Entering this century, these technologies have continued to extend their reach. The introduction of the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) in 2004 standardised product descriptions with over 1,500 attributes, such as width, depth and height. Products were now recorded in a consistent way globally. At a stroke, a unique “DNA string” had been devised for each global product, describing its genetic make-up. With an emerging language of product identifiers, locators and attributes, the stage was set for an umbrella organisation to maintain and develop these common standards. After 2005, this umbrella unfolded in the form of GS1. This is a global not-for-profit association. GS1 currently has over 1.5 million members and maintains information on over 40 million products in its global registry. This is the evolving, expanding, adapting genetic codebook for the global supply chain. (b)  World Wide Web  On October 29 1969, the first-ever message was sent between computer networks at UCLA and Stanford Universities. The message was only five characters long (“login”). It was an inauspicious start. The system crashed on the letter “g”. The stage was nonetheless set for what has become a technological revolution. By the end of 1969, a network of campus computers – an embryonic internet – was up and running. Applications began to emerge, allowing this evolving network to expand its reach. Take electronic mail. In the early 1970s, the US Defence Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) developed network electronic mail capabilities.

Effective inventory management along the supply chain is vital. Common data standards and technology have together transformed this process. Global supply chain giants come no larger than Wal-Mart Stores Inc. It employs more than 2 million people in 28 countries across nearly 10,000 stores. Its total revenues, at over $ billion annually, are almost four times higher than its nearest competitor. By comparison, one of the world’s largest banks by assets, Citigroup, has revenues of just over $ billion, with just over 250,000 employees. Automation of supply chain management, facilitated by data standardisation, has been central to Wal-Mart’s success. Wal-Mart was an early adopter of common data standards and technology. By 1998, around 85% of Wal-Mart’s retail products were distributed using standardised barcodes and handheld computers. These identified and tracked the location of products in real time as they were distributed to individual stores. This technology has since been extended to individual stores. Manual barcode scanning of shelves and supplies has been largely replaced by contactless tagging of container products using radio frequency GS1 identifiers. In 2010, Wal-Mart started tagging individual items, further improving inventory-tracking. By combining real-time inventory and point-of-sale data, stock-checking and shelf-replenishment has become almost fully-automated. Thinking machine has replaced man throughout the supply chain. This “warehouse-to-shelf” inventory management process has transformed Wal-Mart’s business. Full visibility of the internal supply chain has enabled close to real-time tracking and management of stock across many of its stores. It has allowed genuinely consolidated inventory risk management. The results have been tangible.