Yesterday, GS1 US moderated an international panel of speakers who delivered a presentation titled "The Source to Store Retail Supply Chain: Moving beyond Technology and Standards." the session was covered in great detail by NRF's STORES magazine that summarized it as the "state of radio frequency identification (RFID) and its major prospects for playing a major role in supply chain management in the coming years.Representing the "source" in this presentation was Tommy Lui, EVP and head of Asia of Li & Fung; and Tom Cole, CAO of Macy's, discussed the benefits of item level tagging from the "store's" perspective. To provide an overview of the supply chain standards and the industry collaboration that tie the two together, Anna Lin,CEO of GS1 Hong Kong, and Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of GS1 US, rounded out the panel moderated by Gay Whitney, SVP of Industry Engagement at GS1 US.

In short, GS1 standards for identifying, capturing, and sharing data- about products, locations and more- enable companies to speak the same language, connect with each other and leverage the power of information.

It is at the GS1 US booth #335 where you can see how GS1 US makes it possible for companies to follow their products from the source to the store, and get the right products to the right place at the right time for customers.

The supply chain visibility gained by implementing GS1 standards translate to a host of benefits for all participants along the supply chain. And as I look around on the expo floor, everyone here, exhibitors, visitors, trading partners in all their various roles are interested in those benefits.

Notes from the NRF Expo floor

It would be hard to find a business whose interests to evolve, innovate, and grow, are not addresses here one way or another-at the National Retail Federation's biggest event of the year, simply known as NRF's BIG show. 

Inside the massive halls of the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, more than 24,000 visitors are expected to learn more about the latest retail trends affecting everything from vendor management to m-commerce, from customer expectations for customization to tomorrows intelligent store. 

Hundreds of booths are lining the aisles of what seems like an endless exhibit area, and conversations are animated, upbeat, and forward looking. 

In this sea of bright colored displays, touch screen demos, even full scale retail operations set up to showcase the latest technologies; the most common phrases you see and hear are these: seamless operations, customer satisfaction, data-based decision making, and yes, visibility.