About GS1 System
GS1 numbering and barcodes are designed to deliver two fundamental benefits:
- to ensure that your organisation operates as efficiently as possible
- to integrate seamlessly with your trading partners
The ultimate aim is to maximise the competitiveness of your supply chain.
The GS1 System
allows continuous improvement in eCommerce supply chain management practices by providing international standards for item identification, data capture, electronic messaging and data synchronisation. These standards are also being enhanced and expanded to reflect business needs and advances in technology.
Through the automation of business processes, the GS1 System drives increasingly fast, efficient and accurate flow of information between trading partners, factors that are fundamental to the success of any business.
Supply chain efficiency: the key to competitive success
Increasingly, corporate success is based, not on having the best product, but on having the best supply chain management practices.
An efficient supply chain allows your company to build better relationships with trading partners today, and ensure your products and services achieve greater competitiveness and demand tomorrow.
An efficient supply chain gives your organisation the following economic advantages:
- Improved return on investment by reducing inventory holdings and associated financial costs
- Increased sales by reducing or eliminating out-of-stock situations
- Better customer service by speeding up delivery times, continuous replenishment and ensuring predictable stock availability
- Greater productivity due to improved tracking of stocks and materials, which reduces administration time and costs
- Increased profitability as cost analysis can be refined through more accurate activity based costing
eCommerce: the new business challenge
Just as standardised GS1 BarCodes have facilitated efficient international trade, GS1 eCommerce
standards will offer even greater efficiencies tomorrow.
Developed in response to mounting demand from manufacturers, retail chains and government departments which continually seek means to reduce costs and increase efficiency, these standards will make the transition to eCommerce as simple as possible, by providing solutions that build on - and integrate seamlessly with - the existing numbering and barcoding system.
eCommerce will save companies considerable time and effort by automating many of the processes that now rely on the manual processing of paper based documents. Equally importantly, the automation process increases accuracy of documentation by eliminating many of the repetitive steps where mistakes can easily occur.
It will add a whole new layer of accountability by allowing all parties involved in the transaction to view the progress of a product as it is manufactured, packaged and shipped.

