Retail World caught up with Melanie Wishart, Senior Advisor - Food & Beverage at GS1 Australia to find out about the next big thing in retail - the GS1 DataBar.

1. he first point-of-sale barcode that
GS1 has released since the European
Article Number/Universal Product
Code (EAN/UPC) barcodes more than 40
years ago, GS1 DataBar brings two main
business benefits: more data and less space.
“GS1 DataBar delivers enhanced product
identification at retail point of sale, which
can be used on small or hard-to-mark
consumer products that couldn’t previously
be identified by barcodes, such as loose
fruit and vegetables,” GS1 Australia Senior
Adviser Food & Beverage Melanie Wishart
told Retail World.
“GS1 DataBar not only increases the
number of products that can be automatically
identified at retail POS, it also creates
new opportunities to solve today’s retail-
business problems – such as enhanced
and wider category management, product
authentication, traceability, stock control,
product replenishment, variable-measure
product identification and shrink control.”
The other capability of the GS1 DataBar
family is that it can carry more information
than the current GS1 retail POS barcodes,
allowing for live-attribute data to be captured
at the checkout.
“Additional information includes, but isn’t
limited to, weight, expiration date, batch and
serial numbers,” Ms Wishart said.
GS1 DataBar is being trialled and
implemented by retailers and manufacturers
around the world, with particular interest in
three main applications:
Fresh, loose produce: the smaller size
of GS1 DataBar means it can be used on
standard labels of many fresh, loose-produce
items such as apples, pears, tomatoes and
other fruit and vegetables. Leading retailers
globally are taking advantage of this, and the
benefits they are already realising include:
• Enhanced product-identification accuracy
at the point of sale compared with manual
key entry using price-look-up codes.
• Faster checkout times.
• Customer service at self-scanning by
providing faster checkouts.
• Greater shrink control by, for example,
differentiating conventional versus organic
produce.
• Faster product replenishment, leading to
greater product availability.
• Category management for supplies of
loose fresh produce.
Variable-measure fresh produce: many
retailers are also implementing GS1 DataBar
on their variable-measure fresh foods,
such as meat, seafood, cheese, etc, using
it to encode additional information such as
best-before date, country of origin, batch
number and weight. By ensuring accurate
and complete sales information for these
products, retailers benefit from greater
flexibility over discounted pricing, more
accurate stock replenishment, less waste
and faster and more accurate recalls and
withdrawals.
Small and hard-to-mark consumer products:
many retailers and manufacturers are using
GS1 DataBar on small and hard-to-mark
consumer products, such as cosmetics,
jewellery, DIY hardware and pharmaceuticals.
In the past, these products were not barcoded,
or they used incorrectly sized (and therefore
low-performing) EAN/UPC barcode symbols.
As of August 2011, East-Asian hypermarket
retailer Lotte Mart began to apply GS1
DataBar to all stores.
“This new system enabled accurate
sales forecasting and improved inventory
management,” Ms Wishart said. “As a result,
Lotte Mart has seen greatly increased
efficiency, accuracy and cost savings in the
variable-measure-products supply chain.”
GS1 Databar has been implemented in
many countries, with retailers such as
Walmart, Kroger, REWE, Tesco, Metro and
Biedronka reporting on the benefits.
With the two main Australian grocery
retailers owning so many stores, says Ms
Wishart, the upgrade to systems, hardware
and software means implementation will be a
slow, phased roll out here in Australia.
“We’re working with the Australian grocery
and foodservice industry and their suppliers to
assist in their GS1 DataBar projects,” she said.
The Global GS1 community has many
resources, implementation guides, learning
and case studies. For more information or
advice, contact the food beverage team at
GS1 Australia on 1300 BARCODE (2272633).
Small barcode with powerful capabilities
Organic convenience from Taylor Farms
GS1 DataBar delivers new opportunities for increased efficiency in fresh-product authentication, traceability and faster checkout times.
It also enables growers to differentiate their fruit and veg at point of sale.
T
Taylor Farms, part of the GSF Fresh family of
products, has launched Taylor Farms Organic
Asian Chopped Salad Kit, available in a 365g bag.
National Sales Manager Annette Heffernan says
the launch of this product is a major milestone for
the Australian ready-to-eat salad category.
“This product will be the first value-added
organic salad range launched in Australia,” she
said. “Currently only basic organic leaf mixes
are available, so this really establishes the
Taylor Farms brand as an innovative player in
the category.”
The Sydney facility, where the kits are packaged,
utilises the latest in Taylor Farms technology, such
as the patented SmartWash system, to ensure the
products meet customers’ high expectations.
GSF Fresh says it has built a strong foundation in
Australia as a key supplier of high-quality, fresh-
cut produce and salads. It has been servicing
customers along the eastern seaboard and in
South Australia for more than 20 years.
General Manager Tom Henriksen says the team
at GSF Fresh Australia has worked tirelessly to get
the new product to market.
“This organic product is a great addition to
our current conventional-salad range,” he
said. “Organic fruit and vegetables have the
highest penetration of shoppers [among organic
categories, source: Australian Organic Market
Report 2017] and it’s great to be able to give the
shopper a convenient option.”
According to the latest Australian Organic Market
Report, 68 per cent of Australia households bought
at least one organic product in 2016.
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