Change arriving for GS1 digital experience - GS1 Product Owner Natalie Judd explains

Supply chains and standards can be complex – and we know that members of GS1 New Zealand want simple, straightforward user experiences when they interact with us. As more of work is ‘done online’, having a seamless digital experience can make all the difference – even when completing straightforward tasks like allocating a barcode number to a product.

Historically, members have shared with us that our systems need work – a more modern user experience, simpler navigation and new functionality. The great news is that we’re working hard to deliver on the mission, and early feedback from members shows that our digital products are improving. Key to these changes is that we are phasing out the legacy version of the MyGS1 member portal and migrating all members to a new, modern MyGS1 portal – and members are sharing they are more satisfied with the new version.

Update from Natalie Judd – Product Owner at GS1 NZ

We caught up with Natalie Judd, Product Owner in the GS1 New Zealand product team for an update on the digital programme. Natalie and the team have been working hard to give manufacturers and suppliers an intuitive user interface to load product data and share data with their retailers. They are currently working on adding to the suppliers successfully sharing data through the new version of MyGS1, with healthcare customers being the next focus.

“We’ve improved the process of sharing product data for our hardware members, and we’re now looking at doing the same for our healthcare members. Most healthcare members are using NPC Publisher, an older product – while it’s robust we’re keen to improve the user experience for these members.”

Healthcare suppliers often have very large product catalogues, with some ranging from 5,000-10,000. Compared to a hardware supplier’s average catalogue size of 300-400, this introduces some new challenges which the team has been working through.

“We’ve added a new bulk edit feature and we’re starting to increase the functionality for this which will really improve the experience for those with large catalogues.”

We asked Natalie for her three highlights on what has changed and what members can expect to see coming up with our digital products.

Highlight one: members are now migrating to the new version of MyGS1.

If you have been a member of GS1 NZ for a while now – more than 5 years – chances are that you are still on the legacy version of MyGS1. The great news is that we are now migrating all members across to the new version of MyGS1. You can expect to be hearing more on this in coming weeks and months as members are migrated across. Members who are using the new version of MyGS1 tell us they are more satisfied with the new version than the legacy version – and while we know there is a lot of work to do, we’re pleased that the changes we have made are making a difference.

Stay tuned for updates – we’re excited to share the new version of MyGS1.

Highlight two: Single sign-on has launched!

One of the biggest challenges users have shared with us is that they need to log in to so many GS1 systems! We get it – and have recently launched ‘single sign on’ for ProductRecallNZ our most subscribed service, and Media Library. These are the first steps in our goal of providing members one place to access GS1 NZ services.

Highlight three: Next Generation Barcodes are coming!

We’re thrilled to share that Next Generation Barcodes are coming to members of GS1 New Zealand. Soon you’ll be able to download QR Codes powered by GS1 from MyGS1 itself alongside traditional 1D barcodes. This is all part of the transition from traditional, linear barcodes at point of sale, to having 2D barcodes at retail point of sale by the end of 2027. More to come on this soon!

We’d love to hear your feedback

Here at GS1 New Zealand, we’re committed to continuously improving our digital products and systems to ensure they are reliable and easy-to-use. Our digital product roadmap, developed in alignment with member needs, is guiding our team for the next few years. The roadmap has four guiding pillars:

  • One MyGS1 – one single place to access GS1 services
  • Seamless experience – consistent and improved user experience
  • Intuitive experience – products that are easy to use
  • Data share – one source for accessible data storage.

We always appreciate your feedback as this helps us to improve our products and services for members. Please continue to share your feedback through our emailed surveys or with our support team.

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