Challenge
Shamrock Foods (Shamrock) needed complete and accurate data for its web-based ordering system to satisfy the increasing demands of its customers, especially healthcare providers and school systems that require nutritional and allergen information before purchasing. The company also understood how using quality data could help it become more efficient and cut costs throughout its operations.

Solution
The Shamrock team created a new supplier connection process for its vendors to publish their product data and images in its electronic ordering system for customers. The team used multiple venues to reach its suppliers, requesting their participation and offering guidance via the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative. Today, more than 500 Shamrock suppliers publish detailed product information as well as share and synchronize data via the GDSN.

Benefits
Shamrock advises it has experienced a 20 percent increase in sales and a 14 percent increase in demand for those products that have extended data attributes such as nutritional information and product images. The company has increased its level of customer service by providing extended product information to help them make better buying decisions.

Challenge
Dot Foods (Dot) introduced its online product catalogue—the Dot Expressway^® (Expressway)—18 years ago to provide better search capabilities for its customers and sales representatives. With about 105,000 products from 700 suppliers, Dot wanted to fully leverage its market advantage by expanding and enhancing the Expressway with more complete and accurate product information.

Solution
Dot launched a data quality initiative that transformed the Expressway to include expanded and validated data attributes. Dot suppliers publish core item attributes such as case dimensions and weights as well as marketing and nutritional information like ingredients, allergens, and images through data pools that are then synchronized with Dot's system via the GDSN.

Benefits
Today, the Dot Expressway receives about 1.5 million hits per month from its users, including nearly 2,800 distributors and 310 national account operators. Distributors and Dot's sales representatives use the Expressway when selling to customers for increased sales. With accurate data, Dot has reduced costs with improved warehouse management, load optimization, and increased productivity.

Challenge
Texas food distributor, Ben E. Keith Company serves 18,000 foodservice operators in 11 states throughout the Southwest. When automating operations, the company knew that complete and accurate data was a critical component to effectively transform processes, making every part of its business more efficient and responsive to customers.

Solution
Ben E. Keith launched a quality data program that enables manufacturers to publish—via data pools—core data attributes, marketing and nutritional information, and images that are then synchronized with the company's system via the GDSN. Entrée, the company's e-commerce application, delivers this complete, up-to-date product information to customer desktops or mobile devices—allowing them to research products, place orders, check on deliveries, and much more.

Benefits
Ben E. Keith manufacturers that supply some 80 percent of all products are participating in the company's quality data program. With easy access to better product data, Ben E. Keith sales reps can more easily sell and serve customers for increased sales. All aspects of the company's operations, from purchasing to logistics, are using quality data to increase efficiencies and improve customer service.

Challenge
Independent Purchasing Cooperative (IPC) is a SUBWAY^® franchisee-owned and operated purchasing cooperative. With an eye on freshness and quality, IPC wanted to achieve traceability of suppliers' products as they travel to SUBWAY^® restaurants. To do this, IPC realized it needed accurate product data, yet found widespread inaccuracies that were adding costs and inefficiencies throughout its supply chain.

Solution
IPC launched a data quality initiative, using the GDSN. As suppliers publish core item data in the GDSN, IPC reviews the data for inconsistencies. Using GS1 best practices for packaging measurements, distributors conduct physical product audits to identify further data discrepancies. Suppliers then update their product data in the GDSN, creating a single source of truth for all partners.

Benefits
Suppliers have published 90 percent of product data by volume in the GDSN, making corrections as IPC and its distributors identify discrepancies. In addition, 89 percent of distribution centers are receiving and working on integrating this product data into their management systems for improved transportation, logistics, and warehouse management. IPC estimates significant costs savings; for example, after achieving accurate data for 83 major products, IPC estimates approximately a million dollars in cost avoidance in material handling and transport costs alone.

Challenge
With more than 3,600 restaurants in 18 countries, DineEquity is one of the largest full-service restaurant companies with two iconic American flagship brands—Applebee's^® and IHOP^®. The company wanted to take steps to achieve traceability for increased food safety for its franchisees' restaurants and their hundreds of thousands of customers who dine at these restaurants each day.

Solution
DineEquity is collaborating closely with McLane Foodservice (McLane), an industry supply chain leader and one of its major distributors, to implement case-level traceability across its entire system. Drawing on McLane's experience with GS1 Standards, DineEquity approached its suppliers about the value of using GS1 Standards. Today, many of DineEquity's suppliers use GS1-128 barcodes that carry detailed product information to its distributors' centers.

Benefits
Taking a standards approach, all players in the foodservice supply chain can streamline their processes and gain efficiencies by using quality data. DineEquity and McLane know precisely what products have been delivered to the exact restaurant locations for faster, more precise recalls and withdrawals, if required. This leads to improved food safety, brand protection, and continued consumer confidence.

Challenge
Representing more than 450 distributor members and 960 locations, UniPro Foodservice (UniPro) continuously looks for ways to help its members gain efficiencies while meeting evolving customer demands. Increasingly, foodservice operators expect and need valuable allergen and nutritional data. With more than 138,000 products from manufacturers, UniPro members needed an effective way to search for and access complete and accurate product data.

Solution
UniPro worked closely with member advisors to create the UniPro Master Data Management (MDM) Portal. Using data pools, manufacturers can now electronically publish core attributes and marketing and nutritional attributes. All data is then synchronized and shared with the MDM Portal via the GDSN, giving members an efficient way to access quality product information and images.

Benefits
Manufacturers can now quickly distribute comprehensive information about their products to UniPro's hundreds of member locations. Sales representatives and members also save time when researching products and can make more informed selling and purchasing decisions. UniPro believes its members and their customers are happier with easy access to allergen and nutritional information.

Challenge

Pocono ProFoods’ eight-person purchasing department spent significant time each day handling inquiries from sales representatives, customers, and in‑field buyers, requesting information about its vast portfolio of products. As demands for information grew, the mid-sized distributor decided to create a data management system comprised of complete, supplier-provided product data for efficient access by all.

Solution

The company launched an initiative that required suppliers to publish their product information via data pools and the Global Data Synchronization Network™ (GDSN®). Taking a step-by-step approach, the team implemented a campaign to collaborate with suppliers in publishing accurate and comprehensive product data, and then provided sales reps and their customers with online access to this information.

Benefits

• Reduced the number of calls by 90 percent from sales reps to purchasing, saving significant time and associated costs.
• Enables faster sales cycles by providing information for faster decision-making by customers.
• Drives demand for suppliers’ products based on accurate and accessible data.
• Fosters positive collaboration with customers and suppliers.