The Retailer Autumn 2017_v1

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18 | autumn 2017 | retailer
We need to talk about product data
Business
Jim Dickson
Head of Retail Grocery
GS1 UK
AS RETAILERS STRUGGLE WITH POOR PRODUCT DATA,
IT’S TIME FOR THE INDUSTRY TO TACKLE IT HEAD-ON.
We all know that shopping habits are changing, driven by
different lifestyles and technology. Today, customers are buying
their groceries more frequently and in smaller amounts. Larger
shopping trips have been replaced by online deliveries and
click-and-collect. Many customers have become concerned
about health, wellbeing and the environment, and have specific
dietary and allergen needs.
This means customers expect ever more information about the
products they buy to be readily available, both in-store and
online. And of course, they expect this information to be
complete, correct and consistent across the channels they use.
But this is presenting enormous challenges to the grocery sector,
with retailers and brands alike struggling to keep up.
For many years the sector has had a problem with managing
product data. It’s often inconsistent, inaccurate or incomplete,
and multiple versions of the same data create unnecessary
headaches. These inefficiencies are often hidden in duplicate
processes and manual checks. It’s estimated the UK grocery
sector is being hit by £200m in costs and lost sales each year
due to poor product data. This impacts the bottom line but
also the speed and efficiency of moving products through the
supply chain.
The problem is only going to get worse as the number of
required product attributes keeps growing. And as more
shopping channels open up, brands are having to deal with
more trading partners, requiring more data, in different formats.
A TRANSFORMATIONAL SOLUTION FOR THE INDUSTRY, BY
THE INDUSTRY
Grocery retailers and brands are rightly concerned about
product data and it became clear this was a universal issue when
the GS1 UK Retail Grocery Advisory Board first met to discuss
common problems they faced. This group of prominent retailers
and brands quickly recognised the need for an industry-wide
solution to solve the product data problem.
Using countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands and Australia
as inspiration, where the issues were addressed many years ago,
here in the UK we initiated the Digital DNA programme. This
industry-wide project, led by retailers and brands, has the
ultimate goal of enabling everyone across the sector to share the
same high-quality product data.
Essentially, Digital DNA will provide a single industry product
data catalogue for the grocery sector, where suppliers put data
in using a harmonised data model and retailers take data out in
a way that suits them, when it suits them.
The data will be independently quality assessed to ensure
everyone is confident in it and importantly, the data will be
royalty-free – owned by the suppliers.
This will be transformational as it will reset the fundamentals
of product data sharing between retailers and suppliers by
providing one way of introducing new products and one way of
making changes to products, using just one language to describe
those products.
THE BENEFITS FOR RETAILERS AND BRANDS
• Digital DNA will develop a common language for high quality,
validated data that has been agreed by the industry, built on
GS1 industry standards
• There’ll no longer be a need for constant checks as a single
source of image, product and logistics data will be used
throughout the supply chain, from the brand to the retailer and
to the shopper
• Digital DNA will increase confidence among retailers that the
product data being provided is accurate and consistent, while
suppliers can choose their preferred way of putting data in and
controlling who can securely take it out
• Digital DNA is designed to avoid data being locked in to one
vendor and the data usage rights will be agreed by the industry,
so no-one will be trapped by other’s commercial agendas.
The governance and funding is also being managed by the
industry, ensuring a fair deal for all
We believe Digital DNA will provide value for everyone as it’s
run by the industry, for the industry and managed through GS1
UK – a neutral, not-for-profit standards organisation.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SHOPPER
It’s not just the retailers and brands that will benefit as Digital
DNA will provide complete and accurate information for
“it’s estimated
the uk grocery
sector is being
hit by £200m in
costs and lost
sales each year
due to poor
product data’’
Business
shoppers so they can make safe and confident purchasing
decisions – based on health, wellbeing or lifestyle choices.
And in the long-term, retailers and brands in the grocery sector
won’t be the only ones to benefit. A similar model could be
implemented for other sectors across retail, ensuring they can
also benefit from a single and unified product data catalogue.
PROGRESS TO DATE
We’ve been working on Digital DNA for the past year and over
the summer 12 leading retailers and brands, including Tesco,
Unilever and Waitrose, signed up to the Digital DNA Industry
Charter making a commitment to move to a single industry
solution to manage and exchange product data.
Digital DNA is being tested today by some of the companies
involved in the programme. The full service will be available for
industry in 2018, uniquely offering business-to-business and
business-to-consumer data exchange through a single service,
available to companies of all sizes.
Essentially, Digital DNA is a game changer for the grocery
sector. And through better management of product data,
retailers and brands can spend more time on what really matters
– delivering innovation, growth and excellent customer service.
JIM DICKSON
//
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retailer | AUTUMN 2017 | 19
“Currently brands provide product information in multiple
ways to different retailers and this adds both cost
and complexity.”
Gianluca Branda, Associate Director, Product Supply for P&G
Northern Europe
“As an industry, it is essential that we work together to solve
the problem of providing quality product data to all our
customers.”
Mark Watson, Director of Planning and Supply Chain, Ocado