WASHINGTON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- GS1 US^® recognized four companies yesterday with GS1 US Apparel and General Merchandise Retail Industry Achievement Awards during the GS1 Connect® 2016 conference, located at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. The awards, which honor individuals and organizations that have implemented GS1 Standards to deliver outstanding achievements in retail value chain innovation, were presented to the following winning companies in four categories:

• The Operational Excellence Award: Levi Strauss & Co.
  As a pioneer in the use of Electronic Product Code (EPC®)-enabled item level Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for inventory accuracy, Levi Strauss & Co. realized significant operational efficiencies when the company moved its RFID tagging upstream, from the distribution center to the manufacturing source.
  
• The Corporate Social Responsibility Award: United Parcel Service of America, Inc. (UPS)
  UPS added value to its products and services using GS1 Standards to enhance electronic links with customers and to greatly reduce their carbon footprint.
  
• The Standards Innovation Award: Dillard's, Inc.
  Dillard's was recognized for their innovative use of GS1 Standards to automate the capturing and sharing of product information for e-commerce product setup and publication.
  
• The Small Business Standards Success Award: The Blessing Basket Project®
  As a non-profit organization that supports artisans in developing countries in earning fair trade wages for their products, The Blessing Basket Project enabled customers to view the entire supply chain and fully engage with their products by leveraging GS1 Standards.

"As technology and consumer demands continue to drive monumental change for the retail industry, these organizations have leveraged the power of GS1 Standards in several unique and innovative ways. We commend their efforts to apply time-tested best practices to solve new and unprecedented challenges to help their businesses grow," said Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of GS1 US.

Roger Milliken Career Achievement Award: Dan C. Smith
Dan C. Smith, former chief information officer for Hudson's Bay Company, received the industry-nominated Roger Milliken Career Achievement Award. Smith has been a constant advocate for the use of standards in retail, driving the innovation and early adoption of many advanced retail standards, including EPC-enabled RFID for omni-channel success in retail. Recognizing the importance of RFID technology to provide retailers with unprecedented inventory accuracy, Smith championed awareness initiatives and workgroups, setting an important example among other industry stakeholders. Earlier in his career, he led Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Universal Product Code (U.P.C.) adoption initiatives, partnering with industry peers to create and deliver best practices and learnings to help increase industry's application, adoption and use.

"Dan is a true collaborator, educator and advocate for GS1 Standards. His tenacious drive and ability to lead by example has helped move the retail industry forward to create more growth opportunities, better business processes and improved operational efficiencies," said Carpenter.

With more than 50 years of retail industry experience, Smith retired as the CIO at Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and the combined Hudson's Bay Company organization in 2015. Now, as president of RetailWise Consulting, Smith continues to advocate for the use of standards in retail information systems strategies, mergers and acquisitions, customer systems, as well as merchandise and store system selections. A former member of the GS1 US Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative Executive Leadership Committee and the GS1 US Item Level RFID Workgroup, Smith helped expedite the creation and use of standards and guidelines that have left a lasting impact on the retail industry and cleared the way for easier standards adoption and usage.

The Roger Milliken Career Achievement Award honors individuals who have demonstrated outstanding innovation and leadership in the application of GS1 Standards and industry best practices to improve supply chain collaboration. Roger Milliken was known for being a catalyst for transformational best business practices across multiple industries. The award program continues in his memory to recognize those who demonstrate the vision and leadership that makes the retail industry operate more effectively.

All awards are supported by the GS1 US Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative, which serves to provide the education, training, tools and community support that apparel and general merchandise retailers and brands need to implement GS1 Standards. These standards serve as a common language of business, enabling companies to enhance inventory visibility and deliver on consumer omni-channel expectations.

For more information about the GS1 US Apparel and General Merchandise Retail Industry Achievement Awards visit www.gs1us.org/AGMAwards2016, and to learn more about the GS1 US Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative, visit www.gs1us.org/ApparelGM.

About the GS1 US Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative
The GS1 US Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative is a retail industry group that is committed to defining business challenges and opportunities, and organizing members to explore solutions and create adoption plans. More than 130 suppliers, distributors, retailers and logistics providers are participating members in Initiative activities, focused on improving inventory accuracy, exchanging standardized product data and achieving traceability with GS1 Standards. More information about the GS1 US Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative is available at www.gs1us.org/ApparelGM.

About GS1 US
GS1 US^®, a member of GS1^®, is an information standards organization that brings industry communities together to solve supply-chain problems through the adoption and implementation of GS1 Standards. More than 300,000 businesses in 25 industries rely on GS1 US for trading-partner collaboration and for maximizing the cost effectiveness, speed, visibility, security and sustainability of their business processes. They achieve these benefits through solutions based on GS1 global unique numbering and identification systems, barcodes, Electronic Product Code (EPC^®)-enabled Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), data synchronization, and electronic information exchange. GS1 US also manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code^® (UNSPSC^®). www.GS1US.org

SOURCE GS1 US

Related Links

http://www.gs1us.org