Digital inventory management could save the NHS millions.
Across the NHS, outdated paper-based systems still dominate. Stock goes missing. Equipment gets over-ordered. Vital resources sit unused. And frontline staff lose time to manual admin that could be spent with patients.
It doesn’t have to be this way. At GS1 UK, we help the NHS unlock the full power of digital with one simple principle: better data drives better care.
Smarter stock. Safer patients.
A national inventory system – built on GS1 standards – could transform healthcare.
When trusts can track every product, device and medication – right down to location and expiry date – waste is slashed, stock is visible, and savings are reinvested where they’re needed most.
saved in non-recurrent inventory reductions
in ongoing savings
hours of clinical time returned to patient care
All from just six NHS trusts trialling point-of-care scanning.
From “just in case” to “just in time”
By replacing manual ordering with digital inventory management, trusts can move from overstocking to efficient, data-led decisions.
That means fewer expired products, faster recalls, and better value for money.
Standardised data. National impact.
The NHS gathers vast amounts of data – but much of it remains siloed, analogue, and duplicated.
GS1 standards help systems, suppliers, and staff speak the same language, enabling quicker decisions, safer handovers, and better coordination – from local wards to national insight.
One patient. One NHS number.
Thousands of patients are misidentified each year, causing harm. The NHS number as a single identifier ensures the right care for the right person.
With GS1 standards, clinicians can track products used, protecting patients, improving outcomes, and speeding up recalls.
Transforming care with a simple scan
GS1 UK is one of 116 independent not-for-profit standards organisations operating worldwide, and is one of more than 70 Member Organisations working in healthcare.
We work closely with healthcare providers and suppliers to accurately adopt GS1 standards, and with solution providers to ensure their systems can do the same.
A large part also involves collaborating with regulatory authorities and central healthcare organisations to embed the standards in their systems and processes to help drive global traceability.
