GS1 in Europe hosted its inaugural industry-driven hybrid event to promote best practices in data sharing and quality, address upcoming European regulatory data requirements, foster collaboration, and shape the future of the European industry.
This event was made possible by the presence of over 400 participants from more than 40 countries, who joined either online or in-person in Cologne. The high participation reflects the event’s significance and the industry’s collective effort to promote collaboration and progress!
Throughout a very busy day, with two plenary sessions and four workshops, we were privileged to have really enlightening presentations from representatives of industry, retail, supply, brands and GS1 Staff, who have shown us what is already being done (and successfully done) and what paths we should follow in the immediate future, emphasising GS1’s role as a recognised partner towards an effective exchange of trusted data. You can review all the presentations below.
Key Conclusions, Takeaways, and Next Steps
- The Global Data Model needs to be harmonised beyond 100% with a seamless implementation without local flavours.
- The Global Data Model should be leading on the what (attributes, definitions). For this, we need to ensure. Ensure industry wide and European broad participation within the European maintenance group.
- Install an industry steering committee for the Data Excellence activities and create a yearly action plan.
- Alignment on national data quality programs and collaborate on new techniques (AI, OCR).
- Collaborate on European guidelines for new regulations (for example packaging).
- Improve the link between GDSN and the GS1 Registry Platform on GTIN (ensure GTIN validation within GDSN), GLN, and links (for example on certifications).
Re-Watch Plenary Sessions and Access Presentations here
Recording of the plenary session: Trusted Data from Industry Perspective
Andrea Schlossarek (Metro AG) spoke about trustworthy data from an industry perspective, exemplifying with a pilot project taking place in Italy. Alexis Morales (Carrefour) focussed on the master data process and how it manages the data flow at an international level, using the Global Data Model. Yvonne Hoeting (Mars) showed the supplier side, illustrating how data sharing can empower people. Closing the plenary, Jonas Adser (Trade Connectors) looked ahead to what will be the future of data exchange.
Recording of the plenary session: What’s Next on the European Digital Highway
Caroline Bialek (FoodDrinkEurope) looked at regulations in the Food & Drink sector, including the digital labelling. Heino Claussen-Markefka (ProData GmbH) addressed the new Packaging regulation and what it requires from the industry. Wouter Schaekers (P&G) showed how regulations act as an accelerator and how GS1 can facilitate transformation. Kristian Moeller (EHI Retail Institute) showed in detail the needs that emerge from the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive
What Happened During the Workshops?
Workshop: The Future of Data Exchange
The workshop began with a presentation by Toni Baxter Juenger (P&G) on the future of data exchange from the perspective of brands, where master data management is an asset for business value. There was also discussion regarding the need to align processes at European level, the urgency of following up and collecting upstream information, exploring new techniques offered by technological resources, standardising language and European documentation, as well as the place of GS1 in Europe in consolidating data model development.
Find the extended summary of this workshop here
Download the presentation here
Workshop: How to improve Data Quality
At this meeting, various data quality programmes in Europe were presented: Tomas Tluchor (GS1 Czech Republic) showed the Entry-level DQ Programme; Nicolas Collignon (GS1 Global Office) presented Scaling Up Your Manual Verification Process; Jerry Tracey (GS1 Netherlands) revealed the Comprehensive DQ Programme; Jonas Adser (Trade Connectors) & Morten Buch (GS1 Denmark) spoke about the Role of future technologies in Data Quality. The workshop also featured a “House of Commons” moment, in which participants chose a side (Yay or Nay) on a particular issue and debated it for a while.
Find the extended summary of this workshop here
Download the presentation here
Workshop: Regulatory Data Requirements and Certifications
Split into three parts, this workshop addressed the regulatory effects on the community, the use of GS1 Registries to collect reliable data on upstream certifications and a presentation on how GLOBALG.A.P is sharing benchmark data to improve processes at the source. Among the main takeaways, we highlight the large number of regulatory requirements that are coming out in a short period of time, so it is beneficial to work collectively and include these in the Global Data Model. At the same time, the industry is counting on GS1 to help define the data structure for sharing between partners throughout the supply chain.
Find the extended summary of this workshop here
Download the presentation here
Workshop: Cross-European Collaboration
At this workshop, the topic of collaboration was explained based on presentations – by retail (Christian Zaeske, METRO), brands (Helene Bernhard, Nestlé) and GS1 in Europe (Jan Schimmel, GS1 Netherlands) – where we tried to answer the ultimate question: what can be improved on data exchange between brands and retailers and how can we focus on better collaboration. There are a few possible answers: connect periodically with the community, create a European steering committee on data excellence activities, increase efficiency across Europe by positioning continental collaboration above local developments.
Find the extended summary of this workshop here
Download the presentation here
If you have any questions, reach out to our team at contactus@gs1eu.org