Retailers and suppliers

GS1 standards make trading more efficient

For 40 years, businesses in Finland have used global GS1 standards, mutually agreed upon between industry and trade, to indentify retail products. The key benefits of the GS1 services include the centralised sharing of product information and images between suppliers and trading partners, both in Finland and abroad.

Product information in line with GS1 standards improve business as customers are able to search for and compare different products easily, quickly and efficiently. The digitalisation of the supply chain and the automation of warehouses have also increased the significance of the GS1 standards.

The common language of the entire value chain

Barcodes and other GS1 identifier codes form an international "language" between manufacturers, wholesale and retail business and consumers. The need for sharing up-to-date product information is particularly pressing in the rapidly growing e-commerce market. Globally used, consistent standards improve the competitive strength of trade.

The manufacturer or packer of the product purchases a GS1 Company Prefix to compile barcodes and other necessary identifiers for its products. Barcodes and other labels are used to identify products in consumer, shop and transport case packaging as well as in pallets. That is why labelling products in accordance with the GS1 is vitally important; as a result, they can be processed in the cash register systems of retail outlets, for example. Moreover, labelling cases for transport is a basic requirement when goods are delivered with trade logistics.

The benefits of GS1 for the entire trade industry

• Global and individual identification data enable products to be included in the selections of retail chains.
• Barcodes make product reception and checkout operations more efficient and smoother.
• Sharing product information and images among trade partners with the help of GS1 Synkka is centralized and efficient.
• With the help of GS1 Golli, the processing of orders and the management of goods deliveries are handled entirely electronically.