Robert Carpenter, who became chief executive officer of GS1 US in April, is the first U.S.-based CEO of the standards organization since 2004. That year, when GS1 US was still known as the Uniform Code Council, Thomas Rittenhouse resigned as CEO and was succeeded by Miguel Lopera. Since then, Lopera has also served as CEO of GS1, the Brussels-based parent organization for GS1 US and 107 other country-based affiliates of GS1.

But now Lopera will focus entirely on his global role, leaving Carpenter in charge of the U.S. organization, which oversees everything from bar codes and electronic data interchange to data synchronization and the electronic product code.

Carpenter, who previously held executive positions at Aramark and Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals subsidiary, comes to GS1 US as the organization prepares for the launch of a new bar code, the GS1 DataBar, in the U.S. The DataBar, which is smaller yet contains more data than the conventional UPC bar code, is appearing on PLU stickers attached to a growing number of loose produce items, and is sharing coupon space with the UPC-A bar code.

On Jan. 1, 2010, retailers will be expected to scan and process the DataBar on loose produce; a year later, the same will be expected for coupons, which will then begin to display only DataBar bar codes, according to the Joint Industry Coupon Committee (JICC).

“The DataBar represents a tremendous opportunity,” said Carpenter. “It creates a vehicle to extend the benefits of automatic identification to the perimeter of the store.” In addition to produce, this could include departments like deli, flowers and bakery, he noted. On the coupon side, he sees the DataBar providing “powerful information back to manufacturers.”

GS1 US also oversees the electronic product code (EPC), an RFID-based identification technology that is even more powerful than the DataBar. But unlike the DataBar, the EPC has been slow to be adopted by U.S. retailers other than Wal-Mart Stores. “We would like to see EPC adoption take off ,” said Carpenter. In grocery, the adoption barrier is not so much cost as identifying business needs that EPC can address, such as improving delivery of promotional material and eliminating out-of-stocks.

Data synchronization, which GS1 US supports through its 1SYNC data pool, has been adopted by many manufacturers and food retailers, but has still not been actively pursued by some chains. In this case, the benefits of data synchronization — better data accuracy, improved product introductions, more productive trading partner discussions — have been well documented but need to be “better understood” by the industry, Carpenter said.

GS1 US is also developing a new-item-introduction Web portal in concert with several retailers, and will be supporting a “revised and updated version” of the Food Marketing Institute’s Recall Portal this fall, he said.

Recent articles on Robert Carpenter

Alliance Aims to Clean Up Nutrition Information
Jun 27, 2011, Supermarket News, By MICHAEL GARRY
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. — Building upon the industry network that promotes the accurate exchange of product data like weights and dimensions, manufacturers and retailers are now working on ensuring that the product data provided to consumers particularly nutritional data is equally as accurate. This consumer data initiative known as the GS1 B2C (business to consumer) Alliance is focused on ensuring that

Alliance Targets Digital Nutrition Data
Jun 22, 2011, Supermarket News, By MICHAEL GARRY
Building upon the industry network that promotes the accurate exchange of product data like weights and dimensions, manufacturers and retailers are now working on ensuring that the product data provided to consumers – particularly nutritional data – is equally as accurate.

CaseyÂ’s Completes Short Stop Deal
Oct 28, 2010, Supermarket News, By SN STAFF
ANKENY, Iowa — Casey’s General Stores here said Thursday that it completed the acquisition of six Iowa convenience stores from J.D. Carpenter Cos., and that the stores, operating under the Short Stop banner, would be immediately rebranded to Casey’s.

GS1 US CEO Urges Adoption of Standards in Traceability Efforts
Dec 11, 2009, Supermarket News, By MICHAEL GARRY
At a joint public meeting yesterday focused on improving the system for tracing food products and ingredients that are causing illness outbreaks, Robert Carpenter, president and chief executive officer, GS1 US, Lawrenceville, N.J., urged that government agencies incorporate GS1 industry standards in their traceability policies.

Updated FMI Recall Portal Will Be Launched This Fall
Jul 21, 2009, Supermarket News, By MICHAEL GARRY
The Food Marketing Institute here and GS1 US, Lawrenceville, N.J., will be releasing a “revised and updated version” of FMI’s Product Recall Portal this fall, said Robert Carpenter, chief executive officer, GS1 US.

Common Denominators: What traits do this yearÂ’s Power Players share?
Jul 16, 2009, Supermarket News

Page:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4  |  Next

All Articles for Robert Carpenter