About GS1 Canada
GS1 is a neutral, not-for-profit association that develops and maintains global standards for efficient business communication. With roots that stretch back to 1975, we support Canadian businesses of all types and sizes.
We are a Trusted Strategic Partner that inspires, leads and enables best-in-class supply chain. GS1 standards improve the efficiency, safety, security, sustainability and visibility of value chains across physical and digital channels in 25 sectors.
GS1 has 118 member organizations around the world.
Over 2 million companies around the world use GS1 standards.
Over 1 billion products around the world carry GS1 barcodes.
More than 10 billion GS1 barcodes are scanned every day.
The Global System of Standards
GS1 Canada is one of 116 GS1 Member Organizations around the world. GS1 has been partnering with industry globally for more than 50 years—even before we introduced the very first barcode on a pack of gum in 1974. Today, GS1 barcodes are scanned 10 billion times a day and GS1 standards are the most widely used system of standards in the world.
What We Do
Our scale and reach help ensure that GS1 standards create a common language that supports systems and processes across the globe.
In Canada, through our unique community management role, we collaborate with business leaders, industry boards, advisory councils and industry Community Groups to develop standards, guidelines and non-proprietary business solutions. Partnering with industry, we provide education and implementation support to subscribers of all sizes across multiple sectors.
When directed by industry, GS1 Canada develops ECCnet Industry Managed Solutions to address specific sector-wide, non-competitive business process issues, designed to enable organizations of all sizes to meet Canadian trading and regulatory requirements.
GS1 Canada is a global leader in delivering the highest quality, perpetually cleansed and updated bilingual product content, becoming the one true source of data excellence for Canadian industry.
Core Values
- We are guided by integrity always.
- We actively demonstrate inclusive collaboration.
- We strive for innovation.
- We act with accountability.
- We aim to super-serve subscribers.
Mission
We believe in the power of global standards to transform the way we live and work.
Vision
GS1 Canada's vision is to be a Trusted Strategic Partner that inspires, leads and enables best in class supply chain.
GS1 Canada's Roles
Standards Developer
- GS1 Canada’s primary role is the development of global standards that create a common foundation for business by uniquely identifying, accurately capturing and automatically sharing vital information about products, locations and assets.
- Global standards level the playing field for business of all scale and are used to enhance business processes across the value chain.
- We develop global standards in partnership with the industry experts and business teams who use them in their work.
- GS1 Canada is responsible for representing the requirements of Canadian industry at the global level with global standards-setting bodies.
- Our participation in the Global Standards Management Process (GSMP) ensures that global standards meet Canadian trading partner and regulatory requirements.
To learn more about Standards, visit our Standards page.
Community Manager
- GS1 Canada is led by Industry with three Industry Sector Boards representing Grocery, Foodservice, and Healthcare. These boards use a community decision making process to determine GS1 Canada’s priorities.
- GS1 Canada brings together representatives from all points along the value chain to identify common business process issues, determine global standards and develop industry solutions that meet the needs of subscribers of all sizes.
- We manage global and local strategic partnerships with trade associations, global standards bodies and Provincial and Federal Government departments.
- Built by industry for industry, our community management role guides us in the creation of Industry Managed Solutions.
- We collaborate with industry through active Community Groups composed of subject matter experts, manufacturers, distributors, transporters, retailers, healthcare providers, foodservice operators, technology solution providers and trade associations.
Want to get involved? For more information on how to join one of our Community Groups, please email us at community.group@gs1ca.org.
Educator
- In collaboration with subscribers, Community Groups and industry boards, our Global Standards and Industry Relations team provide education support during the community management, standards development and implementation processes.
- We provide practical information and tools that guide the integration of global standards and best practices into business processes.
- The Help Library provides 24/7 access to online training programs for all standards, sectors and industry managed solutions.
- GS1 Canada hosts and participates in industry events and webinars and offers professional consulting services to custom build training programs that enable subscribers to implement standards into their business processes.
Implementation Partner
- GS1 Canada is committed to helping Canadian industry succeed in an increasingly competitive eCommerce driven marketplace by using global standards to increase efficiency, safety, security and sustainability.
- Directed by industry, GS1 Canada solves non-competitive business process issues for organizations of all scale through the delivery of Industry Managed Solutions, attribute guides, standards support and other means.
- The required content for each of our solutions was developed and standardized in collaboration with Canadian business leaders and subject matter experts on a non-proprietary basis.
- To achieve the highest standard of data excellence, we continually enhance our solutions to include value-added tools such as GTIN discrepancy reporting, category audits and system validations.
- Our solutions contain flexible content capture, loading and sharing options and value-added features, meeting the demand for increased visibility and data excellence for all subscribers.
- We enable data providers to maximize operational efficiency as content is shared with multiple trading partners at the same time from a single source of truth through our one-to-many process.
- As a neutral, not-for-profit association, our non-proprietary solutions are developed on a cost-recovery basis, enabling subscribers to meet Canadian trading requirements at the lowest possible cost to industry.