As  the fruit and vegetables business is not a national, but a global business with suppliers from all parts of the world, there is a need to build a common European framework to ensure alignment in the implementation of GS1 standards and avoid diver-gences in the deployment of the GS1 system especially upstream:
•    Common European platform to gather and share European require-ments;
•    One European voice in global standardization and coordination;
•    Participation of industry (producer, supplier, retailer) and associations (Freshfel Europe, IFPS, Frug I Com, Edeka, Metro, Rewe, etc.);
•    Common implementation guidelines across Europe.

As a part of this common European framework there is a need for alignment of electronic messaging, because customers expect from fruit and vegetable sup-pliers the implementation of electronic processes including:
•    Use of GTIN for article identification, as the basis for all optimization is a correctly allocated GTIN
•    Right use of Global Location Numbers (GLN) along the supply chain
•    Labeling of trade units and pallets according to GS1 Standards (incl. GS1 DataBar, Pallet label)
•    Standardized electronic  master data information exchange
•    EDI-messaging for ordering, despatch advice, invoicing, etc.
•    Fruit and vegetables more efficiently ordered, received, labeled and traced – based on the same global standards like other food products in the consumer goods sector.

To read the full press release, click here.

To see the presentation made at the Fruit Logistica event, click here.

For more information, contact Pere Rosell (GS1 Spain) and Klaus Förderer (GS1 Germany), project managers for this work.

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