We are pleased to announce IFMA’s support of an exciting industry initiative,the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative. For years we have all been talking about the need for standardization and synchronization of data among all members of the foodservice supply chain. Now we are launching a voluntary, industry-wide effort that will give all companies the ability to choose the adoption of such an approach.
Initiative Goals
The voluntary Initiative has three chief goals:
Drive waste out of the foodservice supply chain,
Improve product information for foodservice companies and restaurant patrons, and
Establish a common foundation for food safety and traceability through accurate company and product identification.
Initiative Partners & Status Update
In July, foodservice manufacturers, operators and distributors joined forces and formed a Steering Committee for the purpose of governing the Initiative. The Steering Committee comprises leaders from the manufacturing, distributor and operator communities, as well as from these organizations:
IFMA,
IFDA (International Foodservice Distributors Association),
NRA (National Restaurant Association),
and GS1 US.
In late September, the Steering Committee met to provide guidance, set milestones and discuss resources that will be dedicated to the Initiative. Also in late September, Working Groups met for the purpose of drafting a game plan for implementation of the GS1 system within foodservice. (For a list of Steering Committee and Working Group members, visit www.ifmaworld.com and click the GS1 Initiative button, which will take you to the GS1 Web site. There you will see a link to Steering Committee and Working Group rosters.)
At this year’s Presidents Conference, Bob Carpenter, CEO of GS1 US, gave a general Initiative update, and all conference attendees were invited.
Next Steps
I recommend that you check out the IFMA Web site and click on the GS1 Initiative button. You will find information such as the industry roadmap of key milestones, educational opportunities such as Webinars and other pertinent updates.Please refer your own company experts to this Web site so they can be up to date on all the information and activities. It is a tremendous information resource.
I’m excited about this Initiative because it will enable data sharing that could make our industry more efficient and profitable. Stay tuned for more details as the Initiative continues to develop.
Norb Mayrhofer
Procter & Gamble
2010 IFMA Chairman
