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Supplier Excellence Checklist – Foodservice

GS1 Canada can help you engage trading partners in the Foodservice sector to streamline the listing process and increase visibility for your company, brand and products while meeting the requirements of Canadian industry and trading partners.

Our commitment to data excellence supports you in driving real business results. Maintaining accurate and complete data is more than just a fringe expense; data excellence helps strengthen your relationships with trading partners; driving increased loyalty and return business.

If you need assistance to set up your initial product catalogue or engage in any of GS1 Canada’s solutions, our Consulting Services is here to help. Give us a call at 1.800.567.7084 or email us at consulting@gs1ca.org.

To get started, follow the steps below.

  • Step
    1
    Become a GS1 Canada Subscriber
    To subscribe, visit https://www.gs1ca.org/subscribe-now. You must be a subscriber to access GS1 Canada solutions, tools or services.
  • Step
    2
    Obtain a GS1 Company Prefix Licence
    A GS1 Company Prefix Licence lets you create global barcode numbers for your products.
    If you are outside Canada, obtain your Licence via your local GS1 office. If you have an international GS1 Prefix Licence you can register with GS1 Canada.
    If you distribute products on behalf of another organization, you will need a Prefix Authorization to use their Prefix. Contact GS1 Canada at 1.800.567.7084 to get started.
  • Step
    3
    Identify Your Products
    Assign a unique Global Trade Item Number (GTIN, also known as a UPC, SCC or EAN) to each of your products at all packaging levels. You will use your Prefix to create your GTIN, which will be used to create unique barcodes for your products and incorporated into your product packaging.
    If you are outside Canada and have completed this step, you do not need to apply new GTINs to your products if they meet Canadian standards.
    Each time the product packaging or consumer declaration is changed, you may need to assign a new GTIN. Visit www.gs1.org/gtinrules for more information.
  • Step
    4
    Allocate Internal Resources
    Establish an individual or team to support and manage your product catalogue, new product listings and updates and sales, among other processes.
  • Step
    5
    Subscribe to ProSYNC
    The easiest way to load product data into ECCnet Registry is through GS1 Canada’s ProSYNC tool. Subscribe to ProSYNC by calling GS1 Canada at 1.800.567.7084 or log in to myGS1 at www.gs1ca.org/login.asp
    Access GS1’s Learning Zone at learning.gs1.org for training modules and information about how to load product data and become certified.
    If you use GDSN (Global Data Synchronization Network) or EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), you can use either option to load your data into ECCnet Registry instead.
  • Step
    6
    Load Initial Data and Obtain Certification
    Foodservice products require FS3 certification to meet the foodservice industry data requirements and enable your product catalogue to be shared with trading partners.
    To obtain FS3 certification, load up to ten products into ECCnet Registry and select foodservice as your channel of distribution. Email ECCnetSupport@gs1ca.org to request FS3 certification. GS1 Canada will work with you to ensure all product data is complete and compliant and to amend any errors. Your catalogue can have more than one business sector certification.
  • Step
    7
    Publish Product Data to Your Trading Partners
    Foodservice products require FS3 certification to meet the foodservice industry data requirements and enable your product catalogue to be shared with trading partners.
    Once your catalogue is FS3 certified, please publish to your trading partners. It is recommended to publish all national brand products to increase visibility of your products with all trading partners.
    Advise your trading partners that your ECCnet catalogue is updated and published to them. They will need to subscribe to your product catalogue in ECCnet Registry for visibility to your data.
  • Step
    8
    Product Imaging
    To submit your product(s) to GS1 Canada for foodservice product imaging, complete a Service Request at www.gs1ca.org/servicerequest.
    You also have the option to submit foodservice images through the Foodservice eSubmission form at www.gs1ca.org/foodserviceesubmission. All foodservice products must meet the foodservice image guidelines at www.gs1ca.org/foodserviceimageguidelines and you will need to ensure that you complete a Service Request.
    To view and download your product images, register for The Vault, which provides secure 24/7 access to all your content and is used to share that content with your trading partners.
  • Step
    9
    Maintain Data Excellence
    Email ECCnetSupport@gs1ca.org to get set up on GS1 Canada’s Dashboard tool, where you can regularly review the status of your product listings and completeness of your data with all trading partners.