Food safety, traceability and sustainability blog

Understanding the Global Location Number (GLN)

Supply chain transparency is often used as a blanket term for visibility into specific times, processes, people and locations that comprise essential components of a product’s journey. Technical standards have been created and iterated to codify these details, enabling businesses to exchange information that is interoperable between entities with increasing specificity and ease.

As more businesses adopt technologies to assist in digital information sharing, such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), convergence around information types and formats is imperative across industries. For the food industry, GS1 Standards have become the foundation for many aspects of identifying, capturing, and sharing data. One such standard, the Global Location Number (GLN), is essential for any food business getting their digital house in order to be ready for initiatives such as the New Era of Smarter Food Safety.

Frank Yiannas Opens GS1 Connect: Digital Edition with a Continued Focus on Tech-Enabled Traceability

Frank Yiannas discussed the New Era of Smarter Food Safety in a post-COVID world, the importance of tech-enabled traceability, and the shared value of a digital supply chain during the GS1 Connect: Digital Edition keynote.

GS1 Connect: Digital Edition launched today, kicking off a virtual rendition of the organization’s annual conference. The event is dedicated to topics surrounding the role of supply chain and unique identification, how GS1 Standards help organizations adapt and collaborate, as well as exploring how supply chain advancements relate to the ever-changing consumer experience. This year, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program has taken on a new digital format with a hybrid of live and recorded content for attendees to engage with at-will. FoodLogiQ’s own Vice President of Supply Chain Strategy and Insights Julie McGill will be speaking at this year's event on traceability during her presentation, The New Era to the New Normal.

Understanding the GS1-128 Barcode

The first barcode was scanned at a grocery store in Troy, Ohio in 1974. In an instant, the unassuming pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum associated with the barcode instigated a new era of data-driven food retail. The group behind administering the standard encoded in the U.P.C. label? An entity called the Uniform Code Council (UCC), which has evolved into a non-profit dedicated to maintaining such standards world-wide. That organization is now known as GS1.

Food Traceability: a Movement with Momentum

Traceability is picking up steam as regulators and customers drive for transparency, brands identify the ROI, and the industry looks towards new technology adoption. Read the Current State of Traceability E-Book for a deeper dive on the movement.

The food industry is experiencing a renaissance, and safety and transparency are the cornerstones of this new direction. As consumers continue to express concern for what is in their food and federal regulations begin to reflect this sentiment, it is increasingly important for food growers, suppliers and retailers to deliver the highest quality products with the most clarity possible.