Suppliers to be compliant by the end of 2007

London - 12 February 2007 - GS1 UK, the independent industry body responsible for supply chain data standards, has announced a boost to the adoption of Global Data Synchronisation (GDS) in the UK retail supply chain following Makro's roll-out with its 1000+ strong supplier base. Data quality and the alignment of product information between retailers and suppliers will help increase efficiency and reduce costs for both parties.

Demonstrating its commitment to the industry initiative launched in 2006 by Asda, Makro and Tesco, Getting our data right - first time, Makro is currently writing to all its suppliers asking them to sign up to a GDS certified data pool by 31 March 2007 and to ensure their product information is GDS compliant by the end of 2007.

"GDS is critical to our supply chain strategy," said Philip Steedman, E-commerce Manager at Makro. "It will ensure that changes made by our UK suppliers are automatically replicated within our own systems, improving catalogue maintenance, order management and fulfilment, and ultimately speeding up the time it takes to bring goods to market."

Many retailers and suppliers are currently restricted by trading with poor non-standardised data, as they cannot view the same information. As manual processes are relied upon to update information, such as new products or promotions, product databases risk becoming unsynchronised. The mismatches in data can result in the wrong products being ordered, shipped, invoiced or credited.

GS1 UK has been chosen by Makro to provide advice and support for their suppliers who are making the move to GDS.

"Last summer we saw that the number of companies using the GS1 Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) had grown from 200 to over 5,000 worldwide in a period of 12 months," said Gary Lynch, Chief Operating Officer for GS1 UK. "Makro's supplier roll-out is great news for adoption in the UK. We anticipate other retailers will follow suit, increasing GDS adoption across Europe."

About GS1 UK

GS1 UK has driven innovation in the supply chain for over thirty years. It is part of the global GS1 organisation, dedicated to the development and implementation of global data standards and solutions for the supply chain. GS1 standards are the most widely used in the world. GS1 UK helps industry to implement these data standards through the use of bar codes, RFID, Global Data Synchronisation (GDS) and electronic business messaging.
www.gs1uk.org

For more information contact:

Lisa Henshaw or Kirsty Sewter
Fourth Day PR
+44 (0)20 7403 4411

Tom Beston
GS1 UK
+44 (0)20 7655 9000

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