GS1 UK, the independent global supply chain standards and solutions organisation, has announced that its membership has grown significantly in the last year, hitting its target of more than 20,000 members by 2008. 

The total number of new members to GS1 UK has increased by 18% in the last year to 20,043 and by 26% since 2006.  The rapid growth in the number of members has been driven by the increase in the adoption of the GS1 System of standards in the retail and health sectors.

GS1 standards are increasingly being implemented by companies that aim to improve supply chain efficiency and product data quality, through the use of bar codes, RFID, Global Data Synchronisation (GDS) and electronic business messaging.

One of the main drivers for the increase in new members is GS1 UK’s vital involvement in several patient safety initiatives within the healthcare sector.  Since the Department of Health released the ‘Coding for success’ policy document in February of last year, recommending the use of GS1 standards in England, GS1 UK has been working with NHS Connecting for Health to encourage NHS hospitals and its suppliers to implement the GS1 System.

“We are very excited about reaching our objective of increasing the number of UK organisations committed to the GS1 System to 20,000 members by 2008,” says Gary Lynch, Chief Executive at GS1 UK.  “This increase clearly demonstrates that there is a drive to improve patient safety and to increase supply chain efficiency through the use of GS1 standards.”

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