GS1 US Publishes New Guideline To Help Retail Grocery Industry Effectively Share Product Attributes Via The Global Data Synchronization Network

Resource Created to Meet Trading Partner and Consumer Demands for Accurate and Consistent Product Information

GS1 US has released a new retail grocery industry guideline called the “GS1 US Guidance for Sharing Product Attributes via GDSN in Retail Grocery” for users of the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN), an interoperable network that allows brands to share product data with their customers and trading partners. The guideline offers best practices for sharing product details and descriptions to help trading partners keep pace with the growing consumer and industry demand for complete and accurate product information. It was developed by the GS1 US Retail Grocery Initiative Product Information and Images Workgroup, which is comprised of retailers, manufacturers, distributors and solution providers working to address product information and image sharing challenges by applying GS1 Standards.

“The guideline provides a roadmap for using GS1 Standards to convey detailed product information. Industry leaders rely on GDSN to exchange crucial information ranging from trading partner details to consumer facing attributes. By leveraging GDSN as one source of the truth, they can more effectively fuel the online product listings and seamless e-commerce experiences that consumers have come to expect,” said Angela Fernandez, vice president of retail grocery and foodservice, GS1 US. 

The document supplements the GDSN Retail Grocery Attribute Interactive Spreadsheet Tool, which provides exact product attribute definitions and classifications for GDSN users. The guideline offers more specific guidance to help increase consistency and ease of implementation of the tool by explaining GDSN terminology, various functions and providing real-world examples of its use. Major topics included in the guideline include technical GDSN terminology such as element naming and code lists, hierarchy information, units of measurement, attribute pairing and more.  

The guideline is available at http://www.gs1us.org/RGGDSNguide and more information about the GS1 US Retail Grocery Initiative can be found at www.gs1us.org/retailgrocery.  

About the GS1 US Retail Grocery Initiative
By bringing together industry leaders from grocery, fresh foods and consumer packaged goods, the GS1 US Retail Grocery Initiative identifies specific industry challenges and develops potential solutions to continue the progress toward more efficiencies, enhanced risk management and business growth. For more information, visit www.gs1us.org/retailgrocery. 

About GS1 US
GS1 US, a member of the global information standards organization GS1, brings industry communities together to solve supply-chain problems through the adoption and implementation of GS1 Standards. Nearly 300,000 businesses in 25 industries rely on GS1 US for trading-partner collaboration and for maximizing the cost effectiveness, speed, visibility, security and sustainability of their business processes. They achieve these benefits through solutions based on GS1 global unique numbering and identification systems, barcodes, Electronic Product Code (EPC)-enabled RFID, data synchronization and electronic information exchange. GS1 US also manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC). For more information, visit  www.gs1us.org.