GS1 brings our opinions to the powers that be

Rasmus Nørgaard

Category Manager, Dansk Cater

Text:

Karen Gahrn

Photo:

Kasper Løftgaard

How do you use GS1 in your daily operations?

– GS1 helps us comply with legislation requiring us to provide online information such as nutritional values, ingredient lists, and allergens to customers for online sales. We also have some secondary functions, such as chemical data sheets, which can also be integrated via GS1Trade Sync.

This means we always have access to the latest data and only need to look in one place. Although we hear from our very small suppliers that they find it a large and complex system, the vast majority of our 1,100 suppliers are part of GS1. And we fully support the principle that suppliers should only have to enter data once. As a major player in the Danish foodservice market, it is not an option for us not to be involved, and the GS1 system meets all our information needs.

How does the collaboration with GS1 contribute to and develop within your company?

– Our industry is not large enough to 'afford' having different standards. The fact that we also share the same standards as the retail sector is smart for those who operate in both foodservice and retail, as they only need to speak one language.

The alternative would be a massive project involving spreadsheets, where we would need a number of people struggling to manage it and ensuring that the information is constantly updated.

– We get many good ideas from a working group under the auspices of GS1. Here, representatives from suppliers and data recipients across industries meet four times a year to hear how others in similar positions handle challenges, such as those related to images. We can stay up to date with developments, and we find that GS1 listens and can help convey our views to the powers that be, as we say.