November 12, 2019 Industry news
Taking place on 7 November in Marylebone, London, GS1 UK’s 43rd annual general meeting (AGM) reviewed another year of product and membership growth for the standards and data management organisation
GS1 UK added another 3,500 members in the past year – a 10 per cent growth on 2017–18 – and saw adoption of its flagship data solution, productDNA, reach a 50 per cent share of the British retail industry with the onboarding of Sainsbury’s to the service.
Figures from 2019 have confirmed the continuation of a five-year-long growth trend, which has seen GS1 UK’s membership increase by 45 per cent since 2014.
GS1 UK CEO Gary Lynch presents the 2018–19 overview
This sustained progress can be attributed to the increasing number of SMEs trading across online marketplaces, like eBay, Amazon and Google Shopping, which mandate the use of GS1 Global Trade Item Numbers on their product listings.
In the healthcare field, GS1 UK sealed a five-year agreement with the NHS to extend the Scan4Safety initiative, providing continued support to drive the adoption of GS1 standards within all NHS trusts in England.
In addition to the reporting of the financial statements for the year, all tabled motions were passed unanimously, including an amendment to (Article 15 of the Articles of Association) extending the current tenure of the incumbent president, Lord Philip Hunt, by a further three years.
GS1 UK CFO Dave Crapnell delivers the financial statement for 2018-19
Appointments and awards
The AGM saw Wendy Manning, head of retail supply and innovation at Boots, and Murray Lambell, eBay’s vice president of UK Trading, stepping up to the GS1 UK supervisory board, showing the organisation’s intention to embrace the wider retail market and its diversification into online sales.
Stepping down from the supervisory board, Marcus Dunsmore of Mondelēz and Terry Murphy, formerly of John Lewis, received Life Member Awards for their dedication to championing the power of GS1 standards to change the way we work and live.
Terry Murphy and Marcus Dunsmore are presented with their Life Member Awards
This year also saw the fifth instalment of the GS1 UK Champion Awards, to showcase the work of leaders in retail and healthcare who have been instrumental in driving the adoption of GS1 standards to support more efficient trade, greater consumer confidence and improved patient safety.
Presented by GS1 UK’s CEO, Gary Lynch, and industry engagement director, Harshal Gore, the organisation honoured Morrisons’ Lawrence Giordano, P&G’s Peter McKeown, and Neil Hind at the event.
Lawrence Giordano
Lawrence initially began working with GS1 UK while working on a data transformation programme at Co-op. Moving into another sector, he returned to retail with Morrisons, where he instantly began to advocate GS1 standards across the end-to-end supply chain.
Peter McKeown
Peter has worked tirelessly to support GS1 UK with the development, launch and promotion of the productDNA data-sharing platform, and is a central part of P&G reaching the point where productDNA will become the single method to share product information with Tesco and Ocado.
Neil has been pivotal in the leadership of trust activity across Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership’s eight acute trusts. Following the completion of a gap analysis across all individual entities, the strategic adoption plan has been written to be included in the digital roadmap.
Towards a sustainable retail future
Taking a prominent role in the proceedings, Nick Brown, head of sustainability for Coca-Cola European Partners, delivered a keynote presentation on the merits of traceability in the supply chain, and the guiding principles behind well-designed deposit return schemes (DRSs) – initiatives designed to incentivise the recycling of single-use drink receptacles.
Nick Brown, head of sustainability for Coca-Cola European Partners, on the merits of traceability in the supply chain, and the guiding principles behind well-designed deposit return schemes (DRSs)
GS1 UK is currently working with Zero Waste Scotland, a not-for-profit environmental organisation, funded by the Scottish Government and European Regional Development Fund, on how a DRS could best be implemented from a Scottish perspective.
Speaking after the AGM’s conclusion, Chris Tyas, chairman of GS1 UK, said: “Our supervisory board helps establish the strategic direction of GS1 UK and, together with our 39,000 members, gives us the industry perspective with regard to the latest trends and sentiment across a variety of sectors.
“Adding individuals of Murray and Wendy’s calibre to the group will strengthen our industry expertise and ensure we continue to evolve by driving the customer-experience agenda. Powered by the quality of data, we will continue to drive towards a more responsible and sustainable way of doing business the world over.”
For an in-depth look at the facts and figures that made up GS1 UK’s year, visit us at www.gs1ukannualreview.org.