Too much GS1 data? How Boon Food Group keeps product data manageable
The GS1 data pool has become the standard in the food sector. Yet anyone working with product data every day knows this: more data does not automatically mean better data. Many food retailers receive vast amounts of product information through GS1, while in practice they only need part of it. Boon Food Group faced the same challenge. Our PIM Masters delivered the solution.
Since 2019, Boon Food Group has partnered with XSARUS PIM Masters and uses Inriver PIM to manage product information. A key question emerged: is it possible to import only the GS1 data that truly matters into the PIM system?
GS1 in the food sector: essential, yet complex
Boon Food Group operates in a sector where product data is under constant scrutiny. Regulations around food safety, allergens, and consumer information make accurate and up to date data essential. The GS1 data pool has therefore become the standard in the food industry. This central data pool stores and shares product data and specifications in a single uniform format, ensuring that suppliers, wholesalers, and retailers across the chain all work with the same up to date product information.
A familiar GS1 challenge
GS1 also has a downside. In practice, organizations often choose to directly integrate GS1 with their PIM or ERP system. That seems logical, but both approaches introduce new challenges:
- Direct GS1 integration with ERP
An ERP system is not designed to process and manage large volumes of detailed product data. A direct connection with GS1 leads to system pollution and misuse, increasing the management burden. - Direct GS1 integration with PIM
A PIM system is built to handle and manage hundreds of thousands of products and attributes. Still, the challenge remains: all available GS1 data is imported automatically.
And that volume of GS1 data is massive. Per item, a direct integration delivers a very extensive set of specifications. Valuable, but not always necessary. On top of that, GS1 sends updates for hundreds of thousands of products, while wholesalers or food retailers only carry a subset of these in their assortment.
The result: system pollution!
A direct GS1 integration floods core systems with unnecessary data. This leads to system pollution. As a result, the management effort increases and validation processes become more complex, with additional checks and correction cycles.
The solution: filter smartly instead of importing everything
XSARUS PIM Masters solved this by building a smart filter between GS1 and the Inriver PIM system of Boon Food Group:
- GS1 data is retrieved automatically
- Only products sold by Boon Food Group are imported
- Only relevant product specifications are included
Instead of importing everything first and filtering afterwards, Boon Food Group now decides upfront which products and GS1 specifications matter. The rest stays out.
Fully automated. Only relevant data. Always up to date.
What does this deliver in practice?
By defining upfront which GS1 data is truly relevant, Boon Food Group has regained control over its data flow. The PIM system plays a key role in this setup. The benefits:
- Only relevant product data in the PIM system
- Structurally higher data quality
- Lower management costs through reduced noise and pollution
- Less strain on ERP systems from unsuitable data tasks
- Better control over compliance and changes