Goals:
Please click the [ Mark Complete ] button at the bottom of this page when you’ve achieved the following goals:
- Be able to provide a brief overview of the historical process that started with a US product identification innovation to solve inventory and check-out problems and ended with GS1 offering one global system of standards.
1969: The retail industry in the US tried to speed check-out processes in shops and tasked a committee with finding a solution.
1973: The committee selected the 12-digit Universal Product Code (UPC) as the single standard for unique product identification.
1974: The Uniform Code Council (UCC) was founded in USA to administer the standard, and the first shop scan was in June 1974.
1976: The 12-digit code was expanded to 13 digits, facilitating the code being used outside of the US.
1977: In Brussels members from 12 countries established the 13-digit European Article Numbering Association (EAN).
1990: EAN and UCC signed a global cooperation agreement, with combined presence spread across 45 countries.
2002: The UCC settled a class action brought against them by their own members out of court and were compelled to grant plaintiffs perpetual membership in the UCC and to pay a shared settlement amount of nearly 4 million dollars US.
2004: EAN and UCC created the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) that enables traders to efficiently exchange data about products.
2005: Now represented in more than 90 countries, GDSN (EAN/UCC) began to use the name GS1. “GS1” refers to the organisation offering one global system of standards.