GS1, the global organisation dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve supply and demand chain efficiency and visibility, has launched a new Australasian data pool, GS1net.
GS1net supersedes EANnet as the primary source of procurement data for the healthcare, grocery and liquor sectors.
The most significant difference between the old EANnet and GS1net is that the latter is certified, together with more than 20 similar data pools, within the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN).
This allows accurate data to be securely shared around the world between suppliers, wholesalers, logistics operators, retailers and other data recipients through a Global Registry.
Over the next seven months 1200 suppliers and hundreds of thousands of GS1-numbered items including grocery, liquor, hardware, consumer pharmaceuticals, general merchandise and office products will migrate from EANnet across to the new data pool.
Through GS1net Australian and New Zealand businesses join more than 12,500 global businesses on the GDSN and add to the more than 1.7 million Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) already registered.
GS1net is the first data pool in the GDSN to enable the secure synchronisation of price data along with other product data.
It also provides Australian and New Zealand industry with additional data validation services and local data attribute support beyond current GDSN requirements.
For businesses, the web-based GS1net means less paperwork, the eradication of data errors, and significant savings.
Based on the GS1 system of global standards, GS1net enables trading partners at every step of the supply chain to synchronise their product data and gain secure access to product information including attributes such as:
specific trading partner terms and pricing
product availability
release dates and promotional campaigns
packaging
dimensions
imaging for shelf space management
clinical information for healthcare items
To assist with the migration, free advice and assistance is available to all EANnet and GS1net users through GS1 Australia’s GS1net Client Services team (formerly the EANnet Client Services team).
Migration to the new GS1net data pool is expected to be completed by the end of March 2008, at which point the EANnet service will be decommissioned after almost six years of operation.