Smarter Data – Hardware

Customers expect to have rich, relevant, and trusted product information across all channels and digital touchpoints so they can make a more informed purchase decision.

The Food and Grocery sector know all about the benefits of having high quality product data that meets all their retailers’ requirements (and customers' needs) all stored and shared in the one place.  To enable this, GS1’s National Product Catalogue (NPC) is seen as such a valued service for both suppliers and retailers.

GS1 has supported the DIY/ Hardware sector for many years. And, in recent years, there has been a greater awareness of the importance of high-quality product data in the sector. A number of large retailers in the sector are investing heavily in new procurement and product merchandise IT systems, designed to improve product data quality – it’s a big focus right now.  As they say, "there’s no point in putting dirty water through clean pipes" and good, complete product data ultimately increases sales – particularly in ecommerce. 

Mitre 10 has been quite open about their $100m plus investment in their new IT system and both ITM and Fletcher Distribution are also on a programme to improve merchandise systems and product data.

Mitre 10 has recently announced their desire to have 90% of their suppliers using GS1’s NPC because they clearly see the value that high quality, accurate product data brings to the business – and ultimately their customers.  While Mitre 10 has clearly signalled their intentions in this area, the adoption and implementation of GS1 global data standards and the NPC is not exclusive to them; other retailers are set to follow in the near future. 

To improve the user experience for hardware suppliers, GS1 has developed a new, streamlined and easy-to-use NPC product data portal designed specifically for the sector. While the service has been operating some months now, new features and enhancements are planned to go live in the coming months.

So if you’re currently trading with any of these retailers (or intend to in the near future), get in touch with GS1 now to see how and when you can get onboard with the NPC.