GS1 China signs strategic partnership with eBay

E-commerce giant eBay signed a strategic partnership with GS1 China in Shenzhen on Wednesday to promote GS1’s global trade item number (GTIN) among eBay sellers in the country.

Zheng Changqing, general manager of eBay’s cross-border commerce division in China, said the benefits of implementing a standardized product barcode went far beyond operational improvements.

“Our data on fashion and electronics categories indicate that annual sales of goods with product barcodes are higher than those without,” he said.

“Sellers must first have their own brand to apply for a GTIN barcode. Brand building has become increasingly important for small-and-medium-sized sellers as a brand is a symbol of product quality and as a differentiator in a crowded marketplace,” Zheng said.

Li Jianhui, chief engineer of GS1 China, said a product barcode serves as an ID in the global trade market, and widespread use of these codes can improve the supply chain ecosystem and encourage cross-industry collaboration.

“By 2017, more than 80 million products from over 300,000 companies in China have applied for and obtained unique barcodes. eBay is a leading cross-border E-commerce platform and through partnering with GS1 China and promoting a standardized product barcode system for sellers, eBay will allow its global buyers to access an increased range of high quality inventory,” she said.

GS1 China will organize professional training sessions in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Yiwu to support eBay sellers moving to a standardized product barcode system in 2018, Li said.

Meanwhile GS1 China will create a specific channel for eBay sellers, greatly reducing their application times, she said.

The use of GS1’s GTIN that sees each product assigned a barcode will improve product traceability for the sellers, driving exposure and credibility among overseas buyers, according to Li.

GS1’s system assigns an individual code to each product, which allows the product to be identified at any point during the purchasing and shipping process. And as it becomes more widely adopted, buyers around the world will be able to search through more than one billion items offered by eBay sellers and be able to easily obtain information about the products, such as classification, brand and when it was launched. This will enhance traceability of goods and promote transparency in the marketplace.

And for sellers, the standardized barcode system will help streamline inventory management, operations and logistics.