Top supply chain standards group takes over U.S. color, size codes

A leading supply chain standards group is now enabling suppliers, manufacturers and retailers to uniformly codify product color and size.

GS1 U.S. has purchased the U.S. color and size codes database from the National Retail Federation (NRF). The database is designed to facilitate more consistent and efficient data exchange in retail. The color and size codes are available electronically for either a $250 one-time purchase from GS1 U.S. or via three GS1 US Solution Partners: OpenText, InterTrade, and SPS Commerce.

The codes have been used in retail systems for more than three decades to help industry consistently identify and classify products by size and color. The codes also provide a common language for product color and size identification for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), a process that allows companies to exchange business information such as orders and invoices electronically. 

By using these standardized codes, GS1 says that retailers, brands and manufacturers can reduce errors due to manual data entry, cut down on new item setup times and allow for automated sales analysis by size and color, which helps guide merchandise assortment planning.

“The color and size codes are a natural fit with the host of other resources that GS1 US provides to members to ensure greater efficiency in inventory management processes,” said Michelle Covey, VP of partnerships, GS1 U.S. “Additionally, by partnering with GS1 U.S. solution partners, we can extend the value of the codes to be more widely accessible in real time, adding to product data accuracy and boosting trading partner efficiency.” 

Now that the codes have been transitioned from NRF, GS1 US will continue to work with the retail community through the GS1 US Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative to keep the codes updated and in line with current consumer-driven trends affecting the retail industry. The GS1 U.S. Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative is a collaborative industry group that works to develop resources and guidelines based on GS1 standards to solve supply chain challenges.