Just before the start of this month, RFID Journal ran a comprehensive news items about the decision of Premier’s management to support GS1 standards and mandate their use among Premier suppliers. You can see the article, which features Premier’s CIO and Senior VP Joe Pleasant, here.

Premier is a major GPO. We applaud the decision. What we might question a bit is the timetable:

Premier is currently phasing in support for the three GS1 standards, with full adoption of the standards within its contracting and operations expected to be implemented within the next five years.

OK, things take time. The Queen Mary needs a day or so and a mile’s worth of open ocean to turn around. We know that. But if the GS1 organization has set January 2010 as the date everyone worldwide should be in compliance — less than two years from now – doesn’t this Premier timetable imply a lot of important medical device and products suppliers are going to be late?

Not to mention there’s a strategic advantage for any organization that can be first or even early.

At Loftware, we can offer another timetable: 12 months or less from chaos to comprehensive mastering of the GS1 standard for all product labels, of any kind, going to and from anywhere in the world, through any number of checkpoints, for any sized company.

Related posts:

  1. Huge News: Premier Healthcare Endorses & Mandates GS1
  2. Why is Premier's GS1 Barcode and GS1 Labeling Endorsement & Mandate Important to You?
  3. The GS1 Barcode and GS1 Label Healthcare Provider Tool Kit is Released
  4. Oracle's Position on GS1 Labeing and WMS Compliance Mandates in Labeling
  5. GS1 Compliant Barcodes: Safety First or Efficiency First? Does it Really Matter?