GS1 Connect 2014 Conference to Address Best Practices for Improving Supply Chain Visibility, Efficiency and Collaboration

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., March 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Executives from more than 50 organizations in the grocery, retail, foodservice and healthcare industries, including The Coca-Cola Company, The Kroger Co., Eli Lilly and Company, Mercy, Target, US Foods, Walmart and Zappos.com, will headline the conference program at GS1 Connect 2014. The conference and exhibit, themed "Reinventing Business," will be hosted by GS1 US at the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina and the San Diego Convention Center from June 8-12, 2014.

GS1 Connect 2014 provides an opportunity for attendees to explore how GS1 Standards can improve product traceability, operational efficiency, data quality, business growth and collaboration between trading partners. Offering five distinct tracks in Grocery, Retail, Foodservice, Healthcare, and GS1 Standards and Solutions, attendees will have the opportunity to learn best practices for leveraging GS1 Standards, and hear directly from industry leaders about how they are implementing standards to address critical business process needs.

"Every industry is experiencing a shift in the way they do business, and for many industries, innovation is being driven by organizations that must adapt to the digital world and modern-day consumers' high expectations for complete and accurate information," said Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of GS1 US. "GS1 Connect provides the opportunity to exchange ideas with peers, suppliers and customers, learn from visionaries across multiple industries, and lead the charge toward reinventing business with greater efficiency using standards-based processes." 

The conference will open with a "Collaboration Day," offering attendees extended opportunities to participate in one-on-one meetings with GS1 Standards experts, industry initiative leaders, trading partners and solutions providers. Another popular feature of the conference, the "How to do Business With" series, will provide attendees with access to key representatives from major retailers, healthcare providers, restaurants, distributors and brands to learn more about each company's standards initiatives, vendor requirements and business processes. Throughout the week, GS1 Connect will also feature three keynote sessions from leading experts: Terry Jones, founder of Travelocity.com and chairman of Kayak.com; Alexis Maybank, founder of Gilt Groupe; and Hilary Mason, data scientist in residence at Accel.

The conference program offers five tracks including:

Grocery: Key topics in this track include the alignment of traceability processes across all food categories; case study implementations of GS1 Standards; a panel discussion on Global Data Synchronization Network™ (GDSN^®) use cases; fresh approaches to meeting customer needs; and the benefits of implementing Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) recommendations. This track includes speakers from H-E-B, The Kroger Co., Meijer, McLane, The Nunes Company, SuperValu, Tanimura & Antle, Wakefern Food Corporation, Sam's Club, Walmart and Wegmans.

Retail: This track offers a range of topics, including understanding e-commerce fulfillment models; the impact of omni-channel strategies on six key business functions; the resurgence of Collaborative Planning Forecasting Replenishment (CPFR^®); enhancing the customer experience using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID); data management; deploying rich online content with product and image attributes; and optimizing business processes with Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for automated distribution center operations. Speakers in this track include experts from Best Buy, Bar Code Graphics, Brown Shoe, DiCentral, Dillard's, Genesco, Hudson's Bay Company(HBC)/Lord & Taylor, J. Renee Shoes, Lowe's, Market Techniques & Innovations, Macy's, Motorola Solutions, Nordstrom, Sears Holdings, Target, True Value and Zappos.com.

Foodservice: Session topics include how to use scorecarding and product auditing to identify areas of improvement; new resources for sharing foodservice product attributes; best practices for capturing and exchanging information between distributors and operators; innovative tools for data management; leveraging GS1 Standards in everyday foodservice transactions; and navigating the GDSN and package measurements. Speakers in this track include experts from The Ben E. Keith Company, The Coca-Cola Company, Dot Foods, Foodbuy/Compass Group, Independent Purchasing Cooperative (IPC)/SUBWAY, Kellogg's, Schwan's Food Service Inc. and US Foods.

Healthcare: Representatives from The Healthcare Transformation Group (Geisinger Health System, Intermountain Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic and Mercy) will present how they are leveraging GS1 Standards to improve patient safety and business processes. Additional topics include GS1 Standards best practices for Global Location Numbers (GLN), Global Trade Item Numbers (GTIN^®), and GDSN use in the hospital; the medical device supply chain and U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Unique Device Identification (UDI) compliance; the pharmaceutical supply chain and the Drug Supply Chain Security Act; and traceability and packaging practices. This track also includes speakers from Cook Medical, Department of Veterans Affairs, Dirk Rodgers Consulting, Eli Lilly and Company, the FDA, the Healthcare Distribution Management Association and McKesson Corporation.

GS1 Standards and Solutions: Executives from GS1 US and representatives from a range of industries will share updates and adoption strategies related to the GS1 System of Standards, including enterprise labelling; managing GS1 Company Prefixes during a merger or acquisition; the importance of product image quality; staying informed during a recall; how EDI can revolutionize business; GTIN allocation rules; the right barcode for the right business application; and driving business forward using GLNs. This track Includes speakers from Dean Foods, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, HBC/Lord & Taylor, Nestlé, PepsiCo, The Schwan Food Company and Wakefern Food Corporation.

GS1 Connect 2014 is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company and The J.M. Smucker Company. Those that register before March 31, 2014 will save 15% off of standard conference rates. Visit www.gs1connect.org for more information or to register.

About GS1 US
GS1 US, a member of the global information standards organization GS1^®, brings industry communities together to solve supply-chain problems through the adoption and implementation of GS1 Standards. Nearly 300,000 businesses in 25 industries rely on GS1 US for trading-partner collaboration and for maximizing the cost effectiveness, speed, visibility, security and sustainability of their business processes. They achieve these benefits through solutions based on GS1 global unique numbering and identification systems, barcodes, Electronic Product Code-based RFID, data synchronization, and electronic information exchange. GS1 US also manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code^® (UNSPSC^®). www.GS1US.org.

SOURCE GS1 US