Conformance and Certification

1. Conformance and Certification Global Forum, Brussels, 15 February 2007

2. A G E N D A • Pierre Georget, GS1 France • Business Case (GS1 France & IRI Study, June 2006) • Miodrag Mitic, GS1 Global Office • Introduction to the program • Vision • Benefits • Next Steps

3. The impact of poor quality barcodes at the point of sale A study by GS1 France & IRI — June 2006 Presented by Pierre Georget, CEO GS1 France

4. Check-out transactions studied 2 370 trolleys 33 041 items Number of trolleys with at least one reading error 504 trolleys 623 items % of the total number 21.2% of all trolleys 1.9% of all items HM+ : 37% HM - : 29% SM+ : 34% HM+ : 38% HM - : 26% SM+ : 36% Errors by type of store HM+ : 21% HM - : 24% SM+ : 20% HM+ : 1.8% HM - : 1.7% SM+ : 2.2% Errors by volume ofsale The results at a glance

5. Most (81%) of the problems concernone single item in the basket % of the trolleys regarding the number of errors Repartition by store type Based on 504 caddies

6. Cashiers always try to solve the problem… Base : 623 Base : 623 Base : 623 Average time spent trying to solve the problem: 23 seconds! Average number of times the cashier attemps to re-scan the item Base : 515/ 623 Base : 525/ 623

7. Average 23.1 Margin 20.9 poor print quality 9.4 Damaged label 28.2 barcode height 9.3 color problem 11.1 Unknown GTIN 87.7 The Worst Cases: Damaged Label and Unknown GTIN Time spent per type of problem (in seconds)

8. Poor quality barcodes cost time and money 31 billion annual POS item transactions in France 2% had reading errors 23 seconds on average to resolve each error 20% of super/hypermarket shoppers had a poor experience due to non-conform barcodes. The equivalent of 2700 cashiers per year spend time trying to solve these problems.

9. GS1 • Conformance & Certification • Program

10. CONFORMANCE AND CERTIFICATION (1) Conformance: Minimum requirements that must be met to declare a Bar Code or eCom message in conformance with GS1 specifications. • What does it mean in the context of Conformance to GS1 Standards? • Adherance to a single set of global, uniformly applied GS1 conformance clauses and assessment methodologies • An assessment for conformance performed by one GS1 MO is recognised and accepted by all of them

11. CONFORMANCE AND CERTIFICATION (2) Certification: A formal process of testing that Bar Codes or eCom messages conform to GS1 specifications. • What does it mean in the context of GS1 Certification? • GS1 MOs and/or third parties provide this service on a voluntary basis • GS1 Conformance & Certification allows for self-assessment by the brand owner, customer assessment by the buyer or by a designated 3rd party (GS1 MO or other) In other words… "GS1 Certified" has global significance: Certified once and accepted everywhere!

12. T H E C H A L L E N G E • Out of 27 MOs surveyed in Europe (July 2006): • 3 have retailer mandates for their bar code certification programmes • 5 do not check the validity of the data contained in the bar code • 9 do not check for truncation • 13 do not check for symbol placement • 6 accredit user companies to carry out their own bar code verification (3 follow ISO; 2 inspect management procedures; 4 make training of the user company’s staff mandatory; and none inspect users’ equipment) • 5 endorse third parties to carry out verification under the third party’s brand

13. A S H A R E D V I S I O N • Bar code certification and accreditation services offered by MOs are harmonised to adhere to the Conformance Clauses as defined in the GS1 General Specifications. • As a result, there is recognition in one country of the certificates issued in other countries. • Companies trading in several countries meet identical GS1 conformance and certification requirements in each. • Bar code certification is voluntary and allows for self-assessment (brand owner), customer assessment (retailer) or designated 3rd party assessment (MO or other).

14. B A R C O D E S C O N F O R M A N C E • ISO Parameters of Quality • Symbol Structure • Data Standard • Barcode Applications • Symbol Placement Conformance Criteria Pass / Fail Thresholds STANDARDS • People (knowledge) • Methodology (process) • Equipment Methodology to Assess Conformance IMPLEMENTATION Conformance Assessment Report • Migration • Implementation MO Support and Training

15. B E N E F I T S (1) • Benefits for Users and Solution Providers • Ensure integrity and equivalency of various GS1 Bar Codes certification and accreditation programs worldwide • Have confidence that products purchased are tested and certified for conformance to GS1 Standards. • Demonstrate to customers that products and services conform to GS1 Standards. • Train employees using GS1-certified education courses, trainers and publications

16. B E N E F I T S (2) • Benefits for GS1 Member Organisations • Plug into a voluntary “turn-key” solution • Provide new added-value services to users and solution providers • Facilitate correct implementation of GS1 Standards in your market • Participate in managing and developing the GS1 conformance and certification framework • Benefit from global recognition and network

17. N E X T S T E P S • Publish Bar Codes Conformance Clauses and General Requirements for Conformity Assessment • Convene a Steering Group to assist with implementation and benchmarking • Initiate a program to assist MOs to migrate to the new clauses and general requirements • Appoint Regional Coordinators to help with migration or adoption • Begin work on eCom conformance and certification clauses, requirements, methodology & guidelines

18. Website www.gs1.org/certification

19. Thank you!

20. Contact details GS1 Solutions – Conformance & Certification Avenue Louise 326, bte 10 B-1050 Brussels, Belgium T+ 32 2 788 78 00 F+32 2 788 78 99 W www.gs1.org/certification E certification@gs1.org