It’s been a huge two weeks as a Gold Sponsor of GS1’s Supply Chain Week. There were many great topics, but here are a couple of our highlights:

Data and omnichannel retailing

Now is an interesting time for brands, because we are increasingly seeing them compete with their customers. Consumers can purchase runners from a Nike store, but they can also purchase them from Rebel Sport. They also have the added choice of viewing and buying in store or online, or a combination of both.

With omni-shoppers now spending 350% of what their bricks and mortar counterparts spend, companies are now more than ever looking to give their customers a unified experience, and one that sets their brand aside from the rest.

As customers demand enriched information, having clean and accurate data can really help boost a brand’s omnichannel strategy. In this age where everything is just a click away, if customers can’t find something from you, they will find it from your competitor.

The importance of data doesn’t stop at the product though. Customers expect to see information about the product and your service; stock level, returns policies, delivery tracking and more.

Having the data customers want, when they want it, is now an essential of a business’ omnichannel strategy.

End-to-end supply chain visibility

A huge part of the supply chain is visibility. Companies want to be able to track goods so they can plan and manage issues that may arise in the transportation process. This not only provides the company with smoother processes, but enables them to give superior customer service.

GS1 has been driving the new supply chain industry standard, EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services), which defines the standard message set for data capture and exchange about a product. Unlike regular product data, EPCIS holds information about the movement and status too — the what, where, when and why.

The introduction of this new standard will mean a big shift for the industry and GS1 is aiding this by providing a centralised system where manufacturers, distributors and retailers can register information about their products and retrieve them as required.

EPCIS is a big move for the supply chain industry, which has seen little development in recent years.

Speak to us to find out how we can help your omnichannel strategy or implement EPCIS in your business.