Supply Chain Visibility Quiz
Are You a Recall Management Expert?

When you leverage supply chain visibility best practices, disruptions that cause product recalls can be addressed quickly. Take our quiz to see how you score - and get some free resources when you get your result.

Take Our Quiz

Recall Management Quiz

What is Supply Chain Visibility?

Supply chain visibility is when you are better able to react to consumer demand, enable a safer supply chain, and provide the right quantities at the right time, to the right places. Through the adoption of GS1 Standards by uniquely identifying your products, you can help create a more efficient data exchange with all your trading partners, as well as your consumers.

 

The Benefits: Why is Supply Chain Visibility Important?

Supply chain visibility is important because it not only helps companies meet consumer demands, but it also helps improve and streamline communication between trading partners and offer real-time inventory data in a digital world. But none of that is possible without GS1 Standards.

Standards lay the foundation for a more visible supply chain, and in situations like recalls, time is of the essence. With GS1 Standards in place, affected items can be quickly removed with minimal impact. This level of visibility helps create greater efficiency and resilience as well as the ability to pivot when supply chain disruptions occur.

Supply Chain Visibility Wheel

Traceability

Traceability starts with the unique identification of products and locations. Here, you are identifying locations with Global Location Numbers (GLNs) and products with Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs). At the item or case-level, you may be capturing information via a GS1 data carrier. By implementing standards-based traceability, you can better, more reliably track products through supply chains to help ensure consumer safety.

Learn how Foodservice does it

Traceability
 

Inventory Management

Ensuring that there are enough goods or materials to meet consumer/patient demand without creating overstock, or excess inventory, is the key to successful inventory management. It’s critical to be able to track and plan for appropriate inventory levels throughout the supply chain process

Learn how IPC/Subway Maximized Inventory Efficiency

Inventory Management
 

Sustainability

There is a call by both industry and consumers to better use, return, clean, and recycle product packaging. Trading partners are coming together to create guidelines and best practices to protect products, while minimizing waste and negative environmental impact.

Read our Whitepaper

Sustainability
 

To explore free education resources, create a free account and sign into our Learning Management System.

How to Grow a More Visible Supply Chain

GS1 Standards serve as the foundation for a global visibility solution using a variety of data sharing tools and techniques. Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise moving products globally, best practices and opportunities to improve are available all along your business’s level of maturity.

Supply Chain Visibility Maturity Model
 

How to Expand Your Supply Chain Visibility

Recall Management: Quality and safety issues along the supply chain are bound to happen. When it impacts your product, effective recall management allows you to know precisely which product is impacted and where it is so you can communicate withdrawals. Read the Article: 3 Tips for Conducting a Mock Recall

Cold Chain: The ability to monitor temperature-sensitive items starts with accurately identifying products, locations, and shipments in conjunction with temperature sensors so proper temperature information can be shared with trading partners.

Fulfillment: With real-time customer requirements guiding commerce and overall satisfaction, your ability to fulfill a customer’s purchase, regardless of the location of inventory, is critical. Read our Whitepaper on Autonomous Retail

On-Shelf Availability: How a consumer views your brand may hinge on your ability to see whether inventory levels or a product mix at a specific location are sufficient to demand. Make sure you’re able to react and pivot accordingly with new technologies and innovations. Read our Trend Report

 

Ready to implement? Find a GS1 US Certified Solution Partner.

Resources to Improve Supply Chain Visibility

Whether you’re establishing a new visibility program or looking to scale up, GS1 US provides the resources you need to support your efforts.

 

Using GS1 Standards for Supply Chain Visibility

Are you looking to improve communication with your trading partners? Attend this webinar to learn all about EPCIS and how standard data elements support supply chain visibility.

Learn More