If you are working with supplies that come from a myriad of international sources, it is important to know that you are getting materials that you can trust and that there are safeguards in place. The Global Commerce Initiative is meant to address this concern among businesses as well as consumers.
The Global Commerce Initiative brings the global business community together in service of improving the customer experience with worldwide supply chain management.
Overview: What is the Global Commerce Initiative?
The Global Commerce Initiative is a group that was founded in October 1999. This group is comprised of trade industry representatives, retailers, and manufacturers worldwide. The purpose of the group is to have collaborative development and establish the best standards and practices in order to improve the international supply chain of goods for consumers.
3 benefits of the Global Commerce Initiative
The GCI had some major benefits to the industry that are worth noting:
1. Efficiency
One benefit of the innovations that came out of the Global Commerce Initiative is greater efficiency in the global supply chain.
2. Tracking and tracing
The adoption of the EPC through the Global Commerce Initiative provided a much greater ability for the tracking and tracing of goods.
3. Replenishment and restocking communication
The GCI made it much easier throughout the supply chain to know when stores needed to have their goods restocked.
Why is the Global Commerce Initiative important to understand?
The Global Commerce Initiative is important to understand for the following reasons:
It is a great example of collaboration in service of what is best for the customer
Understanding the Global Commerce Initiative is important to understand as it is an excellent example of innovations in service of improving the experience of the customer.
Standardization
It is also important to understand the GCI, as its innovations have become standard in the marketplace.
Know what changes will occur
The Global Commerce Initiative strives to predict what changes can be anticipated industry-wide in advance. Having an understanding of these future global changes gives you an advantage over your competition.
An industry example of the Global Commerce Initiative
A manufacturing company deals with a large number of suppliers from all over the globe in order to create its product for consumers. Thanks to the Global Commerce Initiative, at each step of the supply chain, there is a common understanding of data. This helps ensure that there is clear and accurate communication across the board and that there is greater trust that all outsourced components add up to a reliable product for the consumer.
3 best practices when thinking about the Global Commerce Initiative
Here are some key practices that can be learned from the success of the Global Commerce Initiative:
1. Standardization minimizes confusion
One lesson to take away from the Global Commerce Initiative that can be applied to businesses large and small is standardization. Standardization makes the transfer of information and currency among various exchanges accurate and easily understood.
2. Security
Another practice to learn from when it comes to the Global Commerce Initiative is security. Make sure that data is secure and that the right data is available only to certain individuals.
3. Innovation in service to the customer
The GCI is an excellent example of innovations that are created in service of making the experience improved for the customer. It is important to engage in a practice of not working on innovation solely for the sake of innovation, but for improving the customer experience.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Global Commerce Initiative
What are the five working groups of the GCI?
The five working groups of the GCI are electronic data interchange, industry extranets, intelligent tagging, product identification, and global scorecard.
How many companies are represented by the GCI?
The GCI represents over 850,000 companies, large and small.
What are the common goals of the GCI?
The common goals of the GCI are to simplify business processes globally and to provide benefits to all users, regardless of location.
The Global Commerce Initiative builds trust as well as ease of communication and transaction
With the global standards and practices established by the Global Commerce Initiative, there is greater trust among companies and consumers alike that products/services will be delivered satisfactorily and that supply needs will be met. It also makes communication among companies worldwide easier as well as transactions occurring across exchanges. The GCI makes the globalization of business run smoother.
