Source: Supply Chain Review

Leading retailer Woolworths reached a milestone this week by completing end to end integration of GS1 Australia's internal recall management system Recallnet for its supermarket and liquor businesses.

With annual sales exceeding AUD$50bn and more than 40,000 items on sale in over 1,000 stores around Australia, Woolworths recognises the need for a fast, efficient and reliable recall management system.

The company needs to provide a smooth and seamless interface to more than 7,000 suppliers.

Woolworths Limited senior business manager Ian Dunn says Woolworths became involved with GS1 Recallnet because it is an industry wide initiative that improves the speed, accuracy and security of the recall and withdrawal notification process.

“Woolworths contributed to development of the Recallnet portal from the beginning and has now fully integrated Recallnet with its internal recall and withdrawal system through a GS1 standards based XML message,” Dunn says.

Woolworths now encourages its suppliers to consider the benefits of using GS1 Recallnet for notification of all recalls and withdrawals going forward. 

“As ‘The Fresh Food People, Woolworths has a deep commitment to food safety and quality,” Dunn adds.

“So much so, that we opened our own quality assurance laboratory as early as 1964, checking samples of merchandise against specifications to ensure that the quality ordered by Woolworths was delivered.”

Launched in August this year, GS1 Recallnet is an online portal enableing companies to create, approve and issue recall and withdrawal notifications to their customers and government agencies, efficiently and securely.

The service is based on global GS1 standards and best practices, and is designed to increase the speed and accuracy of the removal of unsafe or unsuitable products from the supply chain.

Authorised, pre-registered users access the GS1 Recallnet web-portal following successful authentication.

Once in the portal, the user can initiate a recall or withdrawal notification following a simple workflow and completing a standard notification form.

The system validates the data as it is being entered to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information.

Finally, the form can be sent for internal approval before being issued simultaneously to targeted recipients.

To read the full story, follow this link: www.supplychainreview.com.au/news/articleid/77168.aspx