New EANnet Data Manager TM tool launched

The National E-Health Transition Authority

(NEHTA) is coordinating the development

and rollout of the National Product

Catalogue (NPC), incorporating the

Australian Catalogue of Medicines (ACOM),

in association with GS1 Australia

EANnet has been selected to host the NPC,

which will facilitate the exchange of clinical

information about prescription and non-

prescription medicines using ACOM, as well

as the additional supply chain product and

pricing information available on EANnet. The

NPC will be used to synchronise product

and pricing data between supplier and

government planning systems, run price and

product comparisons, conduct tenders, request

quotations and undertake product research.

Until now, each Australian state and territory

has had as many as 70 autonomous

public health procurement centres, all

maintaining and updating their own

databases. Centralisation with the NPC is

expected to bring significant cost savings

for both the public health institutions and

the companies that supply them, while the

ACOM will help to reduce ‘adverse events’

for patients as the accuracy of product

identification improves with the cleansing

of data associated with EANnet.

Implementation of the NPC begins in

March this year and NEHTA expects ACOM

to be fully populated with the Therapeutic

Goods Administration (TGA) sponsored

pharmaceutical product data between June

and December 2006, with the uptake of NPC

completed by mid-2007.

NEHTA’s high level plan of action for the

first half of 2006 includes CEO briefing

sessions targeting the top 200 suppliers of

pharmaceutical products and medical devices

in all states and territories, together with

industry association briefing sessions.

The CEO briefing sessions will be followed

by several rounds of NPC seminars and

training sessions for public health institution

representatives and suppliers.

As part of the roll-out, the TGA Sponsors of

pharmaceutical products will be approached

to verify their product details on the ACOM

(following an upload from TGA and a stringent

quality assurance process), and to start

populating EANnet with data for the NPC.

This exciting initiative by NETHA is expected

to save the sector $200 million by removing

the need for the hundreds of public health

purchasing offices across Australia to maintain

their own product catalogues.

The NPC will also provide the foundation

for swift product recalls and precise product

tracking so that flawed, out-of-date or missing

stock can be discovered and replaced before

supplies become desperately short.

For more information on the NPC and the

ACOM, refer to NEHTA’s Supply Chain fact

sheet on www.nehta.gov.au or contact

Marcel Sieira at GS1 Australia on

1300 366 033.

A national catalogue of

health products hosted

on EANnet will replace

scores of databases

across the country to

become the single source

of information about

medicines for public

hospitals.

Australian Healthcare adopts EANnet® INDUSTRY UPDATE

Transport and logistics

leaders gathered in March

to attend the culmination

of a government funded

project show casing how

the GS1 System can improve

synchronisation of physical

goods flow with the flow of

related information.

The project, ‘Demonstrating the benefits of

adopting Global EAN•UCC Standards by Logistics

Service Providers in the Retail Grocery & General

Merchandise Supply Chain’, was supported with a

$121,000 grant from the Department of

Communications, Information Technology and

The Arts’ (DCITA) Information Technology Online

(ITOL) program and involved key stakeholders

from across the industry supply chain.

‘The Australian Transport and Logistics Industry

Numbering and Bar-coding Guidelines’ were

launched, and presentations from the project

stakeholders included case studies and project

overviews. These documented the main

outcomes and benefits of the GS1 System, and

how each organisation now plans to move

forward with implementation.

The results identified attainable benefits and

highlighted that the transport and logistics

industry must come together to ensure

a consistent approach to optimise supply

chain practices.

To facilitate this collaboration GS1 has

launched a Transport and Logistic working

group to address the opportunities for

implementation across the sector.

The adoption of the GS1 system means that

information relating to products would be

consistent along the entire supply chain

resulting in benefits such as:

• Faster delivery of goods

• Fewer handling and shipping errors

• Better inventory management

• Reduction of ordering and replenishing times

• Compliance to tightened security

requirements around the world

For further information contact the GS1

Australia Member and Industry Support

team on 1300 366 033.

Transport & Logistics Roadshow Event

RJ’s Licorice Ltd makes its

world-class confectionery to

a winning formula. And the

company has gone for the

same with the new logistics

system at its Levin plant.

Product handling efficiency has soared

and distribution errors plummeted since

the system was introduced in March. RJ’s

Licorice has replaced manual, paper-based

processes with state-of-the-art scanning and

automated documentation for sales order

fulfilment, and for the tracking and tracing

of consignments. It is indeed a winning

logistics formula – one based on the smart

use of GS1 System bar coding.

“We have seen a dramatic reduction in the

time required to pick product and pack

consignments in our distribution operation,” says

Factory Manager Sean Wilde. “And we now have

hardly any errors because of checking functions

built into the system.”

Mr Wilde says the system will support continued

high sales growth and, with more development,

enable RJ’s Licorice to strengthen its production

management. “The old processes could not

have kept pace with growth in our orders. We

are now shipping from Levin up to 40 pellets of

product each day.”

Founded 10 years ago by the Halliwell

family, RJ’s Licorice is the only New Zealand-

owned and operated maker of this specialist

confectionery. The core ingredient is licorice

paste imported from the Middle East where

it is extracted from the roots of a herb known

as the blue flowering snow pea. The company

puts an emphasis on the high quality of its

black and red licorice products, cooked to a

formula that is not only winning but also a

family secret!

RJ’s Licorice produces almost half of all

licorice sales in New Zealand, its extensive

range offered throughout most food retailing

chains. In addition, the company produces in

increasing volumes for the most discerning of

sweet-toothed consumers in Britain, United

States and Australia. Exports have risen

sharply to now represent around 25% of total

turnover. RJ’s Licorice uses Palmerston North

as a distribution hub for up to 180 tonnes of

product sent to domestic and international

markets each month.

Mr Wilde says the company has moved to a

Microsoft Navision package for all its IT, with

full integration of a pick and scan system for

product handling. Staff can move about the

warehouse with radio frequency scanners that

receive and display details of each order entered

in the system. The scanners are then used to

read bar coding on cartons picked to fill each

order – if the wrong product is picked, the

scanner signals a mismatch with the order.

The system automatically generates delivery

notes that record order details and match the

information held in an EAN-128 standard bar

code on each carton in the consignment. “We

can track and trace any batch of product from

the plant to the individual store in which it will

be offered to consumers,” says Mr Wilde. “In a

recent exercise, it took just 12 minutes for us to

turn up exactly that information from a batch

chosen at random.”

RJ’s Licorice prints its own bar codes

for product cartons using HEXCOM

Ticket 2000 Release D on a Toshiba Tec

SX4 printer. Bar codes are pre-printed on

the confectionary packaging, sourced from

local printers.

With the new logistics system in place, RJ’s

Licorice is far from done with innovation. Mr

Wilde says next steps include the move

to electronic consignment notes

that will be exchanged with the

company’s freight supplier. “We

can move to a paperless system

very easily from this point,” says

Mr Wilde.

He is also keen to

introduce picking

and scanning of raw

ingredients as

they enter

the plant

and are used

in its cooking

processes. The system can readily be expanded

to include production inputs as well as

outputs. “At that point, I will be able to sit in

the office and at any given time, see what

ingredients we hold and how they are being

used, as well as monitoring our finished stock

position,” says Mr Wilde. “Obviously there are

major advantages for ordering inputs, planning

production and managing working capital.”

Mr Wilde says the transition to a fully

integrated pick and scan system for product

handling has been relatively straight forward,

with staff adapting well to the change. “We

had a good IT supplier and RJ’s Licorice has

never been scared of innovation,” he says.

“We’ve now got a logistical system that can

really help drive our growth.”

Sweet success with pick and scan system

CASE STUDY

This article was kindly provided to

GS1 Australia by GS1 New Zealand.

Participating companies

Transport and logistics

leaders gathered in March

to attend the culmination

of a government funded

project show casing how

the GS1 System can improve

synchronisation of physical

goods flow with the flow of

related information.

The project, ‘Demonstrating the benefits of

adopting Global EAN•UCC Standards by Logistics

Service Providers in the Retail Grocery & General

Merchandise Supply Chain’, was supported with a

$121,000 grant from the Department of

Communications, Information Technology and

The Arts’ (DCITA) Information Technology Online

(ITOL) program and involved key stakeholders

from across the industry supply chain.

‘The Australian Transport and Logistics Industry

Numbering and Bar-coding Guidelines’ were

launched, and presentations from the project

stakeholders included case studies and project

overviews. These documented the main

outcomes and benefits of the GS1 System, and

how each organisation now plans to move

forward with implementation.

The results identified attainable benefits and

highlighted that the transport and logistics

industry must come together to ensure

a consistent approach to optimise supply

chain practices.

To facilitate this collaboration GS1 has

launched a Transport and Logistic working

group to address the opportunities for

implementation across the sector.

The adoption of the GS1 system means that

information relating to products would be

consistent along the entire supply chain

resulting in benefits such as:

• Faster delivery of goods

• Fewer handling and shipping errors

• Better inventory management

• Reduction of ordering and replenishing times

• Compliance to tightened security

requirements around the world

For further information contact the GS1

Australia Member and Industry Support

team on 1300 366 033.

Transport & Logistics Roadshow Event

RJ’s Licorice Ltd makes its

world-class confectionery to

a winning formula. And the

company has gone for the

same with the new logistics

system at its Levin plant.

Product handling efficiency has soared

and distribution errors plummeted since

the system was introduced in March. RJ’s

Licorice has replaced manual, paper-based

processes with state-of-the-art scanning and

automated documentation for sales order

fulfilment, and for the tracking and tracing

of consignments. It is indeed a winning

logistics formula – one based on the smart

use of GS1 System bar coding.

“We have seen a dramatic reduction in the

time required to pick product and pack

consignments in our distribution operation,” says

Factory Manager Sean Wilde. “And we now have

hardly any errors because of checking functions

built into the system.”

Mr Wilde says the system will support continued

high sales growth and, with more development,

enable RJ’s Licorice to strengthen its production

management. “The old processes could not

have kept pace with growth in our orders. We

are now shipping from Levin up to 40 pellets of

product each day.”

Founded 10 years ago by the Halliwell

family, RJ’s Licorice is the only New Zealand-

owned and operated maker of this specialist

confectionery. The core ingredient is licorice

paste imported from the Middle East where

it is extracted from the roots of a herb known

as the blue flowering snow pea. The company

puts an emphasis on the high quality of its

black and red licorice products, cooked to a

formula that is not only winning but also a

family secret!

RJ’s Licorice produces almost half of all

licorice sales in New Zealand, its extensive

range offered throughout most food retailing

chains. In addition, the company produces in

increasing volumes for the most discerning of

sweet-toothed consumers in Britain, United

States and Australia. Exports have risen

sharply to now represent around 25% of total

turnover. RJ’s Licorice uses Palmerston North

as a distribution hub for up to 180 tonnes of

product sent to domestic and international

markets each month.

Mr Wilde says the company has moved to a

Microsoft Navision package for all its IT, with

full integration of a pick and scan system for

product handling. Staff can move about the

warehouse with radio frequency scanners that

receive and display details of each order entered

in the system. The scanners are then used to

read bar coding on cartons picked to fill each

order – if the wrong product is picked, the

scanner signals a mismatch with the order.

The system automatically generates delivery

notes that record order details and match the

information held in an EAN-128 standard bar

code on each carton in the consignment. “We

can track and trace any batch of product from

the plant to the individual store in which it will

be offered to consumers,” says Mr Wilde. “In a

recent exercise, it took just 12 minutes for us to

turn up exactly that information from a batch

chosen at random.”

RJ’s Licorice prints its own bar codes

for product cartons using HEXCOM

Ticket 2000 Release D on a Toshiba Tec

SX4 printer. Bar codes are pre-printed on

the confectionary packaging, sourced from

local printers.

With the new logistics system in place, RJ’s

Licorice is far from done with innovation. Mr

Wilde says next steps include the move

to electronic consignment notes

that will be exchanged with the

company’s freight supplier. “We

can move to a paperless system

very easily from this point,” says

Mr Wilde.

He is also keen to

introduce picking

and scanning of raw

ingredients as

they enter

the plant

and are used

in its cooking

processes. The system can readily be expanded

to include production inputs as well as

outputs. “At that point, I will be able to sit in

the office and at any given time, see what

ingredients we hold and how they are being

used, as well as monitoring our finished stock

position,” says Mr Wilde. “Obviously there are

major advantages for ordering inputs, planning

production and managing working capital.”

Mr Wilde says the transition to a fully

integrated pick and scan system for product

handling has been relatively straight forward,

with staff adapting well to the change. “We

had a good IT supplier and RJ’s Licorice has

never been scared of innovation,” he says.

“We’ve now got a logistical system that can

really help drive our growth.”

Sweet success with pick and scan system

CASE STUDY

This article was kindly provided to

GS1 Australia by GS1 New Zealand.

Participating companies

Winners

Scholarshipcontinued support from an increasingly

strategic perspective,” said Luke. “This has

given me a clearer vision in regards to

achieving both short and long term goals both

personally and from a company perspective.”

Angela applied for the scholarship after

researching several courses to add to her

skills as Technical Account Manager for the

Technology Integration Division at UMD. “I

felt Deakin’s degree was the most applicable

and marketable, given GS1’s support of

the course, and efforts to extend the core

curriculum with information relevant to GS1

standards for data transfer and interactions

across the distribution channel.”

“This is my first step on the next phase of my

career,” Angela said, “applying my technology

background to issues specifically relating to

supply chain.”

Both winners have the full support of their

employers and are expected to become

champions of supply chain management for

their organisations, sharing their knowledge with

others to optimise their supply chain systems.

UMD General Manager, Geoffrey Ramadan

is looking forward to the additional benefits

the scholarship will have for UMD. “When I

originally saw the details of this course, my first

impressions were that this was a perfect fit

for our employees’ professional development

needs and our organisations needs,” he

said. “This course will provide the necessary

theoretical knowledge and skills to support our

staff when consulting with our customers

on their real life needs. Our strategic goal is to

offer professional services and you can’t do

that if you don’t have skilled staff.

Furthermore, we factor in the capability of

staff when developing strategic goals. This

course will thus enable us to expand our

companies offering.”

This is the second occasion GS1 Australia has

offered the scholarships. The program will

continue in 2007 academic year, member

organisations are encouraged to apply.

For more information see

www.gs1au.org/education/deakin/_deakin.asp

According to AMR Research, manufacturing and distribution companies that do not embrace a customer-centric approach risk incurring a five per cent cost disadvantage due to poor

forecast accuracy.

That’s quite a handicap to constantly maintain

against competitors.

To answer this challenge, an increasing

number of companies are taking on business

principles called Demand-Driven Supply

Networks (DDSNs).

Whereas supply chains have traditionally

had a push-based focus on materials and

products(‘what have I got to sell?’), DDSNs

have a pull-based focus on customer demand

(‘what do they want to buy?’).

By helping businesses to more precisely

align operations with actual, rather than

‘guestimated’, demand, DDSNs increase

supply chain responsiveness. In particular,

they help reduce information delays

– the time it takes to move and process

information, and address supply chain delays

– the time it takes for an organisation and

supply chain partners to respond to new

information with specific actions.

The four critical steps to the successful

establishment of a DDSN are:

• Understand Demand – put in place the tools

and processes that enable your organisation

to capture and analyse data that reflects

actual demands

• Plan for demand – base your long-term

supply chain strategy on a true picture

of demand

• Respond to demand – base your near-term

tactical production and financial

management actions on a true picture

of demand

• Shape demand – use demand information

to drive the tactical and strategic actions

your organisation takes to develop, produce

and market demand-driven products.

DDSN deployment is best approached

corporate-wide via suppliers such as SSA

Global, that have positioned their technologies

and business consultancy practices to allow

for staged, evolutionary transformations from a

customer’s existing technology and processes

to the target DDSN.

For more information contact SSA Global at:

www.ssaglobal.com.au or phone

+61 2 9855 7100.

Four fundamental demand driven steps to achieving supply chain excellence

ALLIANCEPARTNEREDITORIAL

Congratulations to the

winners of the 2006 GS1

Australia Half Scholarships:

Luke Merlo of Rip Curl

Australia and Angela Reid

of Unique Micro Design

(UMD). Each receives a

$4,000 scholarship from

GS1 Australia to study the

Graduate Certificate of

Information Systems at

Deakin University.

These scholarships are part of an extensive

education suite offered by GS1 Australia. The

aim is to encourage continuous learning and

offer members opportunities to learn more

about supply chain management and best

practice information systems.

Luke, the Supply Chain Planner for Rip Curl

Australia, is looking forward to enhancing his

systems analysis, design and infrastructure

skills elements in particular. This will assist him

in preparing for the enormous changes linked

to Rip Curl’s rapid growth and a new 4,000m2

warehouse currently being built on site at

Torquay, Victoria.

“By returning to study and focussing more

in-depth on contemporary issues and

requirements, I will be able to provide

Radio Frequency Identification

(RFID) promises to be the next

big revolution in business

productivity and is a key

enabler in moving businesses to

an increasingly ‘real time’ world.

These were some of the key

messages from the ‘Real World

RFID Applications’ seminar,

hosted by Oracle Corporation in

Melbourne on February 9th.

Through a series of case studies TS. Rangarajan,

Global Head of the Tata Consultancy Services

RFID practice, showed how clear return on

investment (ROI) can be found by tapping into

RFID technology.

One highlighted success story was YCH

Group in Singapore. YCH is one of a handful of

Singaporean logistics companies that is licensed

to operate bonded warehouses. In 2005, YCH

and Oracle implemented an innovative RFID

system to help it track and store shipments.

According to Robert Yap, chairman and CEO of

YCH Group, “This project is clear testimony to

the viability and benefits of RFID technologies,

especially for the logistics industry.”

Rohit Nagarajan, Oracle’s RFID Asia Pacific

Business Development Manager, discussed

Oracle Sensor Based Solutions, which provide a

comprehensive and standards based platform

on which build RFID applications. The Oracle

products that make up these solutions include

components like RFID middleware (Oracle

Sensor Edge Server), process orchestration

tools (Oracle BPEL Process Manager) and

various other integration and business

intelligence tools - part of the Oracle

technology stack comprising of the Oracle

Database and Oracle Fusion Middleware.

Industry standards around RFID were covered

during the seminar by Fiona Wilson, GM

Standards Development GS1 Australia /

EPCglobal. It provided an update on the state

of the standards being being developed by

EPCglobal and provided an insight into the

benefits that organizations like Wal-mart and

Gillette have gained by adopting EPC as part of

the RFID deployment plans.

RFID is a technology that has long since

held the promise of transforming the way

businesses think of real time information.

Adoption of global standards, advances in

sensor technology and new RFID compatible

products from companies like Oracle are

enabling organisations to make these promises

a reality today.

Above: Luke Merlo Above: Angela Reid

Winners

Scholarshipcontinued support from an increasingly

strategic perspective,” said Luke. “This has

given me a clearer vision in regards to

achieving both short and long term goals both

personally and from a company perspective.”

Angela applied for the scholarship after

researching several courses to add to her

skills as Technical Account Manager for the

Technology Integration Division at UMD. “I

felt Deakin’s degree was the most applicable

and marketable, given GS1’s support of

the course, and efforts to extend the core

curriculum with information relevant to GS1

standards for data transfer and interactions

across the distribution channel.”

“This is my first step on the next phase of my

career,” Angela said, “applying my technology

background to issues specifically relating to

supply chain.”

Both winners have the full support of their

employers and are expected to become

champions of supply chain management for

their organisations, sharing their knowledge with

others to optimise their supply chain systems.

UMD General Manager, Geoffrey Ramadan

is looking forward to the additional benefits

the scholarship will have for UMD. “When I

originally saw the details of this course, my first

impressions were that this was a perfect fit

for our employees’ professional development

needs and our organisations needs,” he

said. “This course will provide the necessary

theoretical knowledge and skills to support our

staff when consulting with our customers

on their real life needs. Our strategic goal is to

offer professional services and you can’t do

that if you don’t have skilled staff.

Furthermore, we factor in the capability of

staff when developing strategic goals. This

course will thus enable us to expand our

companies offering.”

This is the second occasion GS1 Australia has

offered the scholarships. The program will

continue in 2007 academic year, member

organisations are encouraged to apply.

For more information see

www.gs1au.org/education/deakin/_deakin.asp

According to AMR Research, manufacturing and distribution companies that do not embrace a customer-centric approach risk incurring a five per cent cost disadvantage due to poor

forecast accuracy.

That’s quite a handicap to constantly maintain

against competitors.

To answer this challenge, an increasing

number of companies are taking on business

principles called Demand-Driven Supply

Networks (DDSNs).

Whereas supply chains have traditionally

had a push-based focus on materials and

products(‘what have I got to sell?’), DDSNs

have a pull-based focus on customer demand

(‘what do they want to buy?’).

By helping businesses to more precisely

align operations with actual, rather than

‘guestimated’, demand, DDSNs increase

supply chain responsiveness. In particular,

they help reduce information delays

– the time it takes to move and process

information, and address supply chain delays

– the time it takes for an organisation and

supply chain partners to respond to new

information with specific actions.

The four critical steps to the successful

establishment of a DDSN are:

• Understand Demand – put in place the tools

and processes that enable your organisation

to capture and analyse data that reflects

actual demands

• Plan for demand – base your long-term

supply chain strategy on a true picture

of demand

• Respond to demand – base your near-term

tactical production and financial

management actions on a true picture

of demand

• Shape demand – use demand information

to drive the tactical and strategic actions

your organisation takes to develop, produce

and market demand-driven products.

DDSN deployment is best approached

corporate-wide via suppliers such as SSA

Global, that have positioned their technologies

and business consultancy practices to allow

for staged, evolutionary transformations from a

customer’s existing technology and processes

to the target DDSN.

For more information contact SSA Global at:

www.ssaglobal.com.au or phone

+61 2 9855 7100.

Four fundamental demand driven steps to achieving supply chain excellence

Congratulations to the

winners of the 2006 GS1

Australia Half Scholarships:

Luke Merlo of Rip Curl

Australia and Angela Reid

of Unique Micro Design

(UMD). Each receives a

$4,000 scholarship from

GS1 Australia to study the

Graduate Certificate of

Information Systems at

Deakin University.

These scholarships are part of an extensive

education suite offered by GS1 Australia. The

aim is to encourage continuous learning and

offer members opportunities to learn more

about supply chain management and best

practice information systems.

Luke, the Supply Chain Planner for Rip Curl

Australia, is looking forward to enhancing his

systems analysis, design and infrastructure

skills elements in particular. This will assist him

in preparing for the enormous changes linked

to Rip Curl’s rapid growth and a new 4,000m2

warehouse currently being built on site at

Torquay, Victoria.

“By returning to study and focussing more

in-depth on contemporary issues and

requirements, I will be able to provide

Radio Frequency Identification

(RFID) promises to be the next

big revolution in business

productivity and is a key

enabler in moving businesses to

an increasingly ‘real time’ world.

These were some of the key

messages from the ‘Real World

RFID Applications’ seminar,

hosted by Oracle Corporation in

Melbourne on February 9th.

Through a series of case studies TS. Rangarajan,

Global Head of the Tata Consultancy Services

RFID practice, showed how clear return on

investment (ROI) can be found by tapping into

RFID technology.

One highlighted success story was YCH

Group in Singapore. YCH is one of a handful of

Singaporean logistics companies that is licensed

to operate bonded warehouses. In 2005, YCH

and Oracle implemented an innovative RFID

system to help it track and store shipments.

According to Robert Yap, chairman and CEO of

YCH Group, “This project is clear testimony to

the viability and benefits of RFID technologies,

especially for the logistics industry.”

Rohit Nagarajan, Oracle’s RFID Asia Pacific

Business Development Manager, discussed

Oracle Sensor Based Solutions, which provide a

comprehensive and standards based platform

on which build RFID applications. The Oracle

products that make up these solutions include

components like RFID middleware (Oracle

Sensor Edge Server), process orchestration

tools (Oracle BPEL Process Manager) and

various other integration and business

intelligence tools - part of the Oracle

technology stack comprising of the Oracle

Database and Oracle Fusion Middleware.

Industry standards around RFID were covered

during the seminar by Fiona Wilson, GM

Standards Development GS1 Australia /

EPCglobal. It provided an update on the state

of the standards being being developed by

EPCglobal and provided an insight into the

benefits that organizations like Wal-mart and

Gillette have gained by adopting EPC as part of

the RFID deployment plans.

RFID is a technology that has long since

held the promise of transforming the way

businesses think of real time information.

Adoption of global standards, advances in

sensor technology and new RFID compatible

products from companies like Oracle are

enabling organisations to make these promises

a reality today.

Above: Luke Merlo Above: Angela Reid

Spotlight on GS1 people, Elsa Lai

As a Professional Services Advisor with

equal ability in analysis and communication,

Elsa provides expert advice to help

members solve their business needs;

assisting with the implementation of

EANnet projects in their organisations.

Elsa has been serving GS1 Australia for almost four years; it was her

first full-time job after completing a university degree.

After initial roles in Quality Systems Support, and EANnet Client

Services, she jumped at the chance to join the Professional Services

team, when it was expanded a year ago.

“Quality Systems provided me with a solid foundation in the

GS1 System and EANnet Client Services equipped me with an

understanding of how to assist clients efficiently and effectively

implement EANnet. Professional Services was the next step and gave

me the opportunity to meet members face to face,” said Elsa.

“I really enjoy being out at a client’s site, meeting new people and

learning how their business works,” said Elsa. “The biggest challenge

is keeping abreast of new standards, new developments in EANnet

user issues/resolutions.”

Away from GS1 Australia, Elsa is completing her Masters in

eCommerce at at Deakin University. In her spare time, Elsa enjoys

bowling and making jewellery, as well as travelling. She has

extensively travelled New Zealand and most of Western Europe

and is currently planning a trip to the U.S.

Event Diary

The following list outlines the upcoming events leading up to July 2006. Keep an eye out for further event listings in the next edition of the Supply Chain LINK newsletter:

This is the latest information available at Supply Chain LINK’s publication deadline: please visit the GS1 Australia website www.gs1au.org for current details on seminar dates, times and locations.

World Meat Congress

• 26th – 29th April Brisbane

CeBit Expo

• 9th – 11th May Sydney

Education & Training Road Shows

• 8th June Brisbane

• 14th & 15th June Sydney

• 20th & 21st June Melbourne

• 22nd June Adelaide

• 27th June Perth

POS Training

• 30th March Melbourne

• 5th April Sydney

Knowledge Series 101, Melbourne, GS1 Australia

Head Office

• EDI 101 April 5th & June 7th

• XML 101 April 12th & June 14th

• Data Capture 101 April 20th & June 21st

• CPFR 101 April 26th & June 28th

Further info: www.gs1au.org/education

EANnet Seminars

• 17th May Melbourne

• 18th May Sydney

Futher info: www.gs1au.org

GS1 Australia Conference, Impetus 2006

• 25th & 26th July Hotel Sofitel, Melbourne

For further information please visit, www.impetus.gs1au.org

or call Rebecca Owen on 1300 366 033

Bar code verification has

become indispensable to

the success of Australia’s

retail sector.

Last year alone a total of 91,801 bar codes were

tested. This represents an 86.5 per cent increase

in testing volumes in the last 10 years, with just

49,220 bar codes being tested in 1996.

Every year, GS1 Australia members submit

thousands of packaging samples to test bar

code compliance with the ISO 15416 standard.

The verification test ensures the bar code can

be read by a whole range of equipment.

No two bar code scanners are alike, varying

from light pens, to hand-held laser scanners and

CCD scanners. These scanners pass information

to a back-end decoder which interprets it

to unlock the encoded data. Using a precise

measuring instrument, GS1 verification delivers

consistent assessments based on standardised

performance measures.

What began 20 years ago as an education

service for GS1 members has become key to

trouble-free trading for Australian businesses.

Bar code verification is a prerequisite for

product acceptance by major retailers

Metcash, Coles Myer and Woolworths.

Packaging with bar codes that do not meet

these measures is almost certain to lead to

supply chain headaches for trading partners,

according to GS1 Australia’s General Manager

Service Delivery, Richard Jones.

“Thorough testing of bar codes during

packaging development can avoid disaster,” he

said. “Simple, relatively fast and extremely cost

effective, verification is invaluable reassurance

for both originators and receivers of the

product’s trouble-free journey though every

stage of the supply chain.”

91,000 bar codes tested in 2005

Applie-com, the Australian

appliance industry

eCommerce grouping, is set

to take business-to-business

(B2B) eCommerce to new

heights. The group, recently

reformed with high-level

representatives from the

consumer electronic industry,

has announced exciting new

initiatives.

Applie-com was formed in October 2000 to

identify and explore the possibility of a united

industry approach to business to business

eCommerce.

The Applie-com brief was to devise and

implement 25 Message Implementation

Guidelines (MIGs) to extend cost reductions

through efficiency gains. The group would also

document best eBusiness transaction practices

in supply chain management and attempt to

achieve industry consensus on eBusiness and

eCatalogue solutions.

Following a recent meeting of the Applie-com

steering group, two teams have been created

to breathe new life into the organisation and

to deliver better levels of service this year.

An Executive Steering Group (ESG) will focus

on promoting eC ommerce implementation

by member companies as well as deciding

future direction and policies. The ESG will

also deal with broader industry issues

to deliver efficiencies and productivity

throughout the industry.

Former CEO of Whirlpool Mike O’Neill, who

was the chief initiator of Applie-com, has

resigned as chairman of this group and

Graham Day, who has been with Applie-com

from its inception, was elected chairperson of

the group for the next 12 months.

The second team will be the Technical

Working Group (TWG), which will report to the

executive on a quarterly basis. This group will

be chaired by Sue Schmid, General Manager -

Member and Industry Support, of GS1 Australia.

An essential element of this project was the

setting up of a web community to ensure

industry members, particularly rural-based

retail outlets, were informed about delivering

efficiencies across supply chain trading

partners and customers.

Moving forward, the Applie-com technical

working group will review the current

messages implemented by the industry,

determine a procedure for change requests

and develop an approved set of numbering

and bar coding guidelines. It also plans

to look at the use of data synchronisation

and emerging technologies such as radio

frequency identification.

For further information please contact

Sue Schmid [email protected] or

1300 366 033.

Spotlight on GS1 people, Elsa Lai

As a Professional Services Advisor with

equal ability in analysis and communication,

Elsa provides expert advice to help

members solve their business needs;

assisting with the implementation of

EANnet projects in their organisations.

Elsa has been serving GS1 Australia for almost four years; it was her

first full-time job after completing a university degree.

After initial roles in Quality Systems Support, and EANnet Client

Services, she jumped at the chance to join the Professional Services

team, when it was expanded a year ago.

“Quality Systems provided me with a solid foundation in the

GS1 System and EANnet Client Services equipped me with an

understanding of how to assist clients efficiently and effectively

implement EANnet. Professional Services was the next step and gave

me the opportunity to meet members face to face,” said Elsa.

“I really enjoy being out at a client’s site, meeting new people and

learning how their business works,” said Elsa. “The biggest challenge

is keeping abreast of new standards, new developments in EANnet

user issues/resolutions.”

Away from GS1 Australia, Elsa is completing her Masters in

eCommerce at at Deakin University. In her spare time, Elsa enjoys

bowling and making jewellery, as well as travelling. She has

extensively travelled New Zealand and most of Western Europe

and is currently planning a trip to the U.S.

Event Diary

The following list outlines the upcoming events leading up to July 2006. Keep an eye out for further event listings in the next edition of the Supply Chain LINK newsletter:

This is the latest information available at Supply Chain LINK’s publication deadline: please visit the GS1 Australia website www.gs1au.org for current details on seminar dates, times and locations.

World Meat Congress

• 26th – 29th April Brisbane

CeBit Expo

• 9th – 11th May Sydney

Education & Training Road Shows

• 8th June Brisbane

• 14th & 15th June Sydney

• 20th & 21st June Melbourne

• 22nd June Adelaide

• 27th June Perth

POS Training

• 30th March Melbourne

• 5th April Sydney

Knowledge Series 101, Melbourne, GS1 Australia

Head Office

• EDI 101 April 5th & June 7th

• XML 101 April 12th & June 14th

• Data Capture 101 April 20th & June 21st

• CPFR 101 April 26th & June 28th

Further info: www.gs1au.org/education

EANnet Seminars

• 17th May Melbourne

• 18th May Sydney

Futher info: www.gs1au.org

GS1 Australia Conference, Impetus 2006

• 25th & 26th July Hotel Sofitel, Melbourne

For further information please visit, www.impetus.gs1au.org

or call Rebecca Owen on 1300 366 033

Bar code verification has

become indispensable to

the success of Australia’s

retail sector.

Last year alone a total of 91,801 bar codes were

tested. This represents an 86.5 per cent increase

in testing volumes in the last 10 years, with just

49,220 bar codes being tested in 1996.

Every year, GS1 Australia members submit

thousands of packaging samples to test bar

code compliance with the ISO 15416 standard.

The verification test ensures the bar code can

be read by a whole range of equipment.

No two bar code scanners are alike, varying

from light pens, to hand-held laser scanners and

CCD scanners. These scanners pass information

to a back-end decoder which interprets it

to unlock the encoded data. Using a precise

measuring instrument, GS1 verification delivers

consistent assessments based on standardised

performance measures.

What began 20 years ago as an education

service for GS1 members has become key to

trouble-free trading for Australian businesses.

Bar code verification is a prerequisite for

product acceptance by major retailers

Metcash, Coles Myer and Woolworths.

Packaging with bar codes that do not meet

these measures is almost certain to lead to

supply chain headaches for trading partners,

according to GS1 Australia’s General Manager

Service Delivery, Richard Jones.

“Thorough testing of bar codes during

packaging development can avoid disaster,” he

said. “Simple, relatively fast and extremely cost

effective, verification is invaluable reassurance

for both originators and receivers of the

product’s trouble-free journey though every

stage of the supply chain.”

91,000 bar codes tested in 2005

Applie-com, the Australian

appliance industry

eCommerce grouping, is set

to take business-to-business

(B2B) eCommerce to new

heights. The group, recently

reformed with high-level

representatives from the

consumer electronic industry,

has announced exciting new

initiatives.

Applie-com was formed in October 2000 to

identify and explore the possibility of a united

industry approach to business to business

eCommerce.

The Applie-com brief was to devise and

implement 25 Message Implementation

Guidelines (MIGs) to extend cost reductions

through efficiency gains. The group would also

document best eBusiness transaction practices

in supply chain management and attempt to

achieve industry consensus on eBusiness and

eCatalogue solutions.

Following a recent meeting of the Applie-com

steering group, two teams have been created

to breathe new life into the organisation and

to deliver better levels of service this year.

An Executive Steering Group (ESG) will focus

on promoting eC ommerce implementation

by member companies as well as deciding

future direction and policies. The ESG will

also deal with broader industry issues

to deliver efficiencies and productivity

throughout the industry.

Former CEO of Whirlpool Mike O’Neill, who

was the chief initiator of Applie-com, has

resigned as chairman of this group and

Graham Day, who has been with Applie-com

from its inception, was elected chairperson of

the group for the next 12 months.

The second team will be the Technical

Working Group (TWG), which will report to the

executive on a quarterly basis. This group will

be chaired by Sue Schmid, General Manager -

Member and Industry Support, of GS1 Australia.

An essential element of this project was the

setting up of a web community to ensure

industry members, particularly rural-based

retail outlets, were informed about delivering

efficiencies across supply chain trading

partners and customers.

Moving forward, the Applie-com technical

working group will review the current

messages implemented by the industry,

determine a procedure for change requests

and develop an approved set of numbering

and bar coding guidelines. It also plans

to look at the use of data synchronisation

and emerging technologies such as radio

frequency identification.

For further information please contact

Sue Schmid [email protected] or

1300 366 033.

DISCOVER LEARN CONNECTDISCOVER HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN PRACTICES. GS1 WILL HELP YOU LEARN AND IMPLEMENT SAVINGS. CONNECT WITH GS1 AT IMPETUS 2006 FOR A SMARTER SUPPLY CHAIN.

Gold Sponsors: To pre-register, visit

www.impetus.gs1au.org

or call Rebecca Owen on

03 9550 3415.

At Impetus 2006 you will hear from experts

from around the globe, hear local case studies,

and see live demonstrations when you visit the

Expo. You will walk away armed with the best

supply chain tools of the trade.

Imagine that!Impetus 2006 off ers your business:

• Assistance to achieve an effi cient, compliant,

cost eff ective supply chain

• The latest developments in supply

chain technology including RFID &

Data Synchronisation

• Real case studies: SME’s in the supply

chain - small companies doing big things

• Panel experts discuss the most pressing

supply chain issues

• An expo featuring supply chain enabling

solutions from over 25 GS1 Alliance Partners

Sydney Offi ce

Lakes Business Park

Building 4B, 2-4 Lord St

Botany NSW 2019

Locked Bag 7002

Botany DC NSW 2019

T +61 2 9700 0933

F +61 2 9700 0820

Head Offi ce

Axxess Corporate Park

Unit 100/45 Gilby Rd

Mt Waverley VIC 3149

Locked bag 10

Oakleigh VIC 3166

T +61 3 9558 9559

F +61 3 9558 9551

(Formerly EAN Australia)

National Number: 1300 366 033

ABN: 67 005 529 920

www.gs1au.org

Platinum Sponsor:

gs1 australia link magazine - issue 9

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