GS1 US Small Business Success Stories
Herman Kay Co.
Taking a customer-first approach, Herman Kay partnered with GS1 US and several solution providers to implement EPC-enabled item level RFID at every step of their internal fulfillment process—optimizing operations and increasing internal confidence levels that the right garments, in the right sizes and colors, have been delivered to the right customers.
The Blessing Basket Project® (Blessing Basket)
Partners with 3,000 artisans in some of the world’s most geographically dispersed countries. With a supply chain so widespread and artisan suppliers difficult to reach, managing inventory, quality control, on-time delivery, and cash payments were onerous for this non-profit organization. To uniquely identify each woven basket, Blessing Basket assigns a GS1 Global Trade Item Number® (GTIN®), which is encoded in a Universal Product Code (U.P.C.) barcode that is printed on the label applied to the basket.
The Neiman Marcus Group (NMG)
As a specialty retailer, NMG thrives on offering the latest from upcoming designers and artisans. Since many of them are small enterprises, NMG was especially sensitive about providing them with the hands-on support they might need for a successful transition. With help from GS1 US and two GS1 US Solution Partners (Intertrade and DiCentral), NMG educated and supported its 2,700+ vendors—both large suppliers and small artisan companies—in executing NMG’s supplier enablement solution.
Herbal Destination & Voodoo Ride
Herbal Destination and Voodoo Ride, both small growing businesses, were working to expand their distribution channels to include large, national retailers. Each was using barcodes purchased from online barcode sellers, but soon discovered they needed to use the GS1 Company Prefix and other GS1 Standards to conduct business with these mass retailers. They contacted GS1 US—which is authorized in the U.S. to license the GS1 Company Prefix—and now, each business creates U.P.C.s for its products that protect its company’s brand identity as they travel through the supply chain. By using additional GS1 Standards to identify cases and locations as well as share and synchronize data, the companies can start to realize operational benefits and growth.
SunFed
With help from HarvestMark and GS1 Standards, SunFed has made case- and item-level traceability an integral part of its business and has full visibility of its produce traveling from fields to kitchens.
ENMON
GS1 US Data Hub® | Product enables smaller size companies to trade products with larger retailers. There is no need to invest in a lot of training on GS1 Standards, since the tool complies with the standards and facilitates the creation of GS1 standard-compliant barcodes.
Print Media
Print Media developed a GS1 Standards-enabled business process by implementing Global Location Numbers and the GLN Registry™ (now GS1 US Data Hub® | Location) for healthcare.