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GMA Conference-goers Endorse e-Collaboration

Written by Guest contributor
A senior-level manufacturer and retailer panel at GMA's Executive Conference recommends that the consumer products industry needs to endorse, subscribe to and populate the UCCnet GLOBALregistryTM in order to reduce the estimated $25-$50 billion cost of incorrect information in the supply chain. David Donnan, vice president, A.T. Kearney, outlined three key steps designed to guide the industry toward adoption of common standards and implementation of e-collaboration at the GMA CEO/President's Forum:
  • Declare a strong commitment to e-collaboration by endorsing the Global Commerce Initiative (GCI) Global Data Synchronization Network vision, the UCCnet GLOBALregistryTM and the European Article Numbering-Uniform Code Council (EAN.UCC) Global Standards Management Process.
  • Implement data and system changes now to allow industry-wide usage of the UCCnet registry by January 2003. The plan urges the industry to subscribe to the UCCnet registry by August 2002 to reach this goal.
  • Reinforce the foundations of e-collaboration by clarifying the governance process among GCI, EAN.UCC and UCCnet; increase North American participation in GCI's worldwide implementation network and demonstrate the robustness of the UCCnet through an independent assessment of UCCnet.

More than 100 companies have subscribed to the UCCnet registry to date. These include Ahold USA, Hershey Foods, H.J. Heinz, Hormel Foods, Kellogg Company, Kraft Foods, Safeway, Shaw's Supermarkets, Procter & Gamble and Wegmans.

Moderator Comment: Why have some CPG companies and retailers delayed subscribing to and utilizing the UCCnet GLOBALregistryTM?

Evidently, Bill Grize, president and CEO, Ahold U.S.A, can not understand what is taking the industry so long. He said, "The numbers behind this are so compelling that it is frightening to think we would be reticent to move forward. If we do not subscribe to and utilize the UCCnet GLOBALregistryTM, we are doing an injustice to our customers, our shareholders, ourselves and our associates -- just sign up." [George Anderson - Moderator]

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