Participation in GS1 Standards Development through GSMP

The ability of the GS1 System in improving efficiency in various industries has expanded its application beyond the initial intent of bar coding for retail checkouts. Over one million companies in more than 108 countries currently use the GS1 standards for item identification, tracking & tracing, and electronic communication of trading messages. Besides retail, the other user sectors include healthcare, transportation & logistics, textile & apparels, printing & publishing, Customs and Defence.

With the diverse and expanded scope of applications on a global scale, the GS1 System will, as expectedly, undergo continuous development and changes to meet the requirements of users. In order to accommodate local needs and yet remain global and applicable across industries, GS1 created the Global Standards Management Process (GSMP) to support the development and maintenance of the GS1 System.

The GSMP provides the platform for a worldwide collaborative forum to review, discuss and approve the GS1 standards before implementation takes place. It brings together users from all countries to identify the needs for standards, gather business requirements, document best practices, obtain consensus on solutions, and then develop and implement the resulting supply chain standards. Participation in the working groups under the GSMP is open to anyone who wishes to improve the efficiency of supply chains. The objective involving users is to ensure that the GS1 standards are appropriately developed according to the needs of industries.

To manage the developmental process systematically, the GSMP structure comprises:

Users can become involved in the GSMP as a member (with voting rights) or as a participant (with non-voting rights) in any of the Business Requirement Groups (BRGs), Work Groups and Technical Development Groups, subject to the terms and regulations governing participation.

As a clarification, a “participant” is one who just wishes to take part in the development of the GS1 System standards with no voting rights on the draft standards. For users who sign up as a “member”, they will be required to attend majority of the meetings, be prepared to address agenda items, participate in electronic voting and serve a two-year membership term.

There are many compelling reasons to be involved either as a participant or a member as the GSMP provides business building opportunities and vast benefits for the companies as well as the individuals.

For the Organisation

For the Individual

To initiate the development of the GS1 standards, a Change Request (CR) is submitted by the users to modify an existing standard or to create a new solution. This starts the six steps of the GSMP, being as follows:

Step 1 - Statement of Business Need
The step begins with the submission of the CR, which would be assessed by a group that controls all the standards development processes. If the assessment found that a solution already exists, the CR will be disapproved and rejected. If approval is given to proceed, the CR will be classified as simple, complex or project to determine the work effort and resources required.

Step 2 - Requirements Gathering and Analysis
The CR will now be a Work Order and a Business Requirements Analysis Document (BRAD) will be created.

For simple CRs, the completed BRAD will go for public review and eBallot to determine whether to proceed or otherwise. If motioned to proceed, it will move on to the Business Solution Design. For complex CRs, a Business Case Document (BCD) and/or Project Description Document (PDD) will be drawn up by the submitter. Once the PDD is accepted, the BRAD is created and will move to the Business Solution Design stage.

Step 3 - Business Solution Design (BSD)
The Business Solution Design can be created using the requirements that have been defined within the BRAD. The BSD contains the design specification of the final solution.

Step 4 – Technical Solution Design (TSD)
The BSD is used to create the Technical Solution Design. The TSD is the representation of the BSD as a XML message and the accompanying information. The BSD and the TSD are both put to the BRGs and/or Work Groups for public review and eBallot. If the BSD and TSD are approved, the CR is closed and a Pilot can begin.

Step 5 – Pilot
For complex or project CRs, a pilot may be carried out. The pilot is to ensure that the final solution is workable, meets the users’ needs and the standard is ready to go to the market.

Step 6 – Posting
After the pilot and final approval, the standard is posted to the GSMP website and sent to the BCS for ratification.

To bring the GSMP closer to home, GS1 has started the Local Community Network (LCN) which enables companies to participate in GSMP user groups formed within their own countries. The concept of the LCN was created in response to the persistent issues of language (not everyone speaks English), geography, time zone (timing for the virtual meetings was usually mid-night or early morning for Asia), different culture and country perspective, and lack of understanding of local requirements.

Although focus is on the local requirements, the LCNs will still be aligned to the central agenda and working process of the global GSMP. The objective of the LCN is to enable companies to highlight and discuss specific local business requirements before these are channelled to the global GSMP process.

Companies in Malaysia that are interested to start and participate in the LCN are requested to contact GS1 Malaysia (attn: Au Soo Keun or Liew Wai Mei). Further information on the GSMP can be obtained from www.gs1.org.gsmp