gs1 singapore news

A seminar on Food Standards eXchange - Strengthening Cold 

Chain Logistics in the Food Industry was held on 30 October 

2009 at Holiday Inn Atrium. 

Issue 55 Oct - Dec 2009 MICA (P) 080/02/2009 

Improving Cold Chain 

Management Skill 

through Singapore Cold Chain Centre 

GS1 Singapore also participated in the finalization of the 

translation of SS 552 into Chinese language together with AVA 

and SPRING Singapore. 

At this launch, Mr Tan Jin Soon, Executive Director of GS1 

Singapore, which acts as the secretariat of the Singapore Cold 

Chain Centre made a presentation on “Improving Cold Chain 

Management Skill through Singapore Cold Chain Centre”. 

Cold Chain Management of Milk & Dairy Products - Display in 

Chiller Decks 

To strengthen Singapore’s position as a cold chain hub, a key 

differentiating factor for Singapore’s logistics industry, Food 

Standards Committee - SPRING Singapore has developed three 

cold chain management standards. The new Singapore Standard 

for Cold Chain Management of Chilled Pork - Singapore Standard 

SS 552 : 2009 Code of Practice for Cold Chain Management of 

Chilled Pork, which is a revision of the former TR 20 for Cold 

Chain Management was launched at the seminar. The Technical 

Reference on Cold Chain Management of Vegetables as well as 

upcoming new national standards development initiatives were 

also highlighted at the seminar. 

GS1 Singapore is an active member of the Cold Chain 

Management of Chilled Pork Working Group appointed 

by Food Standards Committee under the Singapore Food 

Standards Committee. It participated in the development 

of the standard among the industry players of the cold chain 

industry including retail chains, food manufacturers, Agri-Food 

& Veterinary Authority (AVA), National Environment Agency, Civil 

Aviation Authority of Singapore, Airline, Trade Associations and 

Warehouse Logistics Net Asia Pte Ltd. 

Cold Chain Management of Vegetables - Local Vegetable Farm 

The Singapore Cold Chain Centre 

is the resource centre for Cold 

Chain Management of a range of 

products including: 

• Milk and Dairy products 

• Chilled Meat 

• Vegetables and Fruits 

Continue on Pg 9 

The GS1 Singapore Council is a component of 

It is the national body that formulates and implements policies relating to EAN Bar Codes 

GS1 Singapore News •

Content 

01 • The Launch of SS 552 

02 • Editorial 

03 • Matsushita Greatwall 

Corporation Pte Ltd 

04 • ISO/IEC JTC1/SC31/WG6 

06 • Seminar on GS1 DataBar 

EDP Seminar 

07 • Global GS1 Healthcare - HK 

10 • GS1 Asia Pacific Regional Forum 

14 • GS1 General Assembly 

15 • Seminar on GS1 Traceability 

17 • New Registered Users 

18 • RFID World Asia 2009 

Incorporating EPCglobal 

RFID Singapore Summit 

20 • SATO Ad 

Editor 

Tan Jin Soon 

Asst Editor 

Wong Tack Wai 

Rosyati Mohd Said 

Members of Editorial Team 

Nancy Quek 

Andy Seow 

Joy Lee 

Printed by 

Yung Sheng Printrade Pte Ltd 

Design and Layout by 

Faithworks 

GS1 Singapore News is published by 

GS1 Singapore Council. No portion 

of this publication may be reproduced 

without the permission of the publishers. 

GS1 Singapore News is distributed free 

to members of GS1 Singapore, GS1 

Member Organisations overseas and 

Asean Chambers of Commerce. Reader’s 

questions ans comments should be 

addressed to the Editor. 

GS1 Singapore 

c/o Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation 

2 Bukit Merah Central #03-00 

SPRING Singapore Building 

Singapore 159835 

Tel: 6826 3000 

Fax: 6286 3070 

Email: jinsoon.tan@gs1.org.sg 

Website: www.gs1.org.sg 

ISSN: 0218-6098 

GS1 Singapore News • 

Editorial 

GS1 Standards in healthcare: 

raising the bar on patient safety 

and supply chain efficiency 

Patient safety initiatives around the world is being 

focused at the Healthcare supply chain, including 

the reduction of medication errors, the fight against 

counterfeiting, optimized post-market surveillance, etc. 

At the Global GS1 Healthcare Conference held in Hong 

Kong during 6 to 10 October 2009, it was revealed 

Tan Jin Soon 

Executive Director 

GS1 Singapore 

that more than 30% of all adverse drug events are preventable and appear to 

be consequences of medication errors. Adverse events from medication errors 

represent a significant problem for Healthcare worldwide, as indicated by several 

studies in different countries. An Adverse Event Study in one country indicated 

that 9.3% of hospital stays incurred a serious adverse event, with medication errors 

being the main cause (37.4% of such events). The implementation of automatic 

identification systems, up to the point-of-care, has proven to significantly reduce 

medication errors; for example, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Topeka, USA, 

has reported that bar coding reduced its medication error rate by 86% over a nineyear 

period. 

The implementation of GS1 unique identification system for each and every pack, 

where appropriate, will enable traceability and authentication systems with readily 

available technology. This will make it much more difficult for counterfeiters to 

intrude into the Healthcare supply chain, or at least, make it uneconomic. 

GS1 Singapore will be working closely with the healthcare industry to organise 

workshops/seminars to help industry including hospitals to adopt GS1 Healthcare 

system. 

SMa Affiliate Membership for 

GS1 Singapore Registered Users 

GS1 Singapore constantly seeks to provide value for its registered users. With this 

objective in mind, GS1 Singapore will be partnering Singapore Manufacturers’ 

Federation (SMa), to offer Affiliate Membership for all current GS1 Singapore 

Registered Users. Details of this scheme are as follows:- 

• This scheme is offered to all current GS1 Singapore Registered Users who 

have fully settled all outstanding GS1 Singapore subscription amount. 

• As a SMa Affiliate Member, you can enjoy a host of attractive benefits, 

such as complimentary copies of bi-monthly CONNECT magazine and annual 

TradeLink Directory, complimentary admission to events, discounts and rebates 

for seminars and training courses offered by SMa. For more details, please visit 

www.smafederation.org.sg/affiliate 

• However, SMa Affiliate Members do not have voting rights to 

participate in the Annual General Meeting and Extra-ordinary General Meeting, 

nor can they be elected to office within SMa Executive Committee, SMa Council, 

SMa Function Committees and SMa Industry Groups. 

Should you have any question on the SMa Affiliate Membership scheme, please 

feel free to contact Ms Chin May Fang at (65) 6826 3050 or email to chinmayfang@ 

smafederation.org.sg.

GS1 SINGAPORE NEWS 

New Lifestyles with King Koil 

• 

Founded in 1898, King Koil has over a 

century of experience in crafting high quality, 

affordable beds for discerning consumers 

throughout the world. Now King Koil is 

produced internationally in more than 30 

countries serving 50 markets. The King Koil’s 

in Singapore and Brunei business is developed 

and marketed by Matsushita Greatwall 

Corporation Pte Ltd, a very successful home 

grown industry. Its strength lies in its research 

and development centre based in Singapore. 

It’s global success has been attained in so many 

varying cultures because the brand has been 

identified with quality and value, supported by 

number of endorsement including the ICA, the 

Good Housekeeping Seal and most recently, 

was named ‘Best Buy’ by Consumer’s Digest. 

It is the World’s Best Selling Chiropractor 

Endorsed Sleep System. 

King Koil answers increasing consumers expectations by aggressive research in identifying more than 150 different models, 

from “Spine Support” to “Perfect Solution” line without sacrificing comfort. And also providing made-to-order services for its 

mattresses to consumer for their needs in all shape and sizes. 

At the same time, King Koil is proud to introduce top of the line mattresses from The Royal Comfort Collection. Created with 

devotion to the highest quality, every aspect is meticulously crafted to provide the finest sleeping surface and luxurious comfort 

– fit for royalty. 

While King Koil is currently known as The No. 1 Best Selling Quality Mattress in Singapore, it strives to be recognized as the 

leader in the mattress, beddings and sofa industry in Singapore and Brunei. This is because the King Koil range of mattress, 

beddings and accessories is trendy, yet comfortable and of high quality affordable by consumers in the markets under their 

management. 

According to Mr Peter Liong, the Managing Director, “The GS1 Bar Code has also contributed to our success to capture market 

shares in Singapore and overseas to be the number one brand.” 


The Mobile Phone Industry 

ISO/IEC JTC1/SC31/WG6 

There are currently over 3 billion mobile phones worldwide 

(Informa, Nov 2007). How can we make sense of this huge 

figure? It means that approximately 40% of the world’s 

population currently carries a mobile phone. The chart below 

puts this figure in the context of other major technologies. 

Mobile phone adoption continues to grow. By 2010, it is 

expected that there will be 4 billion mobile phones worldwide. 

In many developed countries mobile phone penetration is 

well above 90%, so saying “everyone has a mobile phone’” is 

very close to reality. 

Chart 1: Mobile Phones in Context 

(Source: Informa, Tomi Ahonen, Jan 2007) 

Mobile phones are central to the lives of most people in 

developed countries and are growing in importance in less 

developed countries. Since their mainstream adoption in the 

1990s, they have remained primarily communication devices. 

We use mobile phones to talk to other people and we carry 

mobile phones with us so that other people can talk to us. 

However, the situation is changing. Mobile phone 

manufacturers have developed mobile devices that can serve many functions beyond voice communication such as taking photos 

and listening to music. Mobile network operators are offering services that give greater value to subscribers, such as portable email 

for business users. Mobile phones are now equipped with cameras with the potential to turn them into portable bar code scanners. 

Handset manufacturers are developing RFID chips that can turn mobile phones into mobile wallets able to carry and exchange 

electronic money securely and engage in other transactions with RFID readers in the physical world. 

The combination of more powerful mobile devices, more innovative mobile 

operators and change in the mobile network infrastructure (such as 3G networks 

able to carry large amounts of data at high speed as broadband connections do 

for computers) is setting the stage for an enormous change in a already fastmoving 

sector. Mobile devices are fast becoming the place where numerous 

technologies meet and create applications that are useful for both consumers 

and businesses across the globe. The mobile phone of the future is a device that 

enables users to communicate, connect, transact and innovate. 

ISO/IEC JTC1/SC31/WG6 

In order to ensure that projected 4 billion mobile phone users in 2010 can use 

their mobile phone to get their required additional information on product 

and services, in April 2008, the ISO/IEC JTC1/SC31 has formed the Work Group 

6 – Mobile Item Identification and Management (MIIM) Work Group. Its scope 

is as follows:- 

Standardization of automatic identification and data collection techniques that are anticipated to be connected to wired or wireless 

networks, including sensor specifications, combining RFID with mobile telephony, and combining optically readable media with 

mobile telephony. 

• Convenor: Mr Craig K. Harmon, United States 

• Secretary: Mr Se Won Oh, Korea 

It has since conducted two meetings and its member include delegates from Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, 

Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, United States and representatives from SC 31 Liaisons, GS1 and IEEE. Mr Tan Jin Soon, 

Executive Director of GS1 Singapore and Chairman of Automatic Data Capture Technical Committee of Singapore IT Standards 

Committee (ITSC) is a member of ISO/IEC JTC1/SC31/WG6 actively participating in the standard development of MobileCom 

standard under ISO. 

SC31/WG6 Standards being developed 



There are currently nine MobileCom Standards being developed by WG6 and five standards involving sensors being developed 

jointly between SC31 WG6 and IEEE. Details are as follows:- 

Standards being developed by SC31/WG6: 

• ISO/IEC 29143, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Air interface 

specification for Mobile RFID interrogator 

• ISO/IEC 29172, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Mobile item 

identification and management — Reference architecture for Mobile AIDC services 


identification and management — Mobile RFID interrogator device protocol for ISO/IEC 18000 – 6 B/C 


identification and management — Mobile item identifier and encoding format for Mobile AIDC services 


identification and management — Application data structure and encoding format for Mobile AIDC services 


identification and management — Consumer privacy-protection protocol for Mobile RFID services 


identification and management — Object Directory Service for Mobile AIDC services 


identification and management — Service broker for Mobile AIDC services 


identification and management — Mobile AIDC application programming interface 

Standards being developed jointly between SC31/WG6 and IEEE on Sensors related Standards 

– ISO/IEC/IEEE 21450 [IEEE 1451.0], Information technology — Standard for a Smart Transducer Interface for Sensors and 

Actuators — Common Functions, Communication Protocols, and Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) Formats 

– ISO/IEC/IEEE 21451-1 [IEEE 1451.1], Information technology — Standard for a Smart Transducer Interface for Sensors and 

Actuators — Network Capable Application Processor (NCAP) Information Model 


Actuators — Transducer to Microprocessor Communication Protocols and Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) 

Formats 


Actuators — Mixed-Mode Communication Protocols and Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) Formats 

– ISO/IEC/IEEE 21451-7, Information technology — Standard for a Smart Transducer Interface for Sensors and Actuators 

- Transducers to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems Communication Protocols and Transducer Electronic Data 

Sheet Formats 

Additional Standards to be proposed by Japan and Korea 

• ISO/IEC xxxxx, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Mobile item 

identification and management — Mobile Optically Readable Media (ORM) – Japan 

• ISO/IEC xxxxx, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Mobile item 

identification and management — Holographic ID – Korea 

Conclusion 

Due to the large number of 4 billion mobile phone users worldwide, the above-mentioned MobileCom standards being developed 

by ISO/IEC JTC1/SC31 WG6 is of great significance. These standards when developed in about 18 months time will enable global 

users to have a device that enables users to communicate, connect, transact and innovate to meet respective lifestyle needs. 


Seminar on GS1 DataBar 

GS1 DataBar Family 

GS1 DataBar is really a family of bar code symbologies, 

which can be presented as follows:- 

A section of the participants at the seminar. 

The GS1 DataBar is a new small size bar code developed by GS1 

users to meet the following needs:- 

• Identification of fresh products with very short shelf 

life of a few hours, e.g. Deli, Sashimi, Tempura, Salad, 

meta, etc, 

• Variable weight products 

• Management of coupons 

GS1 Singapore organised a Seminar on GS1 DataBar to inform 

the industry that in 2010, trading partners across the globe will 

be printing the GS1 DataBar on their product packaging and 

retailers need to be ready to capture the data such as expiry 

date, weight, product identification number, etc encoded 

in the DataBar at the point-of-sales. The Seminar held on 23 

June 2009 attracted a total of 42 participants from retailers, 

manufacturers, medical device manufacturers and solution 

providers. 


An opportunity for companies to develop their 

export competency and increase sales & market share 

A total of 66 participants from 49 companies registered to attend 

the Exporter Development Programme (EDP) seminar held on 19 

November 2009 at Singapore Manufacturers Federation, SPRING 

Singapore Building. They were interested to know about the 

EDP which was initiated by IE Singapore for small and medium 

sized enterprises (SMEs). 

Ms Vivian Sia of IE Singapore, presented details of the programme 

and the 70% costs which would be paid for by IE Singapore when 

companies participate in this programme. The participants also 




The 15th Global GS1 Healthcare Conference 

Hong Kong, 6-8 October 2009 

The 15th Global GS1 Healthcare 

Conference was organized by GS1 

Global Office in Hong Kong during 6 

to 8 October 2009. It was co-hosted 

by the Food and Health Bureau, 

Hong Kong SAR, Hospital Authority 

Hong Kong (HAHK) and GS1 Hong 

Kong. It was officially opened by Ms 

Sandra Lee, Permanent Secretary 

for Food and Health Bureau, HKSAR 

Government. 

This conference was attended by 

more than 300 delegates from 29 

countries/economies including 

Austria, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, 

Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, 

Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Sweden, 

Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, UK, USA etc. The delegates included 

Delegates packed the Hospital Authority Building for the 15th Global 

GS1 Healthcare Conference 

representatives from GS1 Member Organisations, regulatory 

officers, hospitals and manufacturers. 

At this Conference, a closed session of Regulatory Round Table 

was also held. It was attended by FDA officers, Ministry of Health 

officers from Asia, Europe and USA to discuss the policies related 

privacy issues, Electronic Health Record (HER), National Drug 

Code, UDI (Unique Device Identifier) etc 

The GS1 Global Healthcare User Group also made presentations 

on the following parallel sessions: 

- Healthcare GS1 AIDC system including bar code, 2D 

code and RFID 

- Healthcare GS1 Traceability system 

- GS1 Healthcare Public Policy 

- GS1 Healthcare Location Number (GLN) 

Representatives from 29 countries/ 

economies attended the conference. 

This Global GS1 Healthcare Conference provided an opportunity 

for GS1 Member Organisations to showcase the latest 

developments of GS1 Healthcare Standards and best practices. 

This is useful for GS1 Member Organisations in their engagements 

with healthcare sector in their respective countries. At this 

conference, many hospital authorities in Asia region reported 

serious medical errors at hospitals resulting in deaths. This has 

led to hospitals to review GS1 Healthcare standards for patient 

identification and healthcare supply chain implementation to 

ensure the following five patient’s rights are in placed:- 




Continued from Pg 6 

received some tips on developing export strategies from Dr. 

Sandy Chong, an experienced export coach. The session ended 

with a sharing by GS1 Singapore Registered User Mr. Chow Hoo 

Siong from True Heritage Brew, the company behind the well 

known and iconic ‘Singapore Sling’. Mr Chow who participated 

in the EDP, told the audience how this programme opened up 

new export possibilities for him and in such a short time too. 

They would not have been able to do so, had they decided to 

explore export markets on their own. 

welcomes such events as he felt that it bring good value to GS1 

Singapore Registered Users. 

The generous funding of the EDP scheme make it a very 

attractive opportunity to companies who are finding ways to 

expand their business beyond Singapore shores into overseas 

markets. To find out more about the scheme, do contact Derek 

Cheah at derekcheah@smafederation.org.sg. 

This is the first of many events offered to our GS1 Singapore 

Registered Users under the new SMa Affilate Membership 

scheme. One GS1 Singapore Registered User participant Mr Lim 

Wee Kiat, senior manager from Hen Tick Foods Pte Ltd said he 


- the right patient gets 

- the right products 

- at the right time 

- in the right dose 

- and using the right route. 

Highlights of country reports are:- 

a) UK 

At this Conference, it was reported that in February 2007, the 

National Health Service (NHS) England had entered into an 

agreement with GS1 UK for the provision of AIDC codes to NHS. 

Main benefits of this collaboration between NHS and GS1 UK 

are:- 

• Great patient safety benefits 

• Greater track and trace ability from manufacturer to 

patient 

• Greater stock/waste management 

• Removal of manual input and paper processes 

• Greater record keeping and data usage 

• Less time spent on menial tasks means healthcare staff 

can be more patient focused 

• Great cost saving potential 

• Opportunity to bring healthcare industry more in line 

with the NHS 

• Greater protection against counterfeit medicines 

• Greater links into other healthcare initiatives being run 

by the NPSA, PASA, MHRA, ABHI etc 

• Common data set across the NHS will lead to greater 

efficiency 

b) Australia 

The Australia Healthcare sector’s National Product Catalogue 

(NPC) with all healthcare product data is hosted by GS1 Australia 

on GS1net. The data including GTIN is required for all medicines 

and medical devices at all levels of packaging. This has helped 

hospitals in Australia to perform product synchronisation 

with their suppliers including wholesalers and manufacturers. 

Thereby, contributes to the isolation and detection of fake 

medicines. 

c) Hong Kong 

The Hospital Authority of Hong Kong with a manpower strength 

of 54,800 staff is managing 41 public hospitals, 48 specialist clinics 

and 74 general clinics in Hong Kong. Its 2008/2009 expenditure 

is HK 35.2 Billion. For product identification, it has adopted GS1 

system for productivity and also to ensure patient safety. 

d) Kyoto Second Red Cross Hospital, Japan 

This hospital uses GS1 bar codes for medical products and 

medical devices. 

This is a very successful Global GS1 Healthcare Conference. 




Currently, it is also participating in the development of Singapore 

Standard in Pharmaceutical Cold Chain. 

Training 

The Cold Chain Centre is collaborating with industry & institute 

for higher learning to provide a certificate training courses to 

build a pool of manpower for Cold Chain Management. 

The syllabus of the certificate training courses is based on 

Singapore TR and Singapore Standards that are developed for 

cold chain management of chilled and frozen products 

• Cold Chain Management of chilling equipment 

including regular maintenances and also regular 

defrosting of refrigerators 

All trainees after completing the training course and passing the 

exam are given a certificate in Cold Chain Management Training 

Course and also an identification card to identify the person as 

the cold chain officer of the particular factory. 

A list of the students who passed the exam is sent to AVA to 

facilitate their inspection. 

The Certificate in Cold Chain Management 

Training Course 

This Training Course is designed and managed by Singapore 

Cold Chain Centre. The text books used are CP 95 : 2002 Cold 

Chain Management of Milk & Dairy Products, SS 552 : 2009 Cold 

Chain Management of Chilled Pork and TR 24 : 2007 Cold Chain 

Management of Vegetable. As part of the course material, all 

trainees are given an original copy of the above-mentioned 

Singapore Standards on Cold Chain Management (CP95, 

SS552 and TR24). This is GS1 Singapore’s effort to promote the 

Singapore Standard. 

This course is partially funded by the Workforce Development 

Agency (WDA). 

To date, more than 200 trainees have been trained and acquired 

good knowledge of cold chain management including HACCP 

to meet the industry requirements. 

The course is conducted by lecturers from School of Chemical & 

Life Sciences of Singapore Polytechnic and officers of AVA. 

It is a 25 hours course with 22 hours of lectures/lab work and 3 

hours hands on field visits. 

The course content includes the following:- 

• Introduction to Cold Chain Management 

• HACCP: Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points 

• Cold Chain Management at dairy factory 

• Cold Chain Management at Abattoir, De-boning Plant 

• Cold Chain Management of vegetable at the farm, 

harvesting and packaging 

• Cold Chain Management at cold room 

• Cold Chain Management of goods in chilled trucks 

• Cold Chain Management at retail outlets 

• Cold Chain Management at refrigerated display 

cabinets 

Optional Module for Polytechnic Supply Chain 

Management Diploma Course 

The Singapore Cold Chain Centre has collaborated with 

Republic Polytechnic to conduct the optional module on 

Cold Chain Management for the final year students of the 

Supply Chain Management Diploma Course. 



GS1 Asia Pacific 

Delegates gathered in Hong Kong for the GS1 Asia Pacific Regional Forum. 

The 2009 GS1 Asia Pacific Regional Forum was hosted by 

GS1 Hong Kong during 11 to 13 November 2009. It was 

held one day after GS1 Hong Kong’s 20th Anniversary 

on 10 November 2009 featuring the 9th SCM Excellent 

Summit Conference. More than 550 delegates from 

15 countries/economies attended this GS1Hong Kong 

20th Anniversary in the morning with the theme 

‘Managing in a Challenging Economy’ and a Gala Dinner 

in the evening. The Gala Dinner also received strong 

support from a wide variety of sectors spanning the 

government industry, trade associations, academia, etc. 

The overwhelming feedback shows that GS1 Hong Kong 

has accomplished successfully its aim of strengthening 

the profile of the GS1 organisation and building a closer 

relationship with the industry and the government. 

Technical staff of GS1 AP MOs attending the technical training session. 

GS1 Asia Pacific Regional Forum 2009 

There are two parts to this Forum (a) GS1 Asia Pacific 

Regional Executive Group (GS1 APREG) and (b) GS1 Asia 

Pacific Regional Forum 2009. 

(a) 

GS1 APREG 

The GS1 APREG Meeting was held on 11 November 

2009. The matters discussed were:- 

i. EPC-ONS 

ii. GS1 Global Product Recall Solution 

GS1 Asia Pacific Regional Forum in progress 

GS1 Singapore News • 10


Regional Forum 

11 – 13 November 2009, 

Hong Kong 

Mr Miguel Lopera, President & CEO of GS1 giving an overall 

GS1 Global Business Update and GS1 Strategy. 

Mr Wong Tack Wai, Director of GS1 Singapore (right) sharing 

with delegates GS1 Singapore’s key activities. 

iii. Formation of GS1 AP Healthcare User Group with 

GS1 Singapore agreed to be a member of the 

Working Group 

iv. Formation of GS1 AP MobileCom WG and 

Presentation by GSMA: It was agreed to set up the 

GS1 AP MobileCom WG. GS1 Singapore and GS1 

Hong Kong will lead this initiative. 

v. Discussion on GS1 Global Office’s policy of Industry 

Engagement: It was agreed that we need some time 

for the GS1 Global Office to implement GS1 Industry 

Engagement Plan. 

Mr Joseph Phi, Chairman of GS1 Hong Kong (second from right) and 

Ms Anna Lin, CEO of GS1 Hong Kong receiving the plaques from Mr 

Gwee Seng Kwong, Secretary-General of SMa (right), Mr Tan Jin Soon, 

Executive Director of GS1 Singapore (left) and Mr Wong Tack Wai, 

Director of GS1 Singapore. 

(b) 

GS1 Asia Pacific Regional 

Forum 2009: 

This GS1 AP Annual Event was held on 

12 and 13 November 2009 from 9.00am to 

5.30pm. 

Due to the active participation and 

contribution of GS1 Asia Pacific Member 

Organisations as well as the valuable support 

of the Global Office to the AP Forum, this GS1 


Touring the Hong Kong RFID Centre. 



The following topics were covered at the seminar:- 

• Overview of GS1 DataBar: Sunrise date 

• The GS1 DataBar Family 

• GS1 DataBar Implementation in Canada, Chile, 

France and Japan 

• GS1 DataBar Industry Adoption 

What is DataBar Intended for? 

• GS1 DataBar is intended for marking trade item 

only (GTIN) 

• It is not for the marking of other logistic items 

such as cartons and pallets 

• Existing GS1 authorised solution such as ITF-14 

and GS1-128 bar codes will continue to be used 

for marking cartons and pallets 

There are two primary benefits to the adoption of the GS1 

DataBar:- 

1) GS1 DataBar’s ability to provide automatic 

identification data not available today, providing 

retailers more visibility and accuracy in knowing 

what they are selling and in which quantities, 

2) GS1 DataBar’s smaller size, providing more space 

for consumer communication or providing the 

option to reduce packaging in an effort to 

reduce cost of goods, also provides an option 

to the current “small symbol” options (EAN-8 

and UPC-E) where numbering capacity may be 

an issue in some markets. 

The Question and Answer session at the end of the seminar 

was well participated by the participants. Those present 

at this seminar left with a greater understanding of GS1 

DataBar as well as the benefits achieved in the adoption 

of the GS1 DataBar. 

GS1 Singapore is currently working with solution providers 

and retail chains to organise workshops for retailers to 

have a better understanding of how to implement GS1 

DataBar in their outlets to meet the sunrise date of DataBar 

in January 2010. 

The first of such workshop was successfully held on 24 

November 2009 for 10 technical staff / buyers of NTUC 

Fairprice to have hands-on experiences in handling 

products coded with GS1 DataBar 




Asia Pacific Regional Forum concluded with a remarkable 

success. The newly-introduced country update by each 

MO on key strategies and initiatives were also wellreceived. 

We hope that such practice will continue so as to 

reinforce better understanding and further collaboration 

within the region. 

The highlight of this event was the opening address 

delivered by Mr. Joseph Phi, the Chairman of GS1 Hong 

Kong and the President and Executive Director of 

Integrated Distribution Service (IDS) Group, Hong Kong. 

Mr Phi mentioned that in time of recession, one area 

to effectively cut cost is the “soft dollars” which many 

companies have overlooked. He stated that the “Soft 

Dollars” represents the areas of a company’s operation 

where it is possible to find efficiencies, reduce expenditure 

and become more competitive. In many cases, the best 

place to start looking for such improvements is still in 

the logistics arrangements. He also promoted the idea of 

making Hong Kong as a supplier’s hub to service industries 

in China, Japan and Korea. In this way only the Hong Kong 

Hub need to carry stock and any slack in demands for 

stocks either in China, Japan or Korea can be picked up by 

customers in another country. 

Mr. Phi also made reference to the inflection point in 

the curve of the graph of a company’s growth profile. 

He defined inflection points as the intersection of a 

growth curve which changes directions. All companies/ 

organisations should strive to create the inflection points 

in the growth of their companies to ensure sustainability 

and growth. He stressed that only companies which dare to 

commit huge sum of funds into investment in infrastructure 

during an economic down turn will succeed when the 

economy picks up. His IDS group invested heavily during 

the 1990s’ economic slow down in China and the region 

by automating the supply chain infrastructure with latest 

technology including bar coding and RFID. As a result, 

IDS is able to command the leadership of the industry 

today. All delegates were awaken by this eye opening 

presentation. This had remained the brightest spot of the 

whole GS1 AP Regional Forum during the next 2 days. 

The other subjects presented and discussed at the GS1 

AP Regional Forum were: 

1. GS1 Strategy 

2. GS1 Future Business Model 

3. GS1 and the new Consumer Goods Forum 

4. GS1 Organisation Effectiveness 

5. GS1 Global Office and Technology Update 

6. GS1 MobileCom ISO Standard Development: 

presented by Tan Jin Soon 

7. GS1 MO sharing session. 

The next GS1 AP Regional Forum will be hosted by GS1 

India in October 2010. 


Students who pass this optional module are awarded an 

additional Certification in Cold Chain Management. 

This optional module is very popular because the Supply 

Chain Management Diploma Course students with this 

additional Certificate in Cold Chain Management are in 

demand when apply for jobs after they graduate from the 

Polytechnic. 

The Singapore Cold Chain Centre is currently in discussion 

with Singapore Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic 

to include the Certificate in Cold Chain Management 

course as an optional module to the final Students of the 

respective Diploma Course in these 2 polytechnics. 


GS1 General Assembly 

The GS1 General Assembly 

in progress. 

The GS1 General Assembly is vested with full of powers in order 

to achieve the object of the Association. Decisions are subject 

to a quorum of 66% of the total of allocated votes presents or 

represented and a majority of 66% of the votes cast. 

In 2009, the GS1 General Assembly was hosted by GS1 Chile 

in Santiago, Chile on 13 May 2009. A total of 141 delegates 

attended this event. GS1 Singapore was represented by Mr Tan 

Jin Soon, the Executive Director. 

In conjunction with this event, the following regional meetings 

and business updates were held on 11 to 12 May 2009:- 

• GS1 Regional Meetings (Asia Pacific region, European 

region and Latin America region) 

• GS1 Joint Regional Meeting 

• GS1 Business Update 

EPCglobal, Healthcare, Traceability, etc. 

B. GS1 Joint Regional Meeting 

This meeting was held on 11 May 2009 from 4.00pm to 6.00pm. 

At this meeting, it was agreed to focus on understanding 

what projects each region is working on and to share their 

experiences. 

C. GS1 Business Update: 12 May 2009 

This session was held on 12 May 2009 from 9.00 am to 12.30pm. 

The following topics were presented: 

i) The GDSN MOs implementation Toolkit has been 

developed and launched. 

A. GS1 Asia Pacific Regional Meeting: 

11 May 2009 

This meeting was held on 11 May 2009 from 3.00pm 

to 4.00pm. At this meeting, the role of GS1 AP REG Committee 

membership was approved and the following AP Member 

Organisations (MOs) were elected as its members, namely 

Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Russia, China, 

India, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand and Philippines. The role 

of GS1 AP REG is to focus on application issues of GS1 system 

and identify financial models for GS1 core services including 

GS1 Singapore News • 14 

Part of the delegates gathered on stage 

during the closing session. 

Continue on Pg 16


EDP@SMa 

Exporter Development Programme 

@Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation 

HELPING YOUR COMPANY DEVELOP & 

STRENGTHEN EXPORT COMPETENCY 

In approaching overseas markets, the EDP guides 

you in understanding your export product or service 

and understanding the needs of your customers and 

target market. You will also learn how to gather 

market information from available resources and 

develop an export strategy for your product or 

service. From this programme, you can acquire the 

fundamental knowledge of export plus gather more 

opportunities to meet and network with business 

associates and potential clients in your export market. 

To participate in EDP please contact; 

With the opening of more markets through 

Singapore’s extensive network of free trade 

agreements, there are now tremendous 

opportunities for companies to increase their market 

share and sales through exports. 

Many small and medium sized enterprises have 

successfully embarked on or increased their exports 

to overseas markets through the Exporter 

Development Programme (EDP). 

EDP is designed for small and medium sized 

enterprises 

Small and medium sized enterprises form an 

important and integral part of Singapore’s economy 

and the EDP@SMa can help companies strengthen 

their export competencies and develop stronger 

external wings. 

An opportunity to build up your export capability 

For companies participating in the Exporter 

Development Programme (EDP), IE Singapore pays 

70% of costs to help them build up and enhance 

their export capabilities to enable them to penetrate 

overseas markets through exports. 

Derek Cheah 

Tel: (65) 6826-3075 

Fax: (65) 6826-3068 

Email: derekcheah@smafederation.org.sg 

Dennis Toh 

Tel: (65) 6826-3036 

Fax: (65) 6826-3068 

Email: dennistoh@smafederation.org.sg 

“…We have stopped running around in circles. We are glad to 

be here and after this program, we are ready to move on and expand into 

the international arena....” 

Lum Wai Oon 

Director 

NATRAD FOOD PTE LTD 

“…The Exporter Development Program in a nutshell has educated us, 

trained us and connected us with the relevant business contacts in our 

target market. We realized the possibilities are limited only by our 

determination…” 

Catherine Chia 

Managing Partner 

NPE PRINT COMMUNICATIONS PTE LTD 

For information on EDP, visit our website at: 

www.smafederation.org.sg 

Brought to you by: 

Supported By: 




New Registered Users 

GS1 Singapore extends a warm welcome to the following new registered users 

AIKO CORPORATION PTE LTD 

Tel : 68420966 Fax : 68420866 

ARCADIAN FOOD PTE LTD 

Tel : 67422801 Fax : 67422806 

ARIES FRESH PTE LTD 

Tel : 67736273 Fax : 67736281 

ASIAN CATERING SERVICES 

Tel : 64411829 Fax : 64411589 

BABA MART PTE LTD 

Tel : 67674244 Fax : 68933004 

BAN HENG AQUATIC SUPPLIES 

Tel : 67743059 Fax : 67743562 

BARDAHL ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD 

Tel : 63161040 Fax : 63161464 

BEE HIANG FOOD INDUSTRIES 

Tel : 64811625 Fax : 64489266 

BEE LEE TONG DRESSMAKER 

PTE LTD 

Tel : 67435586 Fax : 67437242 

BODYNITS INTERNATIONAL 

PTE LTD 

Tel : 65455231 Fax : 65455361 

CHERRY CREDITS PTE LTD 

Tel : 67476676 Fax : 67476139 

DSY MARKETING PTE LTD 

Tel : 68533931 Fax : 68532303 

EAGLEGAME (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD 

Tel : 67793530 Fax : 67781839 

EDEN INTERNATIONAL 

ENTERPRISE PTE LTD 

Tel : 96741676 Fax : 62661860 

FAR FLUNG CRAFT LLP 

Tel : 81367270 Fax : 67649021 

FRESHMART SINGAPORE PTE LTD 

Tel : 67797111 Fax : 67796237 

GOLDEN GLORY FOOD INDUSTRIES 

PTE LTD 

Tel : 67580823 Fax : 67581019 

HERBAL SCIENCE SINGAPORE 

PTE LTD 

Tel : 68739888 Fax : 68739687 

HOYO MARKETING PTE LTD 

Tel : 67410401 Fax : 67446277 

HRJ CORPORATION PTE LTD 

Tel : 62828503 Fax : 62844946 

INCONTECH PTE LTD 

Tel : 67475595 Fax : 67467737 

JILLIEN FOO 

Tel : 64497931 

KENETICS INNOVATIONS PTE LTD 

Tel : 67490083 Fax : 67490093 

LEVI STRAUSS ASIA PACIFIC 

DIVISION PTE LTD 

Tel : 67359303 Fax : 67359304 

MAJESTIC MANDARIN PTE LTD 

Tel : 62252872 Fax : 62249793 

MAKARIOS VENTURE PTE LTD 

Tel : 68426418 Fax : 68461489 

MATADOR INTERNATIONAL 

PTE LTD 

Tel : 67478817 Fax : 67476533 

MENLE JOSS STICK 

MANUFACTURER & TRADERS 

Tel : 63834218 Fax : 62821607 

MOLEAC PTE LTD 

Tel : 64789430 Fax : 64789435 

NEW ATOMTECH PTE LTD 

Tel : 63163313 Fax : 63163606 

OISHI INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD 

Tel : 62681868 Fax : 62683231 

POMEFRESH PTE LTD 

Tel : 67420008 Fax : 68421327 

RAY TOBACCO INTERNATIONAL 

PTE LTD 

Tel : 91391775 Fax : 65153234 

ROOTS TECHNOLOGIES PTE LTD 

- PETS DIVISION 

Tel : 62836330 Fax : 62836332 

STARSWINGS CORPORATION 

PTE LTD 

Tel : 68460461 

SUPER MEGAHITS PTE LTD 

Tel : 68427577 Fax : 67486616 

TAI WAH DISTRIBUTORS PTE LTD 

Tel : 62871919 Fax : 62804835 

TENSAI PTE LTD 

Tel : 62209555 Fax : 62204053 

TONGYU PTE LTD 

Tel : 62560282 Fax : 62523179 

UNION BOOK CO PTE LTD 

Tel : 63380696 Fax : 63386306 

WU DANG ENTERPRISE 

Tel : 91590807 Fax : 68756078 

XMI PTE LTD 

Tel : 62250166 Fax : 62253660 


WE KNOW ASIA 

Held in conjunction with: 

Conference | 20 – 21 April 2010 

Exhibition | 21 – 23 April 2010 

SUNTEC Singapore International 

Convention & Exhibition Centre 

www.rfidworldasia.com.sg 

Asia’s No.1Platform in RFID Technology & Solutions 

For exhibiting, sponsorship and speaking opportunities, 

please contact sylwin.ang@terrapinn.com 

Supporting associations: 

Organised by: 


RFID Asia incorporating EPC Global Singapore 

Summit 2010 

RFID ASIA 2010 is about meeting the right people and plugging in 

The 7 th Annual RFID Asia Summit incorporating EPC Global Singapore Summit is the 

world’s largest international RFID forum for the Asia Pacific region. It is a vendor 

neutral platform for professional knowledge exchange and networking between senior 

level executives, regulators, vendors and practitioners operating in Asia. 

Conceptualized 7 years ago, RFID World Asia 

conference has been serving the Asia Pacific 

industry needs by focusing on business process 

innovation and standardization. Following our 

partnership with EPCglobal Singapore Summit, the 

2010 conference aims to highlight the very best in 

RFID innovations and implementations. 

Key themes at the 2010 conference are: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Highlighting RFID innovation & development in Asia 

Successfully utilizing RFID for efficient supply chain and logistics management 

Deploying RFID in asset management for efficiency and tracking 

Emerging applications of RFID 

Utilizing RFID effectively in the hospitality and leisure industry 

Shaping the future of healthcare with RFID and RFID applications 

Commercializing RFID within the aerospace and defense industry 

Enhancing consumers’ retail experience through RFID 

RFID in the construction and building industry 

Co-located with the Cards Asia Expo, the largest 

exhibition in Asia for the smartcard, RFID, and 

retail solutions industry, it is your not-to-be-missed 

event of the year! RFID World Asia attracted over 5600 

trade visitors last year and is the single most 

comprehensive opportunity to meet up with your key 

suppliers, handle and test new technologies and feel 

the pulse of the RFID market in Asia all under one roof! 

For further enquiries, please email to sylwin.ang@terrapinn.com or call Sylwin at 

+65-6322 2734. 


Are you READY for GS1 Databar? 

Meet the Sunrise date 

Achieve Easy Compliance Now with SATO 

Adoption and implementation of new technologies and barcode standards 

are never easy. 

That is why thousands of customers around the world trust SATO to deliver 

effective solutions seamlessly for their businesses for more than 40 years. 

SATO, the leading provider of barcoding and RFID solutions you can rely on. 

PRINT.SCAN.READ 

GS1 Databars 

Contact SATO now to find out more. 

Call (65) 6276 2722 or Email sales@satoasiapacific.com 

www.satoasiapacific.com

gs1 singapore news

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?