evin Lee interviews Michelle Covey, Vice President of Innovation at GS1 US, a global non-profit organization whose mission is to help businesses solve problems through standardized processes, such as identifying products and tracking them through the supply chain. Doing so is especially important today, in an era when corporate sustainability goals typically include waste reduction and product recalls are, if not exactly commonplace, not terribly unusual.

Kevin and Michelle discuss the fact that direct-to-consumer sales of products by influencers, celebrities, and other individuals with their own custom formulas have increased in recent years, creating new opportunities for supply chain optimization and product traceability. As Michelle notes, being able to correctly identify products throughout the supply chain is critical, even if these products don't seem destined for large retail chains.

Michelle outlines the evolution of barcodes, highlighting their potential to carry more information and be scanned by phones, expanding their use beyond checkout lines, and explains the importance of Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) in tracking inventory and preventing counterfeiting. She also notes that RFID -- whose first real use case was in the apparel industry, is expanding into other sectors, notably the food service and health care industries.

They address the fact that retail systems will need to be ready to scan 2D barcodes by 2027 by investing in new scanning technology to accommodate 2D barcodes. Here, GS1 US will be of assistance in terms of providing resources for companies to learn about and implement the new standards; resources will include a website, YouTube channel, and a data hub.

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