Food service giants sign commitment to adopt Global Data Synchronisation

Food service giants sign commitment to adopt Global Data Synchronisation

GS1 UK, the not-for-profit supply chain standards and solutions organisation, recently announced that Brake Bros, Makro, Compass Group, Mitchells & Butlers, 3663 and Country Range have signed a commitment to adopt Global Data Synchronisation (GDS) that will improve the sector’s accuracy of product data and supply chain efficiency.

In a letter issued to their suppliers, these businesses have encouraged the adoption of GDS to help eliminate wasted time, money and effort, improve data accuracy and cut costs for all in the sector.

This joint initiative is a first for the food services sector and indicative of its acknowledgement of the significant need for better quality and improved management of product data to meet increasing consumer requirements. In adopting GDS, the sector’s key players have agreed to integrate it into their future data management strategies, accept product data from the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) and work together to encourage the wider food services sector to adopt the same approach.

Cooperation fuels supplier collaboration

All six food service businesses have stated their commitment to accepting product item data via the GDSN to improve the quality of data in the supply chain. This standards based global environment enables the secure and continuous synchronisation of product information between trading parties. Where practical for the benefit of the UK food services sector, the key operators will work together to implement similar approaches to their adoption of GDS.

Commenting on the newly established sector-wide commitment, GS1 UK chief executive, Gary Lynch, said: “It is encouraging to see the food services sector taking a strong step towards improving their data quality for the benefit of all in the supply chain. By improving the quality of their data and adopting Global Data Synchronisation, the sector can gain significant advantage from improved efficiency, reduced costs and greater productivity.”

“We know from GS1 UK’s Data Crunch study and from trends that we’ve monitored, that there is going to be an increase in demand for more product information from our customers. So, if there’s an issue with data quality now, it’s going to be considerably more significant going forward,” added Stefan Hesse, finance director of Makro. “In the last few years we have started implementing GDS together with a number of food service businesses but it has not really gained the critical momentum needed to fully realise the benefits for the sector as a whole. This industry commitment means that suppliers can now start preparing for GDS, confident that a single, standardised way of delivering product information is imminent.”