ALC Board endorses adoption of global data standards
For immediate release Tuesday 21 August 2018 – The Australian Logistics Council(ALC) and GS1 Australia are pleased to announce a significant step toward the adoption and implementation of global data standards (GDS) to improve freight visibility and supply chain efficiencies in the logistics industry.
Acting on a recommendation from the ALC Technology Committee, the ALC Board has endorsed a policy statement that “ALC and its members work towards the adoption of GDS by all participants in the Australian logistics industry.”
This significant decision is driven by Austroads’ Research Report AP-R538-17 – Investigating the Potential Benefits of Enhanced End to End Supply Chain Visibility released in March 2017 followed by the Inquiry Report into the Priorities for a National Freight Strategy in May 2018.
The Report from this Inquiry encouraged “the adoption of global data standards and collaborative electronic platforms across all freight modes to streamline the exchange, comparison and understanding of data within the land, sea and air freight sectors.”
ALC’s Interim CEO Lachlan Benson said, “ALC, its members and the industry will now work towards adopting and promoting the Australian Freight Labelling and Transport data exchange guidelines, an extensive body of work that was developed by industry in consultation with the ALC Supply Chain Standards Working Group and GS1 Australia and launched in 2016.
Based on GS1 global supply chain standards and best practice, the Australian Freight Labelling Guideline and Australian Transport EDI Guidelines provide one common label format for consistent identification of freight units and one common data file format to exchange data throughout the freight transportation process.
GS1 Australia’s Senior Manager – Freight, Logistics & Industrial Sectors, Bonnie Ryan said, “The Austroads’ report examined industry pilots across multiple complex logistic supply chains operated by Toll Group, Nestlé and Liberty OneSteel (formerly Arrium OneSteel) to investigate end-to-end supply chain visibility improvements on multi-leg transport corridors using GS1 standards.”
The supply chain visibility pilots demonstrated that the use of global data standards would result in real-time visibility across multiple legs of a transport journey from origin to destination, improve interoperability across different service providers by leveraging a common tracking identifier, and increase productivity and reduce costs in the end-to-end supply chain.
“Based on the pilot findings, the economic benefit to Australia could exceed $1 billion,” added Ms Ryan.
To achieve end-to-end supply chain visibility and to support new technologies such as blockchain, it is necessary to establish common data standards for the consistent serialised identification and labelling of freight and transport units.
Ms Ryan added, “GS1 supply chain standards enable parties across the supply chain to operate more efficiently with improved freight visibility using a common standard for identifying, labelling and sharing data relating to the movement of freight units.”
“Enhanced freight visibility is a clear priority for logistics companies, and increasingly for consumers. The guideline will help industry participants implement the agreed GS1 standards to improve freight efficiency and visibility across all modes of freight transport,” added Mr Benson.
The ALC Technology Committee is now working to develop a proposed timeline for the adoption of the standards to be presented to the ALC Board for approval.
For further information, please contact Bonnie Ryan, Senior Manager – Freight, Logistics and Industrial Sectors at GS1 Australia or visit the Freight and Logistics section of the GS1 Australia website.
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About GS1 Australia
GS1 is a neutral, not-for-profit organisation that develops and maintains the most widely used global standards for efficient business communication. We are best known for the barcode, named by the BBC as one of “the 50 things that made the world economy”. GS1 standards and services improve supply chain visibility, efficiency, security and productivity across physical and digital channels in the trade and transport sector. With local Member Organisations in 112 countries, 1.5 million user companies and 6 billion transactions every day, GS1 standards create a common language that supports systems and processes in 25 sectors across the globe. For more information visit the GS1 Australia website.
About Australian Logistics Council
The Australian Logistics Council represents the major Australian logistics supply chain customers, providers, infrastructure owners and suppliers, advocating for greater supply chain efficiency and safety. Their members span the entire supply chain, incorporating road, rail, sea, air, sea ports and intermodal ports. ALC works with all levels of government to ensure it considers the needs of the logistics industry in its investment and policy decisions. Visit the Australian Logistics Council website
Media Contacts
GS1 Australia
Stav Psonis
Communications Specialist
T: +61 3 9550 3409
E: Stav.Psonis@gs1au.org
Australian Logistics Council (ALC)
Simon Morgan
Director – Government & Communications
T: 0403 477 131
E: Simon.Morgan@austlogistics.com.au