End-to-End Data Sharing in GS1Trade Packaging

In this guide, I will go through how to create packaging data in GS1 Trade Packaging and afterwards share your data with retailers. This approach applies both to companies using only GS1 Trade Packaging and companies using Trade Packaging and TradeSync. To share data, you need to follow two important steps. First, creating and preparing your packaging data. Next, sharing packaging data to GS1 Trade Sync and retailers. When you log into GS1 Trade Packaging, you first land on the dashboard page. Here you can get an overview of the products as well as packaging units and components created in the system. Please note that in GS1 Trade Packaging we work with products and their packaging separately. This is to ensure flexibility and proper maintenance of data. For example, if the same packaging is used for several products, the packaging data needs only to be updated in one place. First, we create our product. That is the product, the consumer unit, which is sent on the market. In this example, we create a Jam product. Start by navigating to the Products tab. Click Create New in the upper left corner and select Create Manually. We fill in the information about our product, brand name, product name, product ID, GTIN and NetContent. Click Save and the product is created. There are, as you can see, no information on the product page itself that relate to the packaging. The information here relates only to the product itself, i.e., the contents inside the packaging. Now we create the packaging for the product. Create all the individual packaging components, making up the entire packaging of the product. In our example, with the Jam product, the packaging consists of three components. A lid, a label and a glass jar. Go to the Packaging Master Data tab. Click Create New and Create New Component. We start by creating the lid for the Jam product. We recommend giving components names that are easy to search for in the system. In addition, you need to specify the element type, material type and weight. Then we create the glass jar. We put in jar as the element type, material type as glass and we enter the weight of the jar. Then we create the third component, the product label. We specify the name and element type. The creation of our label highlights another feature of the system, namely whether a packaging component is a Mono material or a composite material which consists of several layers of material. In this example, our label is made of a composite material consisting of paper with a plastic coating of LDPE. We indicate that it is a composite material and then describe the different composite material layers. What type of material, which unit of measurement and the function of the layer. Paper 1 gram, plastic coating of LDPE 1 gram. Click Save. Packaging consists of a main component as well as integrated and separate components. Once the components are created, it is important to connect them in the system. This has to be done before creating the packaging units and before the packaging classification is carried out. Packaging with integrated components must be recyclability graded as a whole. We navigate to the Jam jar, which is our main component. The main component is the biggest unit of the packaging based on weight. We must register the label as an integrated component as it cannot be separated from the glass. The lid, on the other hand, is a separate component. This means that it can be separated from the glass and disposed of separately. On the main component, the Jam jar, we go to the Integrated Components tab and select Edit Details. Select the component from the list on the right side and drag it over. Under Join Type, we specify how the components are joined together. Click Save. The Jam jar and the label are now properly connected in the system. In GS1 Trade Packaging, you can also recyclability grade your packaging. As mentioned, the packaging in this example consists of a main component, a separate component and an integrated component. Integrated components should not be recyclability graded because they are connected to the main component and thus are recyclability graded that way. Recyclability grading is carried out on the individual components under the Packaging Classification tab. We start with the main component, the Jam jar. With Packaging Classification, we must specify whether it is a disposable packaging or reusable packaging. Next, the type of waste and then the material category is selected which also triggers what design criteria to be completed. The criteria are based on the design requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency. If you do not have the necessary information about the material of your packaging, you need to contact your packaging manufacturer. Each criterion is assessed according to the levels low, medium or high. After all criteria has been completed, the information is saved and the system calculates the overall recyclability grading of the component. You can also choose to ignore the design criteria which will automatically set the recyclability grading to high. The process is repeated for all main components and separate components of the packaging. When all the individual components are created and recyclability graded, they must be assembled in a packaging unit. Even if the packaging has only one component, this component still has to be created separately as a packaging unit as well. In the Packaging Master Data tab, we click Create New and Create New Unit. The unit is giving a meaningful name, for example, GS1 Jam, 300 grams, multiple variants. Next, specify the unit type which categorizes the overall function of the packaging. For example, bag, box or case. In this example, our Jam jar is the unit type jar. Then you need to assemble the created component into a packaging unit. On the right side of the screen, the components already created are displayed. You can drag them over into the unit. When the components are added, the system automatically indicates that there is one component. Thus, if there are several identical components in the unit, the number can be adjusted. Be aware that if data is to be shared with retail, the packaging unit and its components are expected to represent only one copy of the GTIN without content. For a KOLI unit, it means, for example, that only the packaging for one empty unit should be included. Once both the product and the packaging are created in the system, they must be linked to the packaging unit unique to each GTIN. Consumer unit with consumer packaging, KOLI with KOLI packaging, and PALLET with PALLET packaging. Select the given packaging unit and go to the Link Products tab. Click Link Product and search and select the GTIN. In this example, the JAM jar is connected to the primary packaging unit. The KOLI unit will be connected to the secondary level, and any pallet with a GTIN is associated with the territory level. By using the same packaging unit across multiple products, data needs only to be updated in one place if changes occur. This saves time and ensures more efficient data maintenance. In this example, the JAM jar is used for several JAM variants, such as strawberry, raspberry and orange jam. In our example, we sell our JAM product in bundles. Therefore, we have to set up a packaging system for the product hierarchy. Packaging systems reflect the product hierarchy and the number of units included in the system. That is, the quantity in which the products are packed when they leave the warehouse. If you only work with and sell consumer units and primary packaging, packaging systems may not be relevant for you. I've already created the components for the KOS unit and combined them in one unit. Go to the Packaging Systems tab and select Create New. Name the packaging system so you know what products it reflects. On the right side, you see the packaging units that you can include in the system. They can be dragged into the system as primary packaging, secondary packaging or territory packaging. We must also specify the total number of each packaging unit in the system. In this example, the system consists of one case and 24 consumer units. For example, if you had a pallet with 8 cases and each case has 10 consumer units, there will be 80 consumer units in total on the pallet. When we are done creating and combining products and packaging data in GS1 Trade Packaging, we can then share data with retailers. Before publishing product data, you should ensure that all packaging components have been created and integrated if relevant, and all components are recyclability graded, units are created and associated with the products, any packaging systems are created, and the product has a GTIN. If you are sharing data in GS1 Trade Packaging, and do not have a membership to GS1 Trade Sync, the process consists of the following steps. You must first review products that need to be shared. Go to Share Settings on the product and specify data receivers. By default, data is shared to both GS1 Trade Sync and GS1 Trade Packaging. If data should only be shared to one system, this must be indicated. In the Sharing tab, you will see a list of all products that are ready for sharing. Select one or more products for publication. Click Publish. Under the Publications tab, you can follow the status of your publications. When the status shows Publishing completed, data has been published. Status Approval Required means that the GS1 you are trying to share shares packaging units with another product. In this case, the system will require you to update data on all products sharing this unit, so that there is no data which is held up at the data receiver. An authorization must be actively carried out, as the publication process otherwise will not continue. The following process applies to companies using both GS1 Trade Packaging and GS1 Trade Sync. When data is published from GS1 Trade Packaging, products already available in GS1 Trade Sync will automatically be shared with relevant data receivers. Products not yet available in GS1 Trade Sync will be created as drafts to be published in GS1 Trade Sync later. If your company uses both GS1 Trade Packaging and GS1 Trade Sync, and your data receivers have not specifically requested accessing data directly through the GS1 Trade Packaging interface, don't add recipients in GS1 Trade Packaging. Instead, go to the Sharing tab and click Publish Data. Here you will see a list of all products that are ready for sharing. Select one or more products for publication. Click Publish. When you publish the product here, data is passed on to GS1 Trade Sync. Now the publication must be completed in GS1 Trade Sync, where you specify the data receivers and complete the final publication. You still need to add data receivers on the product in GS1 Trade Packaging if it is requested by the data recipient to also receive data through this platform. Go to GS1 Trade Sync and log in. Go to the Product Overview tab. Select Advanced Search on the right side. Click Add Remove Search Filters and Add Sector. Select the filter EPR. After this, all products shared from GS1 Trade Packaging are displayed. Then we publish the products to retailers in GS1 Trade Sync. If the product did not already exist in GS1 Trade Sync, it will appear as a draft. Click on the Products GS1 to open the product. Go to the Basic Information tab on the left side and select Publication Overview. Under Who should access data, select Restricted and Data Receivers. Then select the given data recipients GLN from the list of companies. Click Save and then Publish. Now packaging data is shared with the desired retailer.