GS1 is a neutral, not-for-profit, international organisation that develops global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply chains across industries. It engages a global community of trading partners, industry organizations and technology providers to understand their business needs and develops global standards in response to those needs.

The study, Supply Chain Visibility: A Critical Strategy to Optimize Cost and Service, is by Aberdeen Group senior analyst Bob Heaney. It details how increasing visibility is a critical strategy for enterprises - aimed at reducing costs and improving operational performance in the context of their increasingly complex and multi-tiered global supply-demand networks.

Aberdeen reports an unprecedented increase in the use of logistics service providers as supply chains become more globally connected. "At their core, supply chain visibility solutions aim to improve an organization's ability to connect transport and logistics activities, and put universal standards - like GS1 enabling technology - to their most productive use," says Heaney.

Key findings include:

The report emphasizes the significance of GS1 standards

"¢ The top 20 percent best-in-class companies claim to be compliant to GS1 standards.

"¢ Users who adhere to GS1 standards are more than twice as likely as others to monitor transport and logistics activities at the unit and container level.

"¢ Shippers and logistics service providers are tightly interconnected and need to speak the same language to enable end-to-end visibility.

GS1 offers a range of standards, services and solutions to fundamentally improve efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains. GS1 provides a standardised way to identify items and locations, to capture details about supply chain movements, and to share that information with authorised business partners.

"End-to-end supply chain visibility has never been more important for all involved parties to speak the same language," says Miguel Lopera, GS1 president and CEO.

Source: GS1